Facts

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC (Ritz-Carlton) operated a hotel in Los Angeles, California. Manuel Guevara worked as a bell stand attendant for Ritz-Carlton from June 4, 2012, to March 5, 2021. Beginning in 2020, Ritz-Carlton adopted a "COVID-19 Policy" to prevent the spread of COVID-19. On December 17, 2021, Guevara, proceeding pro se, brought suit against the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Guevara later filed the operative Second Amended Complaint with two causes of action under the ADA for disability discrimination and retaliation. On March 28, 2022, Guevara filed a discrimination claim against Ritz-Carlton with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged that defendant by way of its COVID-19 policy, regarded all employees as disabled with a contagious disease and an impaired immune system and imposed accommodations on its employees without considering individualized medical assessments of each employee. These alleged accommodations included mitigation measures developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevent and included requirements that employees wear masks, submit to temperature checks and medical examinations, disclose vital statistics, and practice isolation and segregation. Plaintiff maintained that defendant discriminated against him by requiring him to comply with its COVID-19 Policy and retaliated against him for not complying by terminating his employment. Finally, plaintiff argued that he exhausted his administrative remedies and that the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing would not have issued him a right to sue letter if his claims were untimely.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant moved to dismiss the claims on the grounds that plaintiff did not timely exhaust his administrative remedies and otherwise failed to allege the essential elements of his claims for relief. In particular, defendant maintained that plaintiff was required to file with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing by December 30, 2021, but that he did not file a claim with the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing until March 28, 2022.

Result

The court granted defendant's motion to dismiss.