The default — 180 days
Title VII, the ADA, and GINA all set the same baseline: 180 calendar days from the most recent discriminatory act 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). The ADA incorporates Title VII procedures by reference 42 U.S.C. § 12117(a); GINA does too 42 U.S.C. § 2000ff-6.
The ADEA has the same 180-day baseline 29 U.S.C. § 626(d)(1) but a different extension mechanic (see below).
The extension — 300 days
Where a designated state or local Fair Employment Practices Agency has the authority to grant or seek relief on the same basis as the federal claim, the window extends to 300 days 29 CFR § 1601.13. The canonical list of designated agencies lives in 29 CFR §1601.74.
The mechanic is administrative: under Title VII §706(c), states with their own discrimination law get an initial 60-day exclusive period (120 days during the first year of a qualifying law) to process the charge before the EEOC can act. Worksharing agreements between the EEOC and each state agency typically waive that exclusive period, letting the EEOC take action immediately while the charging party retains the full 300-day filing window.
The ADEA twist
The ADEA's extension is narrower: it requires a state-level age-discrimination law and a state agency to enforce it. Local ordinances do not count. The EEOC's published guidance is explicit on this point — a city or county law with age-discrimination protections does not change the federal clock from 180 to 300 for an ADEA charge.
The state-or-local distinction matters because some states have municipalities with more aggressive protections than the state itself (NYC vs NY state on employee counts, for example). For Title VII bases the worker benefits from either; for ADEA, only state-level law qualifies.
The 180-day jurisdictions
Three states are unambiguous 180-day jurisdictions for general Title VII bases:
- Alabama — no FEPA. State Age Discrimination in Employment Act exists for age claims only.
- Arkansas — Arkansas Civil Rights Act gives a state-court private right of action but no state agency is designated under 29 CFR §1601.74, so the federal clock stays at 180.
- Mississippi — no FEPA covering same-basis private-sector claims.
Two further limited cases:
- Georgia (private sector) — the Georgia FEPA covers state employees only. Private-sector claims default to 180 days.
- North Carolina (private sector, non-age) — NCEEPA declares state policy but provides no private right of action. Private-sector claims generally default to 180 days for non-age bases.
State law may give you longer still
The 180/300 rule sets the federal deadline. Many states have their own filing windows that run longer than the federal extension:
- California FEHA — 3 years post-2020 (AB 9)
- Illinois IHRA — 730 days post-2024
- Ohio — 730 days post-2021
- New York State Human Rights Law — 3 years
- Oregon — 5 years for some claims
- New Jersey LAD — 2 years
State filing windows run independently. Dual-filing on time at the federal level preserves your federal claim; the state-level deadline runs on its own clock.