Salinas v. TKC Holdings, Inc.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

LUIS S. SALINAS, ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 4:20 CV 1846 RWS ) TKC HOLDINGS and ) KEEFE GROUP, ) ) Defendants, )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

On December 18, 2020. Plaintiff Luis S. Salinas filed this lawsuit against Defendants TKC Holdings and Keefe Group asserting several claims based on employment discrimination. On March 1, 2021, TKC Holdings and Keefe Group filed a motion to dismiss Salinas’ claims for color and gender discrimination and for a failure to rehire. Defendants assert that Salinas failed to administratively exhaust these claims in his Charge of Discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Salinas’ response to the motion was due on March 15, 2021. Salinas did not file a response to Defendants’ motion. On March 22, 2021, I issued a show cause order directing Salinas to file a response to Defendants’ motion no later than March 31, 2021. As of today’s date, Salinas has not filed a response to my show cause order. Salinas failed to raise his claims for color and gender discrimination and for a failure to rehire in his Charge of Discrimination filed with the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission. He asserts these claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (Title VII) and under the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. (ADA). Both of these statutes

require a plaintiff to exhaust his administrative remedies regarding employment discrimination claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before filing a lawsuit in federal court. See Tyler v. Univ. of Arkansas Bd. of Trustees, 628 F.3d 980, 989 (8th Cir. 2011) (Title VII) and Moses v. Dassault Falcon Jet-

Wilmington Corp., 894 F.3d 911, 919 (8th Cir. 2018) (ADA). Salinas failed to raise these claims in his charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As a result, I will grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss these claims

for Salinas’ failure to exhaust his administrative remedies. In their motion to dismiss Defendants also requested that I order Salinas to file an amended complaint if I granted the motion to dismiss. That is not necessary. Defendants can file an answer based on Salinas’ original complaint.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff Luis S. Salinas’s claims for color and gender discrimination and for a failure to

2 rehire [14] is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants’ motion for an order directing Salinas to file an amended complaint [14] is DENIED. Defendants shall file an answer to the complaint no later than May 7, 2021.

RODNEY W. STOREL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Dated this 26th day of April, 2021.