Manuel Ledesma sued the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, raising claims of race discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, and age discrimination. Defendant moved to dismiss plaintiff’s claims under Rule 12(b)(6).
Factual Overview
Manuel Ledesma, a Hispanic American born in 1967, began working for the defendant as a Meter Reader in 2002 and was promoted to Supervisor of the Water Operations/Water Meters department in 2017. Ledesma applied for various higher positions between 2018 and 2023 but was not selected. Instead, the defendant hired Caucasian individuals for these positions. In April 2023, Ledesma applied for early retirement. He filed a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC on July 20, 2023, and subsequently filed this lawsuit on June 12, 2024.
Legal Analysis
Retaliation Claim: The court found that Ledesma failed to state a prima facie case of retaliation. Ledesma did not allege that he engaged in any protected activity, as merely applying for retirement does not constitute opposition to discrimination. Additionally, the alleged retaliatory acts did not rise to the level of adverse employment actions required to state a retaliation claim.
Hostile Work Environment: The court determined that Ledesma’s allegations were insufficient to state a claim for hostile work environment. He did not allege a workplace permeated with discriminatory conduct, nor did he allege that any harassment was racially motivated or severe or pervasive enough to alter the terms of his employment.
Statute of Limitations: The court ruled that Ledesma’s Section 1981 claims for failure to promote in 2018, 2019, and April 2020 were barred by the four-year statute of limitations. The court rejected the application of the continuing violation doctrine, finding that each instance of failure to promote was a discrete act of discrimination.
Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies: The court dismissed Ledesma’s ADEA claims for failure to promote in 2018, 2019, and April 2020 due to failure to timely exhaust administrative remedies. These claims fell outside the 300-day window for filing an EEOC charge.
The court granted the defendant’s partial motion to dismiss, dismissing all claims except those for failure to promote in February 2023 under Section 1981 and the ADEA.
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