Orta-Castro v. Merck, Sharp & Dohme Química Pr

• Citation: 447 F.3d 105
• Decision Date: 09 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-1984.,05-1984.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
• Parties: Sandra I. ORTA-CASTRO; José A. Nieves-Romero, Conjugal Partnership Orta-Nieves, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. MERCK, SHARP & DOHME QUÍMICA P.R., INC., Defendant, Appellee.

447 F.3d 105

Sandra I. ORTA-CASTRO; José A. Nieves-Romero, Conjugal Partnership Orta-Nieves, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. MERCK, SHARP & DOHME QUÍMICA P.R., INC., Defendant, Appellee.

No. 05-1984.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard March 6, 2006.

Decided May 9, 2006.

Juan M. Frontera-Suau, with whom Frontera Suau Law Offices was on brief, for appellants.

Pedro J. Manzano-Yates, with whom Fiddler González & Rodríguez, PSC was on brief, for appellee.

Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA and SELYA, Circuit Judges.

TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, plaintiffs-appellants Sandra I. Orta-Castro ("Orta") and her husband, José A. Nieves-Romero, contest the decision of the district court to grant summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee Merck, Sharp & Dohme, Química of Puerto Rico, Inc. ("Merck") in an employment discrimination case arising out of Orta's employment at Merck. In particular, plaintiffs-appellants argue that the district court should not have dismissed their claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., and Puerto Rico law. After careful consideration, we affirm.

I. Background

Orta began her employment with Merck in Caguas, Puerto Rico in December 1992. A year later, on December 1, 1993, Orta became the Standard Operating Procedures ("SOP") Coordinator at the company and worked in the Quality Operations Department. As SOP Coordinator, Orta worked with the company's pharmaceutical manufacturing operation. Among her responsibilities, she oversaw the standard operating procedures for the company, served as the custodian of the company's regulations, maintained documents related to the manufacturing process, and worked with Merck's forms system. Orta was the only employee assigned to the SOP unit.

In 2000, Orta worked under the supervision of Antonio Nieves ("Nieves"), head of the Quality Operations Department. Quality Operations, in turn, was supervised by Operations Manager Carlos Montoyo ("Montoyo"). Toward the end of 2000, Montoyo suspected that an unannounced audit by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") was imminent and was concerned with some deficiencies that he had noticed in the SOP unit. To address the deficiencies and prepare the SOP unit for the FDA audit, Montoyo placed Orta under the supervision of Validation Engineer Rosa M. Lugo ("Lugo") on October 19, 2000. Montoyo's decision was based on his belief that Lugo was good with systems and that she had the necessary skills to analyze the unit's problems and get it in proper working order. Montoyo gave Lugo express instructions to address the deficiencies in the SOP unit to prepare it for the eventuality of an FDA audit.

Orta and Lugo had a prior history at Merck. They had first met back in 1992 when Orta began work at the company. In April 2000, before Lugo became Orta's supervisor, they had an incident related to an FDA visit to the plant. In preparation for the visit, Orta had to update a procedure document in a binder located in Lugo's office. Although Orta inserted the new document in the binder, she failed to remove the old one because it was marked with a "post it," and Orta believed that Lugo was reading it. Lugo told Orta that the document was her (Orta's) responsibility, and that she (Lugo) could not assume responsibility for something that was not part of her job description. Orta felt uncomfortable with Lugo's comment and the way she said it with a raised tone. This incident was discussed with Nieves, who met with both Orta and Lugo. Although Orta said that she did not know why Lugo was angry with her, she later stated that Lugo's anger may have been caused by stress associated with the upcoming FDA visit. Orta stated that she did not know of any other reason that Lugo would be mad at her.

A few days before Lugo officially became Orta's supervisor, Lugo asked Orta to produce various documents and information pertaining to the SOP unit. The information that Lugo requested was under Orta's control. The work associated with this request prompted Orta to talk with Montoyo. Orta complained about the work pressure she felt and about the fact that Lugo was constantly changing her requests and not providing any additional time to comply. Orta also told Montoyo that Lugo's requests made her nervous and that she thought Lugo's behavior was related to the binder incident.

As a consequence of the stress she felt, Orta went to visit the infirmary at Merck to receive medical attention. Furthermore, in November 2000, Orta sought medical treatment from a psychiatrist, Dr. Celia Rodríguez-Valdez ("Dr. Rodríguez"), who diagnosed that Orta was suffering a major depression and should be out of work for three months. As a result, Orta was on leave from November 2, 2000 to February 2, 2001. Upon taking this leave, Orta was advised about benefits such as non-occupational temporary disability insurance and long-term disability.

When Orta returned to work on February 2, 2001, she discovered that her office had been moved from the second floor to the first. Nieves, her former supervisor, told her that she had been moved to the first floor to be closer to Lugo, her supervisor, and because books and other work materials were on the first floor. Orta found her new work area uncomfortable mainly because of the size of her desk. However, the desk was soon changed, and Orta was more comfortable.

On March 2, 2001, Lugo sent Orta an e-mail addressing a series of tasks that she had failed to perform and requesting a meeting to discuss the problem. Orta explained to Lugo at the meeting how, when she returned from her leave, the paperwork had been in disarray, that the person who substituted for her did not do what was required of her, and that she (Orta) had to make up for what had not been done. Before the meeting ended, Orta told Lugo that she needed to go to the infirmary. Lugo accompanied Orta to the infirmary and waited for her until she came out. Lugo and Orta then met with Montoyo. During this meeting, Lugo restated what she had discussed with Orta regarding her responsibilities. Montoyo listened and then asked Orta whether she had anything else to say. At this point, Orta requested a private meeting with Montoyo. During her meeting alone with Montoyo, Orta indicated how nervous she was. She said that many of Lugo's requirements were related to previous years when she was not present, that the person who had substituted for her had not complied with some requirements, and that she now had to make up for these oversights, in addition to continuing with her daily work. According to Orta, Montoyo promised her that he would help her by speaking with Lugo, told her not to worry, and requested that she work as best she could.

On April 17, 2001, Orta took a second medical leave for major depression upon the advice of her doctor, Dr. Rodríguez. However, sometime between May and July 2001, Dr. Rodríguez moved to the continental United States. As a result, Orta had to find a new doctor, and she began to be treated by Dr. Edgardo Prieto-Agostini ("Dr. Prieto"). On July 30, 2001, Dr. Prieto provided Merck with a certificate stating that Orta was suffering from a severe depressive condition that prevented her at that time from doing work and recommending that Orta's medical leave be extended until December 31, 2001. This recommendation was accepted, and Orta's leave was extended.

Nevertheless, on November 1, 2001, Orta received a call from Merck's Human Resources Department informing her of a position available in technical services for which she was qualified. Orta informed the Human Resources official who had called her that she was on medical leave until December 31, 2001 and could not go to the company for anything. Orta admitted that she was not bothered by this call.

On December 11, 2001, Dr. Prieto certified to Orta that she could return to work at Merck in January 2002, if the following accommodations were provided: (1) she had to work only four hours a day for the first two weeks; (2) she had to be relocated and be placed outside the supervision of Lugo; and (3) she had to continue visiting her psychiatrist every two weeks. Orta sent Dr. Prieto's certification along with a letter to Félix Amador, a Merck Plant Manager.

Orta also discussed Dr. Prieto's recommendations with Marilyn Maldonado of the Human Resources Department and signed a document dated January 11, 2002 that was related to her request for accommodation. The document acknowledged Merck's acceptance of the recommendations made by Dr. Prieto and the actions to be taken by Merck in order to comply with the recommendations. Specifically, the January 11, 2002 memo acknowledged:

a) That pursuant to Dr. Prieto's recommendations, Orta would return to work on January 15, 2002, as an Administrative Assistant in the Engineering Department, at the same level and with the same salary rate.

b) That instead of reporting to Lugo, Orta would report to Jesús Martínez, head of the Engineering Department in Caguas; and

c) That Orta would enjoy a four-hour work schedule, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, until she returned to her regular eight-hour schedule after January 29, 2002.

To implement the substantive provisions of this accommodation, Orta was assigned to work in a trailer outside the Merck office facilities. She, however, found the trailer dirty, depressing, and isolating. Such a working environment led her to apply for other positions within the company. For example, she applied for a secretarial position in the Quality Control Department. She, however, was denied the position. Orta alleges that she was told by an unidentified Human Resources representative — she does not recall the person's name — that she was not given the position because of her absenteeism. However, there may have been another reason for her rejection: if Orta was given the...