Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, RETALIATION—W.D. Ky.: Worker, allegedly texted nudes by company’s owner, failed to exhaust retaliation claim, (Apr 23, 2025)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

When she declined his “romantic advances,” he allegedly said, “I am going to replace you with a younger model.”

A former employee of Roller Die and Forming Company, Inc., allegedly texted nude photos by the company’s owner and then injured from interactions with his sister, the office manager, failed to exhaust her ADA retaliation claim before the EEOC, a federal district court found. She alleged that she was afraid to report harassment based on her disability—high blood pressure, PTSD, and GAD—to the owner’s sister and to the company’s HR representative, who was the owner’s “best friend,” but the former employee’s EEOC charge alleged discrimination based on her age, disability, and sex, and she “has not ‘explicitly filed’ an EEOC charge alleging retaliation,” the court found (Havill v. Roller Die and Forming Co., Inc., No. 3:24-CV-00119-GNS (W.D. Ky. Apr. 21, 2025)).

Unsolicited texts and “younger model” comment. The plaintiff, according to the court, began employment with Roller Die and Forming Company, Inc., on January 21, 2019, and the owner of the company was her supervisor.

She alleged that he regularly texted her unsolicited nude photos and made inappropriate comments to her. And when she denied these romantic advances, he allegedly told her, “I am going to replace you with a younger model.”

Interactions with owner’s sister. The former employee also alleged that the office manager for Roller Die and sister to the owner publicly berated and abused her at the owner’s direction. The former employee allegedly suffered physical injuries as a result of these interactions that required medical treatment for conditions later diagnosed as high blood pressure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Return to office. The former employee was approved to work remotely from spring 2020 until October 2022, at which point the owner requested that she return to work in-office.

Conversation with HR representative. She spoke to the HR representative, expressing concerns about working with both the owner and his sister. The HR representative promised to discuss her concerns with the owner after the employee brought the matter to his attention.

She also alleged that she requested accommodations under the ADA after her diagnosis, but that Roller Die declined to provide the accommodations.

Discharge and other alleged injuries. On February 10, 2023, Roller Die terminated her employment. She asserted that she suffered physical injuries as a result of these interactions that required medical treatment for conditions later diagnosed as high blood pressure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Lawsuit and present motion. She sued in federal district court, alleging various claims related to her termination. The court dismissed several of her claims, but her claims for retaliation under the under ADA, negligence, and unsafe work environment remained, and Roller Die moved to dismiss her retaliation claim.

ADA retaliation and exhaustion. The court found that she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with respect to the retaliation claim because she never “explicitly filed” an EEOC charge alleging retaliation, nor plausibly alleged a retaliation claim consisting of more than conclusory allegations. In fact, according to the court, the allegations in her EEOC charge seemed to contradict her complaint because the EEOC charge stated that she was afraid to file a report because of relationships between the owner and others at the company. The complaint, on the other hand, alleged that she was harassed further as a result of her complaint of a “hostile work environment.” In short, because she did not exhaust her administrative remedies regarding a retaliation claim, the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over one.

The case is No. 3:24-CV-00119-GNS.

Judge: Stivers, G.

Attorneys: William Edward Skees (Law Offices of William Edward Skees) for Amanda Havill. Ayala Golding (Tilford Dobbins & Schmidt) for Roller Die and Forming Co., Inc.

Companies: Roller Die and Forming Co., Inc.

Cases: Retaliation Procedure Discharge Discrimination DisabilityDiscrimination SexualHarassment KentuckyNews