Nazareen WARD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Defendant-Appellee

FACTS

Nazareen Ward filed a series of charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) between 1971 and 1974 alleging that his employer, General Motors Corporation (GM), unfairly discriminated against him on the basis of race. Apparently dissatisfied with the EEOC’s handling of his ease, on June 8, 1977 Mr. Ward requested from the EEOC authorization to sue GM directly in federal district court. Mr. Ward never received the right-to-sue letter because the EEOC mailed it to the wrong address. In March 1978, Mr. Ward requested that the EEOC keep his file active; the EEOC promptly notified GM that the case was still open. Early in 1980 the EEOC determined that there was no reasonable cause to believe that Mr. Ward’s allegations were true. Mr. Ward then sued GM on the same charges in district court; the district court on September 30, 1982 granted summary judgment in favor of GM. Mr. Ward is separately appealing that judgment. Ward v. General Motors Corp., 722 F.2d 749 (9th Cir.1982). We affirm Ward v. General Motors in a separate memorandum opinion issued today.

Ward filed this pro se action against the EEOC on October 15, 1981, alleging that the EEOC negligently…