Saini v. Hospital Care Consultants

── Saini v. Hospital Care Consultants ── Case No.: 24-2162 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 06, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 24-2162 Document: 25 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 6, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court VINAY SAINI, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. No. 24-2162 (D.C. No. 2:24-CV-00113-MV-GBW) HOSPITAL CARE CONSULTANTS, (D. N.M.) Defendant - Appellee. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before BACHARACH, CARSON, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Plaintiff Vinay Saini is a physician who filed claims against his former employer, Hospital Care Consultants (“HCC”), for discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and numerous state law causes of action. HCC moved to dismiss the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court granted the motion and denied Dr. Saini’s motion to amend. Dr. Saini filed a timely appeal. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined * unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.  Appellate Case: 24-2162 Document: 25 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 2 I. Background Dr. Saini, a native of India, was employed by HCC in 2018 at the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, New Mexico. Between January 2018 and May 2018, Dr. Saini complained to HCC’s director of operations about his pay and working conditions. He alleges that in response, the director made “multiple adverse comments,” including referring to him as “the complaining Indian doctor” and stating that “[p]erhaps in your culture and where you come from it is OK to act without consideration or compassion.” R. at 8 (internal quotation marks omitted). On October 5, 2018, HCC terminated Dr. Saini’s employment in a letter that stated he “had materially breached his employment contract.” Id. at 9. His clinical privileges at Gila Regional Medical Center automatically ended upon his termination from HCC. Although New Mexico regulations required Dr. Saini to report his termination to the New Mexico Medical Board (“NMMB”), he failed to do so. As a result, the NMMB “publicly reprimanded” him for his failure to report his termination. Id. at 10. In July 2019, Dr. Saini filed a complaint with the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”), contending HCC improperly withheld his final paycheck. In May 2022, the DOL issued a decision finding HCC owed him back wages. Five months later, the DOL disclosed its investigative files to Dr. Saini, and he discovered that on December 3, 2019, HCC had sent the DOL a letter stating HCC terminated his employment for reasons related to patient c