D. Time for filing. (1) Section 41-15-520 provides that an employee who believes that he has been discriminated against in violation of Section 41-15-510 “may, within 30 days after such violation occurs,” file a complaint with the Commissioner of Labor.

1. (2) A major purpose of the 30-day period in this provision is to allow the Commissioner to decline to entertain complaints which have become stale. Accordingly complaints not filed within 30 days of an alleged violation will ordinarily be presumed to be untimely.
2. (3) However, there may be circumstances which would justify tolling of the 30-day period on recognized equitable principles or because of strongly extenuating circumstances, e.g., where the employer has concealed, or misled the employee regarding the grounds for discharge or other adverse action; where the employee has, within the 30-day period, resorted in good faith to grievance-arbitration proceedings under a collective bargaining agreement or filed a complaint regarding the same general subject with another agency; or where the discrimination is in the nature of a continuing violation. In the absence of circumstances justifying a tolling of the 30-day period, untimely complaints will not be processed.