Hawkins

Plaintiff Leroy Hawkins, Jr., appeals from a judgment dismissing his first amended complaint for racial harassment and/or discrimination and breach of contract, after the trial court sustained without leave to amend the demurrer of defendant Pacific Coast Building Products, Inc. (Pacific Coast). Hawkins contends the court erred in determining his first amended complaint was time-barred.

Because we agree that, as to the noncontract causes of action only, the filing of Hawkins’s first amended complaint related back to the date his original complaint was filed, we shall reverse the judgment of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In January 2001, Hawkins filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), asserting he had been unlawfully laid off from his job in September 2000 by his employer, Basalite Corporation, in retaliation for having complained about racial harassment in the workplace. He listed his employer’s address as 11888 Linne Road, Tracy, California. The DFEH sent a notice of Hawkins’s complaint to Basalite Corporation.

DFEH issued a right-to-sue letter on December 27, 2001, informing…