Plaintiff Reginald Ruffin, a dietary aid at the facility, alleges that a female manager aggressively pulled his head into her genital area on March 26, 2023.
Ruffin reported the incident to human resources, which was corroborated by an assistant manager. Despite the complaint, the manager was returned to her position as kitchen manager two weeks later.
Following the incident, Ruffin was moved to second shift and his hours were reduced by more than fifteen hours per week. He alleged this constituted retaliation and disparate treatment based on his sex.
The defendants moved to dismiss the hostile work environment claim in Count III and the sex discrimination claim in Count IV, arguing both were duplicative of the sexual harassment claim in Count II.
The court granted the motion to dismiss Count III, noting that Ruffin did not oppose the dismissal of the hostile work environment claim as duplicative of the sexual harassment claim.
However, the court denied the motion to dismiss Count IV. The court held that Ruffin alleged distinct facts showing he suffered adverse employment actions—specifically the shift change and hour reduction—while the female manager who harassed him retained her position.
The court concluded that these allegations allowed for the reasonable inference that Ruffin was treated differently due to his sex, stating a distinct claim of sex discrimination separate from the sexual harassment claim.
The case remains pending on the retaliation, sexual harassment, and sex discrimination claims.