Ron Reynolds v. City & County of San Francisco

MEMORANDUM

This case arises from allegations by Plaintiff-Appellant Ron Reynolds that members of the San Francisco Police Department Sex Crimes Unit, where Reynolds previously served as an Inspector and Sergeant, discriminated against him on account of his identity as a straight male. We must decide whether the district court properly disposed of Reynolds’s claims by granting several of Defendants’ pre-trial motions. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

I

Reynolds appeals the district court’s dismissal of his three retaliation claims, raised under California Labor Code § 1102.5, subsections (a), (b), and (c). The district court concluded that because Reynolds never filed a claim with the Labor Commissioner — a procedure outlined in California Labor Code § 98.7 — he failed to exhaust required administrative remedies. Reynolds argues on appeal that this was error because exhaustion under California Labor Code § 98.7 is not required.

Prior to January 1, 2014, Reynolds faced an uphill battle. California Courts of Appeal (and consequently federal district courts) were split on whether, prior to filing a claim under §…