JESSICA GERTNER MILANO, APPELLANT,
v.
MOLDMASTER, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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An employee filed a discrimination complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, but the commission failed to issue a reasonable cause determination within the statutory 180-day period. More than one year after the 180-day deadline expired, the employee filed a civil action, which the trial court dismissed for failure to comply with the one-year statute of limitations. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the limitations period begins to run at the expiration of the commission's 180-day determination period, not from the date of the original employment termination.
The one-year statute of limitations for filing a civil action under section 760.11, Florida Statutes, begins to run at the expiration of the commission's 180-day determination period, not from the employee's termination date. Under subsection (8), when the commission fails to make a reasonable cause determination within 180 days, an aggrieved person may proceed as if reasonable cause was determined, triggering the one-year limitations period under subsection (5).
[1] A civil action under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, following the Commission's failure to issue a determination within 180 days, must be commenced no later than 1…
[2] The filing of a civil action against an employer divests the Florida Commission on Human Relations of jurisdiction over the complaint.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In the event that the commission fails to conciliate or determine whether there is reasonable cause on any complaint under this section within 180 days of the filing of the complaint, an aggrieved person may proceed under subsection (4), as if the commission determined that there was reasonable cause.”
The statutory provision establishing that failure to timely determine reasonable cause allows the employee to proceed as if reasonable cause was found, which triggers the one-year limitations period.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJessica Gertner Milano filed a discrimination complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations on April 8, 1994, alleging wrongful termination…
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GLICKSTEIN, Judge.
Having considered appellant’s arguments, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of her action.
Following termination of appellant’s employment, she filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations on April 8,1994, alleging that appellee wrongfully terminated her employment based upon her disability.
The commission failed to issue a reasonable cause determination within 180 days. More than one year after the expiration of the 180 day period, appellant filed a civil action against appellee. The commission then sent appellant a notice of dismissal advising her that the commission’s jurisdiction was divested by appellant filing the civil action. The trial court dismissed the action based on its interpretation that the statute of limitations had run.
Section 760.11(3), Florida Statutes, 1995, provides in part:
Within 180 days of the filing of the complaint, the commission shall determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that discriminatory practice has occurred in violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.
Subsection (4) provides:
In the event that the commission determines that there is a reasonable cause to believe that a discriminatory practice has occurred in violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, the aggrieved person may either:
(a) Bring a civil action against the person named in 'the complaint in any court of competent jurisdiction; or (b) Request an administrative hearing under s. 120.57.
Subsection (5) requires that any civil action brought under section 760.11 must be commenced no later than 1 year after the determination of reasonable cause by the commission.
Finally, subsection (8) says:
In the event that the commission fails to conciliate or determine whether there is reasonable cause on any complaint under this section within 180 days of the filing of the complaint, an aggrieved person may proceed under subsection (4), as if the commission determined that there was reasonable cause.
The trial court determined that the one year limitation on filing a civil action began to run at the expiration of the 180 day period in which the commission was to make a reasonable cause determination. We agree, as any other interpretation of the foregoing subsections, read together, would not be reasonable.
While the corresponding federal statute, 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-5(b) (West Supp.1997), has different wrinkles than Florida’s legislation,1 one observation under the former is worth noting. The Eleventh Circuit observed in a related, but not identical context:
There is no reason why a plaintiff should enjoy a manipulable open-ended time extension which could render the statutory limitation meaningless. Plaintiff should be required to assume some minimum responsibility himself for an orderly and expeditious resolution of his dispute.
Lewis v. Conners Steel Co., 673 F. 2d 1240, 1242 (11th Cir.1982).
POLEN and GROSS, JJ., concur. . Under the Federal Statute, a plaintiff generally has 90 days to file an action after receipt of a notice of right to sue. Because of the shortness of time, this is not a true statute of limitations. The Eleventh Circuit has said with regard to same: 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f) provides in part that "within 90 days after the giving of such respondent named in the charge ...” While filing of suit within the statutory time is no longer considered jurisdictional, "[cjompliance with the ... time period ... is a statutory requirement for presentation of the claim, and failure to do so admits a defense analogous to a statute of limitations." Sessions v. Rusk State Hospital, 648 F. 2d 1066, 1069-70 (5th Cir.1981). Because we remand the case for further consideration of when plaintiff received notice, we leave for original presentation to the district court plaintiffs contention that this change in characterization of the time requirement alters the burden of pleading and proof.
Lewis v. Conners Steel Co., 673 F. 2d 1240, 1241 n. 2 (11th Cir.1982).
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Deneace M. Joshua v. City OF Gainesville, 768 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 2000)…5). The City maintained the civil action should have been filed by January 17, 1997, the last day of the one year plus 180-day period the City argued is allowed by a reading of sections 760.11(3) and 760.11(5). Relying on Milano v. Moldmaster, Inc., 703 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (holding that an employment discrimination case brought more than one year after the 180-day period was time-barred), the City argued that Joshua’s one-year time limit on filing a civil action began to run on January 17, 1996, wh…1 / 2
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Deneace M. Joshua v. City OF Gainesville, 734 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…prejudice.1 Appellant con [*1069] tends that her claim should be governed instead by the general four-year statute of limitations in section 95.11(3)(f), Florida Statutes. We affirm the dismissal order on the authority of Milano v. Moldmaster, Inc., 703 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), and certify a question of great public importance.2 Pursuant to section 760.11(1), Florida Statutes (1995), an aggrieved party “may file a complaint” with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (“Commission”) “within 365 day…
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Dixon v. Sprint-Florida, Inc., 787 So. 2d 968 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…March 17, 1998 initial administrative complaint and thus the instant lawsuit, filed on December 22, 1999, was com- [*970] meneed beyond the' one year statute of limitations set forth in section 760.11(5) as recognized in Milano v. Moldmaster, Inc., 703 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)(hold-ing that a lawsuit must be filed within one year of the expiration of the 180 day waiting period following the FCHR’s failure to issue a reasonable cause determination). Sprint also argued in the alternative that, by prematu…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Sessions v. Rusk State Hosp., 648 F.2d 1066 (5th Cir. 1981)
- Lewis v. Conners Steel Co., 673 F.2d 1240 (11th Cir. 1982)