Judkins v. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

**Judkins v. Saint Joseph's College of Maine: Filing Deadlines Matter for Discrimination Claims** **What Happened** A female employee sued Saint Joseph's College of Maine claiming she faced sex and age discrimination while working in the Cayman Islands. She also alleged the college broke her employment contract. However, she waited too long to file her required complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before going to court. **What the Court Decided** The court dismissed the discrimination claims because the employee missed the 180-day deadline to file with the EEOC. The judge ruled that Maine's extended filing periods for discrimination complaints don't apply when the discrimination happens outside the United States, even if the employer is based in Maine. Since the alleged discrimination occurred in the Cayman Islands, only the standard 180-day federal deadline applied. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case highlights how critical timing is when filing discrimination complaints. Workers must file EEOC charges within strict deadlines - typically 180 days federally or 300 days in some states. However, if discrimination happens overseas, workers may only have the shorter federal deadline, regardless of their home state's rules. Workers facing discrimination should contact the EEOC immediately to avoid missing these crucial deadlines and losing their right to sue.