Lydia Lubniewski v. John F. Lehman Jr., Secretary of the Navy

Lydia Lubniewski, an employee of the United States Navy, appeals the dismissal of her discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (1982) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 (1982 & Supp. IV 1986). The district court dismissed Lubniewski’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because Lubniewski failed to file an action naming the proper defendant within the thirty-day time period prescribed by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c) (1982). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1982). We affirm the dismissal of Lubniewski’s Title VII claim. Previous decisions of this court have construed section 2000e-16(c)’s time period as jurisdictional. We reverse the dismissal of the ADEA claim. Section 2000e-16(c)’s time period does not apply to federal employee ADEA claims.

I

Lubniewski complained to the Navy of age and sex discrimination following the Navy’s decision not to select her to be a program analyst. The Navy denied her complaint. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) affirmed the Navy’s decision. On July 10, 1987, Lub-niewski received a copy of the EEOC’s decision…