## Facts

- Willie Johnson, Jr., a Black employee of Railway Express Agency, Inc. (REA) in Memphis, alleged race discrimination in seniority and job assignments, and that two unions maintained racially segregated memberships.
- On May 31, 1967, Johnson and others filed a charge with the EEOC under Title VII alleging REA’s discriminatory practices.
- On June 20, 1967, REA terminated Johnson; he amended the EEOC charge to allege he was discharged because of race.
- The EEOC’s investigation report (Dec. 22, 1967) generally supported Johnson’s allegations, but the agency did not issue a reasonable-cause determination until March 31, 1970.
- Johnson later filed a federal civil action asserting, among other claims, racial discrimination and discharge under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, more than three and one-half years after his discharge.
- The parties agreed Tennessee’s one-year statute of limitations applied to the § 1981 claim; Johnson argued the limitations period was tolled while his EEOC charge was pending.

## Issues

1. Whether the timely filing of a Title VII charge with the EEOC tolls the running of the state statute of limitations applicable to a § 1981 action based on the same facts.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit.
- A timely EEOC charge under Title VII does not toll the limitations period for a § 1981 action arising from the same alleged discrimination.
- Because Johnson filed his § 1981 suit outside Tennessee’s one-year limitations period, the § 1981 claim was time-barred.
- The Court reasoned that Title VII and § 1981 provide separate remedies with distinct procedural requirements, and a plaintiff must preserve each independently.

## Legal Principles

- Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 provide separate, distinct, and independent remedies for employment discrimination.
- Absent statutory direction, pursuing a Title VII administrative charge does not suspend or extend the limitations period borrowed for an independent § 1981 claim.
- A § 1981 claim accrues when the alleged discriminatory act occurs; the plaintiff may file the § 1981 suit without waiting for the EEOC process to conclude.
- Courts may not alter the applicable state limitations period for § 1981 based solely on the existence of Title VII proceedings.

## Conclusion

The Court held that Title VII’s EEOC process does not toll the state limitations period for a § 1981 action based on the same discriminatory acts, requiring plaintiffs who pursue both avenues to timely preserve each claim.


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