Gile v. United Airlines Inc

Decision Date22 May 2000
Docket NumberNo. 99-2509,99-2509
Citation213 F.3d 365
Parties(7th Cir. 2000) Cheryl A. Gile, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. United Airlines, Inc., Defendant-Appellant
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 94 C 1692--Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before Easterbrook, Kanne and Diane P. Wood, Circuit Judges.

Kanne, Circuit Judge.

Cheryl Gile worked eight years for United Airlines, Inc. ("United") before she began suffering from a cluster of psychological disorders that made it increasingly difficult for her to perform her job. Gile initially had volunteered for night shift duty, but insomnia and exhaustion from sleep deprivation were aggravating her psychological condition. After consultation with a psychologist, she asked United to accommodate her condition by reassigning her to a daytime shift, but United refused Gile's repeated requests and suggested that she consider quitting her job instead. Gile sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), secs. 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213, for United's failure to accommodate her disability and won both compensatory and punitive damages at trial. United now appeals the district court's denial of judgment as a matter of law on compensatory damages, the jury instruction barring consideration of mitigating measures in assessing disability under the ADA and the denial of judgment as a matter of law on punitive damages under the Supreme Court's decision last term in Kolstad v. American Dental Ass'n, 527 U.S. 526, 119 S.Ct. 2118 (1999). We affirm the judgment for Gile but reverse the award of punitive damages.

I. History

In March 1984, Cheryl Gile began working for United as a data entry operator in the air freight department at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother had worked eighteen years for United and recommended United as an employer, so Gile was excited about the job. Although United transferred Gile several times over the next five years between the day and night shifts, she received good performance evaluations describing her as a "valuable asset" and a "very competent, thorough and accurate employee." In January 1989, at her request, Gile received a transfer to the night shift, running from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and worked nights without complaint for several years.

However, when Gile returned to work from maternity leave in March 1992, she began feeling chronically depressed and suffered from insomnia and constant anxiety. She slept only a few hours a day, struggled to perform mundane household chores, erupted into spontaneous outbursts of crying, fell asleep while driving and felt perpetually fatigued. In June 1992, Gile initiated semi-weekly consultations about her psychological condition with Betty Orlandino, a licensed clinical social worker listed by United in its catalog of health care providers recommended to employees.

Gile told Orlandino that she had been able to sleep only a few hours a day since returning to work in March. Gile reported that she "could not function properly" and was "going crazy." Orlandino diagnosed Gile with depression and anxiety disorder because Gile was suffering from feelings of "hopelessness and helplessness" and experiencing "fatigue, irritability, distractibility, [and] difficulty concentrating." Orlandino noted that Gile's anticipatory anxiety over getting enough sleep each night and the sheer exhaustion from insomnia exacerbated Gile's condition, and she instructed Gile to seek transfer to a daytime shift. Soon afterward, Gile informed her supervisor James Kinzler that she was struggling with depression and that she needed a shift transfer. Although Kinzler testified at trial that he did not recall this meeting, Gile said Kinzler told her that he would let her know about any new openings on the day shift. Kinzler never spoke to Gile about a transfer again.

On August 28, 1992, Gile had an emotional "breakdown" at work. She started crying uncontrollably and told supervisor Frank Mancini that she thought she was losing her mind. Gile tried resting for a spell then returning to work, but Mancini allowed her to go home when that did not alleviate her anxiety attack. Gile called Orlandino immediately after arriving home and saw Orlandino on August 31. After consulting a physician, psychologist and two psychiatric social workers, Orlandino formally recommended that Gile be placed on medical leave and given anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. Orlandino provided Gile a note, which Gile presented to Mancini a few days later, stating that Gile was "experiencing a depressive reaction with anxiety state" and "her present position at United and the night shift are aggravating her condition."

United's Regional Medical Director Dr. Robert McGuffin handled Gile's claim pursuant to his duties of evaluating the medical condition and work fitness of United employees at O'Hare Airport. He telephoned Orlandino, who told him that Gile's condition was directly related to Gile working the night shift. On September 22, 1992, McGuffin met with Gile but did not take her medical history or conduct a psychological examination. Gile explained her symptoms and told McGuffin that she was seeing Orlandino twice weekly for depression. McGuffin retorted that "if [she] was that unhappy, [then] why didn't [she] just resign and stay home." Gile answered that she did not want to stay home and that she wanted to work; she insisted that it "didn't matter if it was lateral, didn't matter if it was a demotion. [She] would take anything as long as [she] could be on a regular shift, a regular daytime shift." McGuffin told her to see him in a couple of weeks and terminated the fifteen- minute meeting. McGuffin approved Gile's request for medical leave but deemed Gile's condition a "nonoccupational illness."

Three days later, on September 25, 1992, Gile applied for a "competitive transfer." United regularly posted new job openings at O'Hare and invited employees to submit their resumes and most recent performance evaluations as "competitive transfer" applications for these positions. Gile applied for two non-data entry job openings, one in reservations and one in the air freight headquarters, but never heard back about her applications.

Disappointed by McGuffin's summary conclusion, Orlandino sent a letter dated September 29, 1992, to McGuffin repeating that Gile needed reassignment to the day shift because Gile's problems stemmed directly from her night shift position. The letter averred that "[a]lthough the etiology of Mrs. Gile's condition is non- occupational as to her job duties, it is directly related to the shift she had been assigned to." Therefore, the letter requested that "a change in shift be considered for Cheryl Gile." McGuffin testified at trial that he realized "there was something wrong with [Gile] mentally" and he did not disagree with the diagnosis of depression and anxiety or "take issue" with Orlandino's assessment. Furthermore, though United challenged Orlandino's professional credentials at trial and in its appellate briefs, neither McGuffin nor any other United representative ever requested that Gile be treated or evaluated by another physician or psychologist.

When Gile saw McGuffin again on November 2, 1992, Gile reported ongoing "severe, severe depression" and again "begged him to please help [her]." Gile said that she would be happy to go back to work if he would "please just help [her] get a job that [she] would be working the day shift." McGuffin huffed that "it sounded like a personal problem . . . not an illness." McGuffin explained at trial that he did not expedite reassignment to the day shift partly because he was concerned that other employees might expect or request a transfer out of the night shift as well. He also thought that a "change in work schedule more accurately addressed personal and life and family issues rather than an illness." McGuffin took no further action other than telling Gile to seek a nonmedical transfer, which she had already tried, and issuing Gile a work release note for continued duty on the night shift.

Upon hearing McGuffin's assessment, Orlandino called McGuffin to insist that Gile's night shift assignment was a "major factor" in Gile's condition. McGuffin steadfastly disagreed and said that "if [Gile] didn't like it, she could quit." A few days later, Orlandino faxed McGuffin a letter recommending that Gile be placed on temporary disability until January when United annually rearranged work shift schedules. Gile gave McGuffin's work release note to her supervisor but explained that Orlandino had not released her to work the night shift. As a result, United placed Gile on authorized leave without pay.

United annually reshuffled its employee shift assignments and permitted employees each November to bid according to seniority for shift reassignments. By the November 1992 bidding, Gile had accrued sufficient seniority to win an evening shift, running from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., beginning in January 1993. Gile testified that she would have been happy to work the evening shift because it was basically a daytime shift, however Gile was home on authorized leave at the time of November bidding and did not place a bid at all for the 1993 work year.

Since United had placed Gile on indefinite authorized leave, Gile was understandably surprised when she received a termination letter from United on January 14, 1993, notifying her that United had terminated her employment for abandonment of her job. Gile contacted United for clarification, but United did not respond. Buffeted by the stress of her apparent termination, Gile's psychological condition worsened, and she began seeing psychiatrist Dr. Alan Hirsch on Orlandino's recommendation in April 1993. Hirsch...

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