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Statutes of Limitations: File Your Case before Your Carriage Turns Back into a Pumpkin

Written by David Jafari - March 1, 2018

A statute of limitations is a legal “clock” dating back to Ancient Rome that creates a timeline within which an aggrieved party must initiate their lawsuit. Generally speaking, if the injured party attempts to commence their action after the statute of limitations has expired, the party may very well be without any remedies. Statutes of limitations exist to protect potential defendants from the undue burdens and hardships that may arise with the passage of time. Specifically, the more time that lapses from when a party was injured to when that party brings their lawsuit, the more likely it is that facts from the incident may be forgotten, evidence may degrade, or witnesses may die. Furthermore, the legislatures and courts determined that it would be unfair to keep potential defendants in a perpetual state of fear of being sued for actions that long since passed.

Determining if your legal clock is still running poses two difficult questions: (1) when did my clock start running, and (2) when will my clock stop running? The challenge in giving a straightforward answer to these questions is that the answer depends on your injury. Put differently, the statute of limitations applied to your case will vary depending on what law was violated. For example, a violation under California’s Equal Pay Act must be filed within two years of when the violation occurred. However, if the violation was done willfully, the injured party has a total of three years from the violation to file their complaint. In contrast, a violation under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act only has a one-year statute of limitations, but that time period may be tolled, or temporarily stopped, if the injured party files their charge with both the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. There are other legal devices which may allow a party to file their complaint after the normal statute of limitations clock has lapsed, but one should not depend on these methods for keeping their legal clock running as each method has its own requirements that are not always easily met.

The moral of the statute of limitations story is that parties who believe their employment rights have been violated should not sit on their potential claim or rely on the statute of limitations period being extended. If you believe your employment rights have been infringed, immediately contact Jafari Law Group. We specialize in wage and hour violations, wrongful termination, and discrimination cases.

Cause of Action/Act Violated	Statute of Limitations	Accrual of Cause of Action
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)	Must file a written charge with the EEOC within 180 days after the date the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred If there is a parallel state fair employment law and agency, must file with the EEOC within 300 days after the date of the alleged unlawful employment practice, or within 30 days after notice that the state agency has terminated its proceedings, whichever occurs first	Does not accrue until the aggrieved person’s employment opportunities are adversely affected by the employer’s policy or practice
California Equal Pay Act	Must be filed not later than two years, or not later than three years if the violation is willful	When violation of the Act is alleged
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)	Must file a complaint with the DFEH within one year May be extended up to 90 days if the complainant first learned about the alleged unlawful employment practice after one year from the date of its occurrence, for up to one year following a rebutted presumption of the identity of the person’s employer	When the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred
Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963	Must be filed within two years, or three years if the violation was willful	When the violation occurs
Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973	Uncertain; two cases held that the forum state’s statute of limitations governing those claims that are most closely analogous to the Rehabilitation Act complaint are controlling
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964	Must file a written charge with the EEOC within 180 days If there is a parallel state fair employment law and a state agency to enforce it, and if the aggrieved person initially instituted proceedings with the state agency, the aggrieved person has 300 days	When the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred
Federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994	Doesn’t provide a statute of limitations, but it does specifically prohibit the use of a state statute of limitations
Wage and Hour Laws	An action to recover a statutory penalty or forfeiture must be brought within one year A claim based on an oral contract must be brought within two years Actions based on a liability created by statute, other than a penalty or forfeiture must be brought within three years Actions based on a written contract must be brought within four years	Recovery of unpaid wages accrues from each payday or date when the required compensation was not paid A vacation pay claim accrues at the date of termination, not when vacation is earned
Wrongful Termination	If based on a violation of public policy, must be brought within two years from the date of termination If based on a breach of contract, must be brought within four years from the date of breach If based on defamation, must generally be brought within one year from the date of defamation If based on fraud, must be brought within three years from discovery of the fraud If based on a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act, must be brought within two years of the date of the violation, or within three years if the violation was willful If based on a violation of the California Family Rights Act, must be brought within one year from the date of issuance of a right-to-sue letter by the DFEH If based on unpaid wages/overtime, must be brought within three years of when the wages were earned If based on unpaid wages under the Unfair Competition Law, must be brought within four years If based on missed meal and rest period violations, must be brought within three years If based on the waiting time penalty under Labor Code 230, must be brought within three years of termination If based on violations of the itemized wage statement requirements, must be brought within one year If against the State of California or other public agencies, must be presented to the government agency within generally six months