Gillman v. Okaloosa County Florida
Gillman v. Okaloosa County Florida
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
After sustaining an on-the-job-injury and being terminated from her employment, Plaintiff Monica Gillman brought suit against her former employer, Okaloo-sa County, Florida (“County”), alleging interference with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), see 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., as well as retaliation for exercising her FMLA and state law workers’ compensation rights, see Fla. Stat. § 440.205. Pending before the Court is the County’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 33). Having fully considered the arguments of the parties and the record, the Court finds that the motion is due to be granted.
BACKGROUND
The facts as set forth below are largely
On April 2, 2011, Gillman sustained an on-the-job injury when her right hand became lodged in a hydraulic door. Gillman was transported to the hospital, where she was treated for a crush injury to her right thumb. As a result of her injury, Gillman was unable to perform many of the basic functions of her job, including tasks that required hand and finger manipulation. The day after her injury, Gillman was medically cleared to work only “light duty” with limited use of her right hand. Gill-man’s workers’ compensation medical treatment report dated April 6, 2011, stated she was restricted to “no lifting, pushing or pulling with right hand until cleared by orthopedics.” (Doe. 36-6, at 3). Gill-man was placed on workers’ compensation and concurrent FMLA leave. Gillman remained on leave until May 4,,2011, when she returned to work full time.
The term “light duty” is used by Gillman to refer to “an employee [who] is working at less than full capacity.” (Doc. 39, at 1.) The County presented evidence through several employees that it does not have, and never has had, a “light duty” policy for its employees, nor does it have a “light duty” correctional officer position. Instead, light duty may be permitted on a case-by-case basis when possible operationally, based on whether it is available given the demands and requirements of individual departments and whether the officer is capable of performing the duties in light of the medical restrictions. The record indicates that “there is a practice of providing light duty when and where possible operationally” (doc. 34-5, at 3), but not a policy requiring it. Lawson said a correctional officer might be assigned office work as light duty where a position was vacant. Thus, the County has from time to time employed correctional officers in capacities that are less physically demanding than the standard correctional officer position, but not all employees who request light duty work are granted the request, and no official policy requires it. Also, under the County’s Leave Policy,
By February 20, 2012, Gillman had used approximately 180 days of continuous FMLA leave, and citing its Leave Policy, the County terminated Gillman’s employment at its earliest opportunity under the Policy.
In September 2012, approximately seven months after her termination, Gillman reapplied for her original position as Correctional Officer I with Okaloosa County. In October 2012, Gillman received a doctor’s note clearing her for full duty work and provided the note to the County. This was the first time she had been cleared to work full time since August 2011. On November 16, 2012, the County extended Gillman an offer of employment for a correctional officer position (“Correctional Officer I”). This was the same correctional officer position Gillman had held prior to her injury, but it was at the entry level, which was at a lower rate of pay than what Gillman had earned on the date she was terminated. Although the record is unclear as to whether Gillman initially accepted the County’s offer, the evidence is undisputed that she eventually turned down the opportunity and accepted an offer with Walton County instead.
Gillman then filed suit, alleging the County interfered with her FMLA rights and retaliated against her, in violation of FMLA and workers’ compensation rights by not permitting her to work a light duty position intermittently, so she would not have exhausted her FMLA leave. The County moves for summary judgment.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate when “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “The moving party bears the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion and of identifying those materials that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Rice-Lamar v. City of Ft. Lauderdale, 232 F.3d 836, 840 (11th Cir. 2000) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477
All the evidence and factual inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Once a party demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings through the use of affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, and designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Plaintiffs evidence must be significantly probative to support the claims. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A mere scintilla of evidence in support of the nonmoving party’s position will not suffice to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact. Walker v. Darby, 911 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir. 1990). Moreover, “the nonmoving party cannot create a genuine issue of material fact through speculation, conjecture, or evidence that is ‘merely colorable’ or ‘not significantly probative.’ ” Vega v. Invsco Group, Ltd., 432 Fed.Appx. 867, 869-70 (11th Cir. 2011) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505).
DISCUSSION
“The FMLA grants an eligible employee the right to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave annually for any one or more of several reasons, including because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee.” Hurley v. Kent of Naples, Inc., 746 F.3d 1161, 1166 (11th Cir. 2014) (internal marks omitted). If an employer interferes with, restrains, or denies the exercise, or attempted exercise, of FMLA rights, the employee may bring a private civil action for damages or equitable relief. See Hurlbert v. St. Mary’s Health Care Sys., Inc., 439 F.3d 1286, 1293 (11th Cir. 2006) (citing 29 U.S.C. §§ 2615(a)(1) & 2617(a)). The Eleventh Circuit has explained that § 2615(a) includes two types of FMLA claims: (1) “interference claims, in which an employee asserts that his employer denied or otherwise interfered with his substantive rights under the Act,” and (2) “retaliation claims, in which an employee asserts that his employer discriminated against him because he engaged in activity protected by the Act.” Id. (internal marks omitted). An interference claim requires “proof by a preponderance of the evidence that [the employee] was entitled to the benefit denied.” Id. (internal marks omitted); see also Jarvela v. Crete Carrier Corp., 754 F.3d 1283, 1289 (11th Cir. 2014). “[T]he employer’s motives are irrelevant” to an interference claim. Martin v. Brevard Cnty. Pub. Schs., 543 F.3d 1261, 1267 (11th Cir. 2008) (internal marks omitted).
The County argues it is entitled to summary judgment on the FMLA interference claim because Gillman cannot demonstrate that she was denied a benefit to which she was entitled under the FMLA. The Court agrees. There is no dispute that Gillman was an eligible employee and no dispute that she in fact exercised all of her substantive FMLA leave rights without interference prior to her termination. There is also no dispute that Gillman was not medically cleared to return to full-time work in her original position until several months after she had exhausted her FMLA leave and been terminated. Gill-man alleges interference with her FMLA
There is no evidence that the County had full-time light duty work available at the time Gillman requested light duty, and more importantly, an employer does not have an obligation under FMLA to place an employee in a different position. See Diaz v. Transatlantic Bank, 367 Fed.Appx. 93, 96 (11th Cir. 2010); see also 29 C.F.R. § 825.216(c) (“If the employee is unable to perform an essential function of the position because of a physical or mental condition, including the continuation of a serious health condition or an injury or illness also covered by workers’ compensation, the employee has no right to restoration to another position under the FMLA.”). Gillman relies on Verhoff v. Time Warner Cable Inc., in which the court determined the employer had interfered with FMLA rights by not offering intermittent leave. See Verhoff v. Time Warner Cable Inc., 478 F.Supp.2d 933, 941 (N.D.Ohio 2006) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 2612(b)(1)) (finding “[a]n eligible employee is entitled to block leave, but [s]he is also entitled to intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule if medically necessary”). The facts of Verhoff, however, are distinguishable from this case. There, the plaintiff was medically capable of performing all of his regular job duties, he was merely restricted to a forty hour work week with no overtime, and thus, under the FMLA, he was entitled to the benefit of intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule. Here, by contrast, Gillman was not entitled to the benefit of intermittent leave because she could not perform her job. See Hatchett v. Philander Smith Coll., 251 F.3d 670, 677 (8th Cir. 2001) (stating individuals who are unable to perform their jobs are not entitled to intermittent leave). Under the FMLA, an employee only has the right to be restored to the same or an equivalent position, and the employer has no duty to create another position for her. See Jarvela, 754 F.3d at 1289; see also Silva v. City of Hidalgo, Tx., 575 Fed.Appx. 419, 424-25 (5th Cir. 2014) (stating if an employee could not perform the essential functions of her job, she had no right to return to work and be given a transfer to a light duty position); James v. Hyatt Regency Chicago, 2011 WL 6156825, at *6 n. 12 (N.D.Ill. 2011) (“[T]he FMLA does not require an employer to restore an employee to a position different from the one that he held before taking FMLA leave.”). Thus, Gillman had the benefit of FMLA leave because she could not return to her position,
The County also seeks summary judgment on Gillman’s FMLA retaliation claim. Gillman alleged she suffered FMLA retaliation when the County refused to give her light duty work and argues it terminated her employment after she exercised her FMLA rights. Because the record contains no direct evidence of a
There is no dispute that Gillman engaged in the statutorily protected activity of taking FMLA leave, and the Court will assume for purposes of summary judgment that she suffered an adverse employment action by the County’s failure to give her light duty or its decision to terminate her. Also, the causal connection is sufficiently demonstrated by the temporal proximity between Gillman’s use of FMLA leave and both the denial of her request for light duty work and her termination. See Schaaf v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 602 F.3d 1236, 1243 (11th Cir. 2010) (stating causation can be reasonably inferred from close temporal proximity between the protected action and the adverse employment action). Therefore, the Court will assume Gillman is able to show a prima facie case of FMLA retaliation. The burden then shifted to the County to demonstrate a legitimate nonretaliatory explanation for the adverse action. As to Gillman’s termination, the County asserts Gillman was properly terminated pursuant to its ordinary policy after she had used all FMLA leave to which she was entitled and still was physically unable to return to work. The County did not deviate from that undisputed policy here, which undercuts any suggestion that the termination was based on retaliatory animus toward Gillman. See Silva, 575 Fed.Appx. at 425-26. Gillman has shown no pretext in the reason for her termination.
Gillman’s claim of FMLA retaliation based on the refusal to place her on light duty status also fails. The County offered the legitimate explanation that it has no policy allowing light duty, no designated light duty job for a correctional officer, and no light duty job was available when Gillman requested it. While some duties a correctional officer performs are considered light, the decision to allow this type of work is fact specific, depending on
Gillman attempts to show pretext by referencing three comparators who were given light duty and had not used FMLA leave — a pregnant employee,
For similar reasons, Gillman’s claim of workers compensation retaliation under Florida law also fails. See Fla. Stat. § 440.205 (“No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any employee by reason of such employee’s valid claim for compensation or attempt to claim compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Law.”). Using the same framework of analysis as set forth above,
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1. Defendant Okaloosa County’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 33) is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to enter final summary judgment in favor of Defendant and against Plaintiff.
2. Defendant’s Motion for Leave to File A Reply (Doc. 40) is DENIED as moot.
3. Defendant’s Motion To Strike Plaintiffs Summary Judgment Affidavits (Doc. 42) is DENIED as moot, because even considering the affidavits does not change the Court’s decision.
4. Defendant’s Motion to Demand Return and to Strike Privileged and Inadvertently Produced Documents (doc. 41) is DENIED in part as to the motion to strike, because even considering the documents, the Court’s decision does not change, and GRANTED in part as to the request to return documents. Plaintiff shall return the documents at issue within five (5) days of the date of this Order.
5.The Clerk is directed to tax costs against the Plaintiff, and close the file.
. While the facts set forth in this order are largely undisputed, the inferences that may be drawn from those facts are disputed and must be drawn in favor of the Plaintiff for purposes of this motion.
. There is no indication in the record that she attempted to return to work prior to that time or requested light duty.
. Gillman was notified of her termination by a telephone call from Lawson, and she also received a termination letter dated February 23, 2012.
. In her affidavit, Gillman claims she was never offered a leave of absence. For purposes of summary judgment, the Court assumes. this fact as true. The Court notes, however, that Lieutenant Robert Boutwell, Gillman's direct supervisor, testified that he spoke with Gillman about taking a leave of absence and said she could have requested one. As to whether Gillman would have been granted a leave of absence had she requested one, the only evidence before the Court is that the County had previously granted a leave of absence to another injured employee, which suggests that this may have been an option for Gillman had she made such a request. See Doc. 34-7, at 4.
. Also, at the time of her termination, Gillman had been scheduled for another surgery and placed on no-duty status, so she was not able to return to her job at that time either.
. The pregnant employee referenced in this lawsuit is Kimberly Boddy. In her deposition, Ms. Boddy testified that she was not assigned to what is described as "light duty” work. Rather, she was given work that was designed "to protect [herjself and [her] child,” including assignments in towers or central control. Doc. 34-3, at 2. According to Boddy, her work assignment was not "light duty” because she "could have done everything [she] should have done” as a correctional officer if called upon to do so, including fighting inmates. Doc. 34-3, at 2. Moreover, while Gillman testified that she knew of an additional pregnant officer who was assigned .to a tower position, she failed to provide any information regarding that officer. See Doc. 36-59, Dep. of Monica Gillman, at 19.
. When analyzing a claim of workers’ compensation retaliation under Florida law, the Court applies the same framework of analysis as is applicable under the FMLA or Title VII. See Coker v. Morris, 2008 WL 2856699, No. 3:07cv151, at 6 (N.D.Fla. July 22, 2008) (unreported) ("[A plaintiff's] workers’ compensation retaliation claim is analyzed under the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Monica GILLMAN v. OKALOOSA COUNTY FLORIDA
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- Published