United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454 (1975)

Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc.

No. 73-1543

Argued December 11, 1974

Decided May 19, 1975

421 U.S. 454

Syllabus

The timely filing of an employment discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, pursuant to § 706 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, does not toll the running of the limitation period applicable to an action, based on the same facts, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Thus, in this case, where petitioner waited over 3 1/2 years after his cause of action for racial employment discrimination accrued before instituting an action under § 1981, that suit is time-barred by the one-year limitation period imposed by applicable state law notwithstanding the fact that petitioner had filed the Title VII charge before that limitation period had expired. Pp. 421 U. S. 457-467.

489 F.2d 525, affirmed.

BLACKMUN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, WHITE, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined, and in Parts I-III of which DOUGLAS, BRENNAN, and MARSHALL, JJ., joined. MARSHALL, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which DOUGLAS and BRENNAN, JJ., joined, post, p. 421 U. S. 468.

Page 421 U. S. 455