Opinion ID: 1420029
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Timeliness of Amended Complaint

Text: Employer first argues that the amended complaint filed September 9, 1993, which added Teague as a party in his personal capacity, was untimely filed. Employer maintains that, under HRS § 368-11(c), the statute of limitations expired four months prior to the filing of the amended complaint. We disagree. HRS § 368-11 (1993) sets forth the applicable statute of limitations period and provides in relevant part: (a).... Any individual claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful discriminatory practice may file with the commission's executive director a complaint in writing that shall state the name and address of the person or party alleged to have committed the unlawful discriminatory practice complained of, set forth the particulars thereof, and contain other information as may be required by the commission. The attorney general, or the commission upon its own initiative may, in like manner, make and file a complaint. .... (c) No complaint shall be filed after the expiration of one hundred eighty days after the date: (1) Upon which the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred; or (2) Of the last occurrence in a pattern of ongoing discriminatory practice. Based upon the plain language of HRS § 368-11, Shaw needed to file her complaint alleging unlawful discrimination within 180 days after either the occurrence of the alleged discriminatory practice or the last occurrence in a pattern of ongoing discriminatory practice. HAR § 12-46-6.1 (1992) specifically allows the amendment of a complaint to add new parties. [2] HAR § 12-46-6.1 provides in relevant part: (a) Prior to the commencement of proceedings before the hearings examiner, the executive director may permit the parties, including the Attorney General and executive director, to amend documents filed with the Commission, including a complaint or responsive statement. After commencement of proceedings, amendments may be granted by the hearings examiner. (b) An amendment may be made: (1) To cure technical defects or omissions; or (2) To clarify or amplify allegations, to add new causes of action or defenses, or add new parties. (c) Amendments shall relate back to the original filing date of the document. (Emphases added.) The Commission adopted HAR § 12-46-6.1 as an administrative rule pursuant to HRS § 368-3(9) (1993), which authorizes the Commission to adopt rules. [3] Based on the language of HAR § 12-46-6.1, Shaw, the attorney general, or the executive director of the Commission could have amended the complaint in this case to add a new party. This amendment would have related back to the original filing date of the complaint. In this case, Shaw filed the original complaint against Employer on December 17, 1992, after her offer to return to work was rejected. Employer rejected Shaw's offer to return to work on October 26, 1992, at which time Employer informed Shaw that a permanent replacement for her had been hired. Because this complaint was filed within 180 days of Employer's refusal to reinstate Shaw to her original position, the original complaint was timely filed. [4] Employer argues that the hearing officer's decision to allow the amendment of the complaint was arbitrary. Although HAR § 12-46-6.1 does not specifically require a reason in order to amend a complaint, the Commission added Teague to the complaint as an individual when it was discovered that Teague was the individual responsible for the alleged discriminatory conduct. The Commission noted that there may have been some confusion in this case because the business was called Sam Teague, Inc., d.b.a. Page Hawai`i. Because HRS § 378-1 (1993) defines employer to include agents of persons having one or more employees, [5] the Commission added Teague when it discovered that Teague was an agent of Employer and the individual committing the alleged discriminatory conduct. Therefore, we hold, under HRS § 368-11(c) and HAR § 12-46-6.1, that the amendment of the complaint in this case did not violate the statute of limitations.