Kuigoua v. Department of Veteran Affairs, 101 Cal. App. 5th 499 (2024)

Arno Kuigoua, who worked as a registered nurse for the Department of Veteran Affairs, alleged in the complaint he filed with the EEOC and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (the “DFEH”) that he was discriminated against on the basis of his sex (male). He also alleged retaliation for reporting the discrimination. The DFEH found no evidence that Kuigoua had suffered any discrimination on the basis of his gender or of any illegal retaliation and gave him a right-to-sue notice. In his subsequently filed civil suit, Kuigoua alleged he was the victim of harassment and discrimination based upon his gender, sex and/or sexual orientation as well as his race, color and/or national origin. The Department successfully moved for summary judgment on the ground that Kuigoua had failed to properly exhaust administrative remedies in that he asserted claims in his civil suit that were not identified in the DFEH complaint. The Court of Appeal affirmed dismissal because by “changing the facts [Kuigoua] denied the agency the opportunity to investigate the supposed wrongs [he] made the focus of his judicial suit.”