RENNAE ELIZABETH OTT v. MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Gibney, November 28, 2018,
EEOC – Rehabilitation Act – An EEOC disability claim under the federal Rehabilitation Act in Maryland has a two-year statute of limitations
Facts:
Rennae Ott was working for the Department of Public Safety as a parole officer. In 2010, she developed PTSD and anxiety when she learned that her daughter had been molested by a doctor. Ott claimed that she was harassed by co-workers and that DPSCS ignored this harassment, forcing her to resign in March of 2014.
Ott filed a claim with EEOC and, in October of 2016, Ott filed a lawsuit against DPSCS.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit because, while the Rehabilitation Act doesn’t have an expressed statute of limitations, it was outside of the analogous Maryland statute of limitations of two years.
Ott appealed, arguing that Maryland’s general three-year statute of limitations should apply.
Held: The Court held that Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act (MFEPA) is analogous to the federal Rehabilitation Act, and so MFEPA’s two-year statute of limitations should apply.
EEOC – Disability – The federal Rehabilitation Act protects against and provides redress for employment discrimination based on disability
EEOC – Disability – Under Maryland law, an employer may not “fail or refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for the known disability of an otherwise qualified employee”
EEOC – Disability – Under Maryland law, an employment discrimination lawsuit must be brought within two years of the discrimination
EEOC – Disability – A lawsuit for a violation of the federal Rehabilitation Act must be brought in the same time period as a similar state lawsuit would have to have been brought
From the Case: “Ott’s allegations of wrongful conduct end with her resignation on March 6, 2014. She filed her complaint on October 10, 2016, outside the two-year period. Accordingly, the district court properly dismissed Ott’s Rehabilitation Act claims as time-barred.”