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Hughs v. Valley State Bank12/10/1999
Appeal from Hamilton District Court; THOMAS F. RICHARDSON, judge.
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
Valley State Bank (VSB), Tim Kohart, and Kevin White, defendants, appeal from the district court decision dismissing without prejudice plaintiff Brook Hughs' retaliation action against them under the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (KAAD), K.S.A. 44-1001 et seq. The Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has filed a brief as amicus curiae.
Plaintiff Brook Hughs was employed by defendant VSB between 1981 and 1994. In early 1994, Hughs filed a complaint with the KHRC alleging sex discrimination by her supervisor, defendant Kevin White. Because the complaint was untimely under state law, it was not docketed by the KHRC. However, the KHRC forwarded the complaint to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which docketed the case in its agency.
In April 1994, VSB suspended Hughs' employment, and she was ultimately terminated in May 1994. On April 19, 1994, Hughs filed a charge with the EEOC, contending VSB had retaliated against her for filing the prior complaint. These allegations were set forth in an EEOC Form 5 which indicated Hughs wanted the charge filed with both the EEOC and the KHRC. The only employer identified anywhere in the complaint was VSB.
The EEOC forwarded a copy of Hughs' retaliation charge to the KHRC. The KHRC sent a letter to Hughs advising her to contact the KHRC if she wished to file a state complaint. Hughs contends she never received this letter. Because Hughs did not respond, the KHRC did not formally docket her retaliation complaint in its records.
During this time, there existed a worksharing agreement between the KHRC and the EEOC. There were also related contracts between the two agencies governing federal funding to the KHRC for investigating charges filed under the dual system.
In September 1994, the EEOC issued right to sue letters to Hughs on both the original and the retaliation charge. Hughs thereafter filed a civil action in federal district court alleging the defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ยง 2000e (1994) et seq., and the KAAD.
During the federal case, the court ordered the KHRC to produce its records of Hughs' complaints. In response, the KHRC advised the federal court that no complaint from Hughs had ever been docketed with the agency. Defendants later moved to dismiss the federal suit, citing failure to exhaust administrative remedies and lack of federal court jurisdiction. In support of the latter argument it was asserted that VSB did not employ enough individuals to fall within the provisions of Title VII. The case was dismissed by the federal court based on defendants' uncontested motion. A week later, another order was issued by the federal court, dismissing the case without prejudice.
Hughs filed the present action in Hamilton County District Court shortly after the dismissal of the federal suit. The sole claim was that Hughs' termination was contrary to Kansas public policy. The defendants answered, asserting various affirmative defenses, including failure to exhaust administrative remedies. In her first amended petition, Hughs added a claim of retaliation under the KAAD. Neither complaint alleged Hughs exhausted any administrative remedies.
After discovery, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that plaintiff's only claim for relief was under the KAAD and that she failed to timely file a complaint with the KHRC. Because it was now too late to file such a charge, the defendants claimed they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In her response, H
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