Josephine PARKER and Judi Greenlee, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GENERAL TELEPHONE COMPANY OF the NORTHWEST, INC., DefendantAppellee

Josephine Parker and Judi Greenlee were employed by General Telephone Company. Plaintiffs alleged that they were discriminated against in the course of employment because of their sex. Charges were filed by plaintiffs with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), pursuant to Section 706(a) of Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(a). Plaintiffs made no filing with the state. The EEOC concluded that reasonable cause existed to -believe the truth of plaintiffs’ charges. Plaintiffs filed their complaint in district court after informal efforts to resolve the dispute proved unsuccessful.

The district court dismissed the action on the grounds that plaintiffs had failed to notify the state of their claims, and that such notice was necessary, under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b), as a preliminary to federal jurisdiction. We find that the dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint was in error.

“The district court shall retain jurisdiction for a time sufficient to allow the EEOC to notify [the appropriate state commission] and to allow that commission the statutory deferral period in which to act upon it. If the [Washington] commission elects not to act, the district court…