Cite as: 535 U. S. 106 (2002)
O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment
with a view to their place in the overall statutory scheme"). Surprisingly, however, the Court holds that the best reading is precisely the opposite—it says it "clearly agree[s] with the EEOC" that charges do not need to be verified within the specified time period. See ante, at 114.
Despite the fact that I think the best reading of the statute is that a charge must be made under oath or affirmation within the specified time, this is not the only possible reading of the statute. The definition section of the statute, 42 U. S. C. § 2000e, which expressly defines a number of terms, does not define the word "charge" to mean an allegation made under oath or affirmation. In fact, the definition section does not define the word "charge" at all. And the provision stating that "charges shall be in writing under oath or affirmation" is not framed as a definition—it does not say, for example, that a charge is an allegation made in writing under oath or affirmation. Because the statute does not explicitly define "charge" to incorporate verification but only suggests it, the requirement that charges be verified and the requirement that charges be filed within the specified time could be read as independent requirements that do not need to be satisfied simultaneously. Congress, therefore, cannot be said to have "unambiguously expressed [its] intent" that the charge must be under oath or affirmation when filed. Chevron, 467 U. S., at 843 (emphasis added). Given this ambiguity, under our decision in Chevron, "the question . . . [becomes] whether the agency's [position] is based on a permissible construction of the statute," ibid., or, in other words, whether the agency's position is "reasonable," id., at 845. If so, then we must give it "controlling weight," id., at 844.
I find the regulation to be reasonable for some of the same reasons that the Court finds it to be the best interpretation of the statute. As the Court notes, Title VII is " 'a remedial scheme in which laypersons, rather than lawyers, are expected to initiate the process.' " Ante, at 115 (quoting Com-
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