United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. First National Bank

**EEOC v. First National Bank of Chicago (1990)** This case involved a discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against First National Bank of Chicago. The EEOC claimed the bank used pension formulas that discriminated against certain employees, likely based on gender, in violation of Title VII civil rights law and the Equal Pay Act. The court ruled in favor of the bank and dismissed the EEOC's claims. The judge found that the lawsuit was filed too late - past the legal deadline for bringing such claims. The court determined that the time limit for filing began when the bank first adopted the allegedly discriminatory pension formulas, not when employees actually received their pension benefits years later. Additionally, the court ruled that the bank was not required to go back and fix pension credits for work performed before Title VII took effect in the 1960s. **What this means for workers:** This ruling highlights how important timing is in discrimination cases. Workers need to file complaints relatively soon after learning about potentially discriminatory policies, even if the financial impact won't be felt until much later (like with pensions). Waiting until retirement to challenge unfair pension formulas may be too late under federal law.