Supreme Court of Iowa
Iowa Civil Rights Commission and Heriberto Zamora, Appellants v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., Appellee
April 25, 19731973 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1003
Summary
The court held that the statutory requirement that a discrimination complaint be filed within ninety days was mandatory and operated as a limitation on the proceeding. Because the complainant filed 152 days after discharge and the asserted grounds for tolling or excuse did not create a genuine issue of material fact, summary judgment setting aside the Commission's order was proper. The court affirmed, while declining to decide whether the limitation could ever be subject to equitable tolling in other circumstances.
Holding
- Whether the ninety-day filing requirement is mandatory.. The statutory language makes the ninety-day period a limitation period, and the complaint filed 152 days after the alleged discriminatory discharge was untimely.
- Whether the asserted union grievance procedure tolled the filing period.. Even assuming the filing period could be tolled while a union grievance was pursued, the period had already expired before the complaint was filed, so the asserted grievance did not create a genuine issue of material fact.
- Whether the insurance-benefits inquiry tolled or excused the filing deadline.. The complainant's inquiry to the insurance commission and its response did not toll or otherwise affect the discrimination-complaint filing period.
- Whether the alleged failure of the Commission to provide a complaint form created a genuine issue of material fact.. The resistance to summary judgment was fatally defective because it did not allege when a complaint form was provided or otherwise establish a factual benchmark for determining whether the Commission caused the delayed filing.
- Whether employer knowledge of the dispute substituted for a timely filed complaint.. The employer's knowledge of the dispute did not satisfy the statutory requirement of filing a complaint within ninety days, and the record presented no genuine factual issue requiring trial.
Docket 55556
Cited authorities
- Rule 344(f)(13)
- Rule 237(e)
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