Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Green: A Constructive-Discharge Limitations Period Begins When the Employee Resigns

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published September 6, 2026

Green v. Brennan involved a postal employee who alleged that supervisors retaliated after his race-discrimination complaint and pressured him into an agreement requiring retirement or reassignment.

The agreement preceded the resignation

Green signed an agreement resolving threatened criminal charges, later chose retirement, and contacted an EEO counselor forty-one days after submitting his resignation.

Constructive discharge has two components

The claim requires intolerable discriminatory conditions that would compel a reasonable employee to resign and an actual resignation.

The clock begins when resignation is communicated

A limitations period ordinarily starts when a complete claim exists. The Court used the date the employee gives definite notice, not the later effective date.

The judgment was vacated and remanded

The Court rejected accrual at the earlier settlement agreement and returned the case for proceedings under the correct rule.

Key takeaways

• Record when resignation notice was communicated and when it became effective.
• Preserve evidence of allegedly intolerable conditions and causation.
• Calculate federal-sector and private-sector deadlines under their own rules.
• Do not postpone counseling or filing while debating the final accrual date.