Thomas

1. Introduction

Carla A. Thomas (Thomas), an African-American woman, began working at the California Department of Corrections (Department) as a corrections *509 officer in 1987. She alleges that beginning in 1989 she was subjected to racial and gender discrimination and to retaliation for her reports of such discrimination, all in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.

She appeals from the trial court judgment sustaining the Department’s demurrer to her first amended complaint without leave to amend. She contends that her first amended complaint sufficiently alleged that the Department was guilty of adverse employment actions in retaliation for her charges of discrimination, and, in any event, the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer without leave to amend.

We affirm the judgment because we conclude that Thomas failed to exhaust her administrative remedies and because the proposed second amended complaint failed to state a cause of action.

2. Facts

Thomas began work for the Department in March 1987. She began to complain about racial and sexual discrimination in 1989. In May 1993 Thomas filed a complaint with the Equal Employment…