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Law360 (May 13, 2020, 7:03 PM EDT) -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other progressive Democrats on Wednesday proposed giving workers more time to sue their employers under federal wage, discrimination and other employment laws during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
The Emergency Limitation Periods Extensions for Workers Act would extend the limitations periods of various federal employment laws, pausing the clock on workers' claims until 90 days after the pandemic is no longer considered a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"Workers already facing terrible health risks are also confronting increased barriers to legal representation and worried the clock will run out on seeking relief," Warren said in a statement. "Our bill will make sure workers' rights aren't thrown off to the side because of a public health emergency."
Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., are co-sponsoring the bill. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., is sponsoring a House version.
Federal employment laws give workers varying amounts of time to file lawsuits or bring complaints to federal agencies, ranging from weeks to years after the alleged violation or another triggering event. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act generally gives workers 180 days from the latest violation to file discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The new bill would extend the limitations periods of various laws "through the 90th day after the last day of the COVID-19 public health emergency period," plus the "overlap interval," or the period the regular filing window overlaps with the pandemic. That would mean a worker who had 60 days left to file an EEOC charge when COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency in January would have 150 days to file on the other side of the crisis.
The bill applies to nearly two dozen federal employment laws, including Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the National Labor Relations Act.
Plaintiffs' attorney Peter Romer-Friedman described the bill as an "elegant, simple proposal" Wednesday during a call with Law360. Romer-Friedman, a Gupta Wessler PLLC attorney who represents workers in discrimination suits, said workers often aren't immediately aware of their claims or may struggle to find competent counsel in normal times. The pandemic heightens those and other hurdles, he said.
"The concept is so simple, which is that everyone should have the ability to take the time that they need to enforce their rights," said Romer-Friedman, who was a labor counsel for the Senate work committee before entering private practice. "I can't imagine there'd be great opposition to something like this, though I imagine the Chamber of Commerce might have something to say about it."
The bill has the backing of several workers' advocacy groups, including the National Employment Law Project, the National Employment Lawyers Association and the National Women's Law Center.
The proposal comes a day after Democratic leaders in the House unveiled the HEROES Act, a sweeping relief package that would fund struggling state and local governments and provide several benefits to workers, including thousands of dollars in hazard pay for "essential" workers. That bill, which is set for a House vote Friday, represents Democrats' goals in negotiations with Republicans for a fifth virus aid bill.
--Editing by Stephen Berg.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
