Riley v. Sheet Metal Workers International Association

District Court, E.D. California·Decided March 23, 2022·No. 1:22-cv-00241·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 EARL L. RILEY, III, Case No. 1:22-cv-00241-JLT-EPG 9 Plaintiff, SCREENING ORDER 10 v. ORDER FOR PLAINTIFF TO: 11 SHEET METAL WORKERS (1) FILE A FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT; 12 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION, OR

13 Defendant. (2) NOTIFY THE COURT THAT HE WISHES TO STAND ON HIS COMPLAINT 14 (ECF NO. 1) 15 THIRTY (30) DAY DEADLINE 16

Plaintiff Earl L. Riley, III, is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this action filed 18 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., generally alleging that 19 Defendant Sheet Metal Workers International Association has engaged in discriminatory 20 employment practices. (See ECF No. 1, 5). The complaint is now before the Court for screening. 21 The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s complaint and finds that Plaintiff fails to state any 22 cognizable claims. Plaintiff now has the following options as to how to move forward. Plaintiff 23 may file an amended complaint if he believes that additional facts would state a cognizable claim 24 or claims. If Plaintiff files an amended complaint, the Court will screen that amended complaint 25 in due course. Or Plaintiff may file a statement with the Court that he wants to stand on his 26 complaint and have it reviewed by the District Judge, in which case the Court will issue findings 27 and recommendations to the District Judge consistent with this order. 28 1 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 2 As Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court screens the complaint under 28 3 U.S.C. § 1915. (ECF No. 5). “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may 4 have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that the action or appeal fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 5 A complaint is required to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that 6 the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 7 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 8 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 9 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). A plaintiff must set forth “sufficient 10 factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. 11 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting 12 this plausibility standard. Id. at 679. While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are 13 not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 14 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a plaintiff’s 15 legal conclusions are not accepted as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. 16 Pleadings of pro se plaintiffs “must be held to less stringent standards than formal 17 pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that 18 pro se complaints should continue to be liberally construed after Iqbal). 19 II. SUMMARY OF PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT 20 Around July 2021, Plaintiff was hired as a sheet metal journeyman by Acco Engineered 21 Systems (Acco). (ECF No. 1, p. 2). The supervisor was Joey Hernandez. (Id.). Since July 2021, 22 Plaintiff has had to work “alone on jobs that require two or more people” while other workers 23 “are partnered up.”1 (Id.). On September 29, 2021, Plaintiff saw a photo “on the office wall that 24 he found highly inappropriate and very offensive.” (Id.). “It was a monkey wearing construction 25 gear and it was labelled ‘Sheet Metal Worker.’ As an African American sheet metal worker 26 [Plaintiff] found the photo to be insensitive, offensive, and highly inappropriate.” (Id.). 27 1 Minor alterations, such as changing capitalization and correcting misspellings, have been made to 28 Plaintiff’s quoted statements without indicating the alterations. 1 Plaintiff reported seeing the photo to Hernandez and his Local 104 Union representatives, 2 Mike Lopez and David Pena. (Id.). He also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment 3 Opportunity Commission (EEOC) “against Acco for their behavior.”2 (Id.). However, Lopez and 4 Pena tried to persuade him not to file the complaint, with Lopez even suggesting that Plaintiff 5 “should get over it because everyone experiences discrimination.” (Id.). But Plaintiff told Lopez 6 and Pena that he would be going forward with his complaint. (Id.). 7 Since filing the complaint, Plaintiff has “not been referred to any jobs that are available 8 and he [has] been denied access to benefits.” (Id.). Plaintiff has tried to contact Lopez and Pena 9 multiple times but has been unsuccessful. (Id.). To date, Plaintiff has not been contacted or assigned employment “even though he is an A list journeyman and he hold[s] priority over B list 10 workers.” (Id.). No reason has been given for the difference in the treatment Plaintiff has 11 received. 12 Plaintiff alleges that he has been subjected to different terms and conditions of 13 employment, harassed, and constructively discharged based on his race. (Id.). He also asserts that 14 he has been denied job referrals and assignments and discharged in retaliation for the filing of his 15 EEOC complaint. (Id.). Lastly, he alleges that “the union did not represent him fairly and in good 16 faith and without discrimination. (Id.). 17 III. ANALYSIS 18 A. Pleading Standards 19 Title VII makes it unlawful for employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations 20 to discriminate against an individual based on the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or 21 national origin. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)-(c). 22 Plaintiff’s complaint does not comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 because it 23 does not clearly identify what the Defendant did to discriminate against Plaintiff. See Starr v. 24 Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir. 2011) (noting that under Rule 8 a complaint “must contain 25 sufficient allegations of underlying facts to give fair notice and to enable the opposing party to 26 defend itself effectively”). Here, Plaintiff sues the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, 27 2 Plaintiff has attached a copy of a letter dated February 17, 2022, from the EEOC advising him of his right 28 to file a lawsuit. 1 not Acco. However, it is not clear what alleged discrimination Defendant Sheet Metal Workers 2 International Association allegedly engaged in. 3 Plaintiff’s first set of allegations are that, in July 2021, he was hired by Acco, who 4 required him to work alone on jobs requiring two or more people while other sheet metal workers 5 had partners. But it is not clear what role Defendant Sheet Metal Workers International 6 Association had in this decision.

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