Regents of Univ. of California v. Superior Court

In April 1992, the chair of surgery informed a female physician she would have to leave the school’s residency program by June 1993 if she did not repeat her third clinical year of training. The physician did not repeat the year. She filed an administrative claim in July 1993 and sued the chairman and the school in August 1993 for sex discrimination. The question before us is whether her action is barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations.

We hold the suit is barred. The statute of limitations began to run on the physician’s claims at the time the adverse employment decision was communicated to her, not when it took effect. (Delaware State College v. Ricks (1980) 449 U.S. 250 [ 66 L.Ed.2d 431 , 101 S.Ct. 498 ].) The physician may not prolong the life of her causes of action absent some other discriminatory act taken against her within the limitations period. Nor may she resuscitate the causes of action by recharacterizing her termination as a resignation.

Factual and Procedural Background

The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) offers a residency in general surgery, a five-year clinical training program after a student has graduated from medical…