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Clarification of Garg and Evidence of Discrimination Occurring Outside the Statute of Limitations

Schipper | 15 March, 2007 14:50

Prior to the 2005 decision of Garg v Macomb County Cmty Mental Health Servs, Michigan subscribed to the continuing violations theory of discriminatory acts. 472 Mich 263 (2005). This meant that aggrieved employees could file a claim for discriminatory or retaliatory acts that occurred beyond the three-year statute of limitations by showing them to be related to acts that occurred within the statute of limitations, so as to create a pattern of harassment. The Court in Garg ruled that continuing violations theory no longer exists under Michigan law but left open whether acts falling outside the statute of limitations may be used as background in support of claims made within the statute of limitations.

In Ramanathan v Wayne State Univ Bd of Governors, WL 28416 (Mich Ct App, 2007) the Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that, absent clear guidance from the Supreme Court, the admissibility of these past acts as evidence is subject to the discretion of the trial court under the rules of evidence (e.g. relevance, overly prejudicial). Therefore, how an employer treated employees and employee complaints in the past could be critical in a lawsuit concerning current work conditions.

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