Regacho v. Potter
Regacho v. Potter
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Rodolfo Regacho appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the
We review de novo whether a plaintiff has exhausted required administrative remedies. Josephs v. Pacific Bell, 443 F.3d 1050, 1061 (9th Cir. 2006). Under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1), federal employees must initiate contact with an EEO counsel- or within forty-five days of the alleged discriminatory conduct before filing a civil action. “Failure to comply with this regulation is ‘fatal to a federal employee’s discrimination claim.’ ” Cherosky v. Henderson, 330 F.3d 1243, 1245 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting Lyons v. England, 307 F.3d 1092, 1105 (9th Cir. 2002)). Regacho first complained to the EEO counselor on August 17, 1999 regarding USPS’s failure to train him and to accommodate him. Thus, Regacho lost the ability to complain about discrimination that occurred prior to July 4, 1999.
A review of the record indicates that by June 28, 1999, the date on which he received USPS’s June 24, 1999 letter, Regacho knew or should have known that USPS had concluded the interactive process and had determined that: (1) Regacho could not perform his present position, even with accommodation; (2) no available, vacant positions existed to which Regacho could be reassigned; and (3) Regacho could not receive training for the Huffman position because of his medical restrictions.
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Cir. R. 36-3.
. Because Regacho had been so informed, we reject his arguments that the time period to consult with the EEO counselor should be equitably tolled or that USPS should be es-topped from asserting the time limitations.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.