Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Advanced Home Care, Inc.
Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Advanced Home Care, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") brings this lawsuit against Advanced Home Care Inc. ("Advanced") alleging violations of the Americans *674with Disabilities Act of 1990,
I. BACKGROUND
Viewed in the light most favorable to the EEOC as the non-moving party, the operative facts are as follows:
Advanced offers in-home health care services to patients. (See Doc. 1 ¶ 12.) On February 3, 2014, Advanced hired Pennell to serve as a Patient Accounts Representative at its High Point location. (Id. ) The main function of Pennell's job was to manage cases for patients who required at home health care services. (See
During the spring of 2015, Pennell began to experience frequent asthma attacks and flare ups of bronchitis. (Id. ¶ 13.) That August, she collapsed at work, was hospitalized, and subsequently was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"). (Id. ¶ 14.) As a result of these conditions, Pennell has difficulty talking continuously for extended periods of time. (Id. ¶ 15.) Her conditions are aggravated by scents and odors of the sort that she was regularly exposed to when working in a cubicle at Advanced along with hundreds of other employees. (Id. ¶ 16.)
Following her diagnosis, Pennell was out of work under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
In November of 2015, Pennell was again hospitalized with COPD-related symptoms. (Id. ¶ 20.) On November 11, 2015, she went on leave again. (Id. ) In December, while still on leave, she received a performance review from her supervisor that stated she had met Advanced's performance expectations. (Id. ¶ 23.) Pennell's direct supervisor told her on more than one occasion, however, that if she could not return to work without restrictions on January 7, 2016, when her FMLA leave ended, she would be terminated. (Id. ¶ 21.) Pennell exhausted all twelve weeks of her leave but could not return to work, and she was fired on January 8, 2016. (Id. ¶¶ 20-21, 25.)
Shortly after her termination, Pennell filed an EEOC complaint against Advanced, alleging violations of the ADA. (Id. ¶ 7.) The EEOC issued Advanced a letter stating that there was reasonable cause to believe that the ADA had been violated and inviting Advance to engage in conciliation. (Id. ¶ 8.) When that failed, the EEOC filed the present action.
II. ANALYSIS
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) provides that a complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), "a complaint must contain *675sufficient factual matter ... to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
A. Failure to Accommodate
The ADA provides a cause of action to a qualified individual with a disability whose employer fails to make a reasonable accommodation to a known physical or mental limitation unless the employer can demonstrate that the requested accommodation would impose an undue hardship.
Advanced argues that the EEOC has failed to allege sufficient facts to support the claim that Pennell is a qualified individual. (Doc. 7 at 4-7.) Specifically, Advanced contends that the complaint fails to allege facts to demonstrate the essential function of Pennell's position or that Pennell could have performed it with a reasonable accommodation. (Id. at 4-9 (citing Cabrera Mejia v. Walmart, No. 1:14CV237,
The EEOC argues that while it need not allege the essential function of Pennell's position in order to survive a motion to dismiss, it has done so. (Doc. 8 at 7.) Specifically, it contends, the complaint alleges that in her job "Pennell served as a case manager for patients requiring home services. As a case manager, Pennell was required to spend part of her day on telephone calls." (Doc. 1 ¶ 12.) Thus, the EEOC argues, the essential function of Pennell's position was to manage cases for patients who require home health services. (Doc. 8 at 7-9 (citing Calloway v. Durham Cnty. Pub. Sch. Bd. Of Educ., No. 15-cv-178,
The EEOC is correct. In each of the cases Advanced cites, no information was alleged as to the essential function of the plaintiffs' jobs. While the duties of Pennell's position are not described in depth-the complaint only states that she is a case manager and that she spends part of her time on the phone, they are sufficiently alleged, particularly as to the need for accommodation. Calloway. 2016, WL 634878, at *9. The EEOC has also alleged sufficient detail about the requested accommodation and how Pennell could have performed the essential functions of her position. The EEOC's complaint makes clear that Pennell requested the accommodation of telework (part-time or full-time), that some of her work required her to be on the telephone, and that she could perform the essential function of her position with the requested accommodation. This is sufficient factual detail for the court to draw the reasonable inference that Pennell could have performed the essential function of her position with the requested accommodation. Iqbal,
B. Wrongful Termination
To state a claim for wrongful discharge under the ADA, a plaintiff must allege facts making plausible that: (1) she was a qualified employee with a disability; (2) she was discharged; (3) she was fulfilling her employer's legitimate expectations at the time of discharge; and (4) the circumstances of her discharge raise a reasonable inference of unlawful discrimination. Reynolds v. Am. Nat'l Red Cross,
Advanced argues that Pennell was not fulfilling its legitimate expectations because she was not working at the time of her discharge. (Doc. 7 at 10.) In support, it points to the following language from the complaint: "On January 8, 2016, [Advanced] terminated Pennell's employment because Pennell was unable to return to work after exhausting her FMLA leave." (Id. (citing Doc. 1 ¶ 25).) It also argues that, like Mejia, nothing in the complaint suggests that it discharged Pennell because of a disability and that as a result, the claim should be dismissed. (Id. at 10-11 (citing Mejia,
The EEOC argues that, unlike Mejia and Adams, the complaint alleges facts that directly link Advanced's failure to accommodate Pennell to her discharge. (Doc. 8 at 15-16.) Specifically, Pennell's supervisor repeatedly told her that she would be terminated when her FLMA leave ended if she could not return to work without restrictions. (Id. at 14 (citing Doc. 1 ¶ 21).) The EEOC cites as analogous Mesi v. Hoskin & Muir, Incorporated, No. 16-00630 BMK,
Again, the EEOC is correct. Its complaint states a wrongful discharge claim sufficiently to survive the motion to dismiss. It alleges that Pennell had received a satisfactory performance review, was discharged, had requested accommodations on several occasions before her discharge but received no meaningful response, and was discharged upon the expiration of her FMLA leave under circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference it was because of her disability.
The motion to dismiss will therefore be denied.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated,
IT IS ORDERED that Advanced's motion to dismiss (Doc. 6) is DENIED.
Advanced also cites Rubino v. New Acton Mobile Indus., LLC,
It is not clear that Advanced disputes this conclusion. While Advanced's memorandum accompanying its motion to dismiss noted that the complaint did not allege facts to show that "telework as an accommodation would not create or constitute an undue hardship (i.e. that it was in fact reasonable)," its reply brief notes that that "the EEOC does bear the burden of pleading facts supporting that the alleged accommodation is reasonable/plausible," without mention of undue burden. (Doc. 7 at 9; Doc. 9 at 6.)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION v. ADVANCED HOME CARE, INC.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published