Menoken v. Lipnic
Menoken v. Lipnic
Opinion of the Court
Before the Court is Plaintiff's Rule 54(b) Motion for Reconsideration of the Court's March 6, 2018 Memorandum Opinion and Order dismissing, with prejudice, Plaintiff's claims under the Rehabilitation Act pursuant to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment. The Plaintiff, Cassandra M. Menoken, requests reinstatement of her Rehabilitation *241Act claims against her employer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
After careful review, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to provide justification to revisit her claims under the Rehabilitation Act and will deny the Motion for Reconsideration.
I. BACKGROUND
The facts were discussed in detail in the Court's March 6, 2018 Memorandum Opinion in this case and will only be repeated to the extent that they are relevant to the pending motion. See Menoken v. Lipnic ,
On February 6, 2013, Ms. Menoken filed a formal EEO complaint alleging a hostile and adverse work environment. See id. ¶ 27. She filed another EEO complaint on September 26, 2014, "asserting violations of the Rehabilitation Act after learning that EEOC had disregarded her right to medical privacy as well as her right not to be subjected to unwarranted medical inquiries." Id. ¶ 42. This second complaint alleged that "EEOC arranged for a stranger, not employed by the government, to repeatedly access and review medical information in Plaintiff's [Office of Workers' Compensation] file." Id. ¶ 43. An Administrative Judge dismissed both complaints. Id. ¶ 49.
On December 20, 2016, Ms. Menoken filed this action, which was later amended, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. , and the Rehabilitation Act (Rehab Act),
Ms. Menoken now moves under Rule 54(b) for the Court to reconsider its dismissal of her claims under the Rehab Act. Pl.'s Mot. for Recons. [Dkt. 17]. As grounds for her motion, Ms. Menoken states the following:
1. The Memorandum Opinion evinces a fundamental misapprehension of the operative facts and governing law supporting the legal sufficiency of Plaintiff's claims that Defendant unlawfully interfered with her efforts to exercise rights under the Rehabilitation Act and unlawfully failed to provide her a reasonable accommodation.
2. The Memorandum Opinion evinces a fundamental misapprehension of the operative facts and governing law supporting the legal sufficiency of Plaintiff's claims that Defendant violated the Rehabilitation Act when it allowed an unauthorized individual to access Plaintiff's Workers Compensation file to monitor medical information in that file.
3. Reinstatement of Plaintiff's Rehabilitation Act claims is appropriate and necessary to avoid a manifest injustice.
Id. at 1. Additionally, Ms. Menoken filed a memorandum in support of her motion. Mem. of P. & A. Supporting Pl.'s Mot. for Recons. (Mem.) [Dkt. 17-1]. EEOC opposed. Def.'s Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Recons. (Opp'n) [Dkt. 21]. Ms. Menoken replied. Reply to Def.'s Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Recons. (Reply) [Dkt. 22]. The motion is ripe for review.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) provides that "any order ... that adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties ... may be revised at any time before the entry of a judgment adjudicating all the claims and all the parties' rights and liabilities." Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). "The Court has broad discretion to hear a motion for reconsideration brought under Rule 54(b)." Isse v. American Univ. ,
III. ANALYSIS
A. Medical Inquiries & Confidentiality Claims
Ms. Menoken argues that the Court mistakenly concluded that her medical inquiries and confidentiality claims are not actionable. See Mem. at 5-6. The Court found a problem of timing with Plaintiff's alleged confidentiality claims. See Menoken ,
In the current motion, Ms. Menoken now states that her Amended Complaint was not clear and that she intended the medical inquires and confidentiality claims to be separate from her reasonable accommodation Rehab Act claim. That was not her position in briefing the motion to dismiss. Instead, Ms. Menoken specified the five claims raised in her Amended Complaint and included the medical inquires and confidentiality claims as part of her Rehab Act claims. See Menoken ,
B. Failure to Provide a Reasonable Accommodation Claim
Ms. Menoken argues that the Court mistakenly overlooked or misapprehended facts showing she was "qualified" under the Rehab Act and unlawfully denied a reasonable accommodation. See Mem. at 6-7. To advance a claim for a violation of the Rehab Act, a plaintiff must allege that: (1) she had a disability within the meaning of the statute; (2) the employer had notice of the disability; (3) "with [or without] reasonable accommodation [the employee] could perform the essential functions of [the] job"; and (4) "the employer refused to make such accommodations." Floyd v. Lee ,
Ms. Menoken claims that she did not demand to be accommodated by a grant of unlimited paid leave. See Mem. at 6. She points to her declaration where she alleges that her requests were denied for EEOC to arrange alternative processing for her OPM appeals or for reassignment to another position in EEOC. See id. at 6-7; see also Decl. of Cassandra M. Menoken in Supp. of Am. Compl. [Dkt. 10-1] ¶ 3. However, the Amended Complaint specifically mentions Ms. Menoken's September 11, 2012 request to EEOC to discuss her need for a reasonable accommodation. See Am. Compl. ¶ 92. The Court has before it Ms. Menoken's written request of the same date seeking "[p]aid leave for 6 months or until such time as my discrimination complaints are adjudicated (whichever is longer)." Request for Accommodation at 000400.
Ms. Menoken does not dispute that indefinite leave is not a reasonable accommodation as a matter of law, nor does she address the Court's conclusion that she waived her chance to respond to the argument that she was not a "qualified individual." Because Ms. Menoken is not a "qualified individual" and her requested accommodation of paid leave for an extended period of unknown duration was not reasonable, her reasonable accommodation claim fails as a matter of law. Ms. *244Menoken's motion for reconsideration, therefore, offers no compelling justification to revisit her reasonable accommodation claim.
C. Interference Claim
Ms. Menoken argues that the Court mistakenly held that a claim of interference is not actionable. See Mem. at 3-5. The Court found that an employee may challenge the result of the process identifying and providing or not providing an accommodation but that the law does not recognize a claim concerning the sufficiency of the process itself. See Menoken ,
Ms. Menoken points to subsection (b) of the Rehab Act's prohibition against retaliation and coercion. See Mem. at 3. It provides the following:
It shall be unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of his or her having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his or her having aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this chapter.
Ms. Menoken fails to show that she suffered a materially adverse action by her employer. "While actionable 'adverse actions in the retaliation context encompass a broader sweep of actions than those in a pure discrimination claim' and need not necessarily 'affect the terms and conditions of a claimant's employment,' an employee bringing a claim of retaliation under the [Americans with Disabilities Act] must nevertheless establish that a reasonable employee would have found the action materially adverse." Mack v. Georgetown Univ. , No. 15-793,
Not only is the sufficiency of the process of determining a reasonable accommodation not challengeable under the Rehab Act, but even if Ms. Menoken's claim were construed under
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will deny Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration. A memorializing Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Cassandra M. MENOKEN v. Victoria A. LIPNIC, Acting Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published