Kaylor v. Fannin Regional Hosp., Inc.
| Decision Date | 22 October 1996 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 2:95-CV-0067-WCO. |
| Citation | 946 F.Supp. 988 |
| Parties | Scott M. KAYLOR, Plaintiff, v. FANNIN REGIONAL HOSPITAL, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
O'KELLEY, Senior District Judge.
The captioned case is before the court for consideration after a bench trial was held on September 16 and 17, 1996, in United States District Court, Gainesville, Georgia. Plaintiff's causes of action are a case of first impression in this court as plaintiff's claims arise under the Family Medical Leave Act, Pub.L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6, which was enacted on February 5, 1993. In accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), the following opinion constitutes the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
I. Findings of Fact
Jurisdiction is uncontested and is based on federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Plaintiff's claims relate to a violation of a federal statute: The Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.
Defendant Fannin Regional Hospital ("Fannin Hospital") is an acute care facility which serves North Georgia, Southeast Tennessee, and Southwest North Carolina. Defendant is located in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Plaintiff is a resident of Mineral Bluff, Georgia, and was employed as a C.T. technician by Fannin Hospital beginning in March of 1989 until his termination on February 8, 1996. Plaintiff's duties included cat-scans and routine x-rays. The parties agree that plaintiff is a competent and skilled C.T. technician, and during his almost six (6) years in Fannin Hospital's employ, plaintiff received very good to excellent performance reviews from his supervisors.
Prior to his employment at Fannin Hospital, plaintiff injured his back on two occasions. Plaintiff's back injuries resulted in back surgery and epidural blocks. Plaintiff currently suffers from degenerative back disease which causes chronic lower back pain. As a result, plaintiff has some limitations on his ability to lift objects and to travel. Fannin Hospital was aware of plaintiff's prior back injuries and current physical limitations when plaintiff was hired in 1989. At the time of his employment by Fannin Hospital, plaintiff regularly saw Dr. Greg Myerson for treatment of his back injuries.
In May of 1991, plaintiff signed an acknowledgment of his receipt of the Fannin Hospital's policies and procedures as outlined in its Employee Handbook. This handbook states that plaintiff's employment was "terminable at the will of either myself or the Employers for any reason...."1 The handbook also provides that plaintiff was entitled to eighty (80) hours of vacation leave, two floater days, and ninety-six (96) hours of sick leave accruing each year. Unused sick leave in one year could be carried over to the following year. Plaintiff was provided with copies of Fannin Hospital's Employee Handbook at his original orientation. Plaintiff was subsequently provided with any changes to Fannin Hospital's administrative policies and procedures on an annual basis throughout his employment.
Fannin Hospital provided notice of the FMLA after its enactment in 1993 by providing a copy of its Family and Medical Leave policy with its updated Employee Handbooks. Fannin Hospital also set up posters discussing the FMLA in employee break rooms. Furthermore, Fannin Hospital instructed employees on their rights under the FMLA during Risk Management employee sessions.
During the early part of plaintiff's employment with Fannin Hospital, his supervisor was Mr. Danny Patterson. Mr. Patterson allowed employees to take days off pursuant to oral approval and by writing the proposed day off on the wall calendar in the department. Mr. Patterson also allowed employees to substitute accrued paid leave for unscheduled time off as long as changes to time cards were done before they were sent to payroll. Mr. Patterson left Fannin Hospital in September of 1993 and was replaced by Ms. Sue Patterson (no familial relation).
In July of 1994, plaintiff was confronted by Ms. Patterson concerning his attempt to change an entry on his employee time card. On July 13, 1994, plaintiff failed to call in or report for work as scheduled. Following his absence, plaintiff retrieved his previous week's time card and attempted to alter his time card to reflect a vacation day for the day he missed. Ms. Patterson confronted plaintiff concerning this alteration and informed him that his actions were improper.
Ms. Patterson ran things differently than her predecessor, Mr. Patterson. Plaintiff was informed that, pursuant to hospital policy, in order to utilize accrued paid time off for his absence, he must provide notice and fill out a form in advance of his anticipated absence. As plaintiff testified at trial, at the end of this conversation plaintiff expressed his frustration by telling Ms. Patterson to "stuff it." In addition, Ms. Tammy Arp, an employee in the radiology department, testified at trial that it was the standard practice in the radiology department under Ms. Patterson to request leave by written notice and thereafter write the day off on the wall calendar in order to alert other employees once approval was granted by Ms. Patterson. Accordingly, the court finds that plaintiff knew that the proper procedure for requesting leave was to fill out a leave request form and receive prior approval.
On December 24, 1994, plaintiff experienced a flare-up of his back injury. On December 27, 1994, plaintiff was admitted to Northside Hospital for back pain and numbness in his lower back and leg on one side of his body. On that same day, plaintiff's wife, Mrs. Debbie Kaylor, called Ms. Patterson to report plaintiff's hospitalization and his anticipated absence from work for at least several days. Dr. Myerson treated plaintiff during his stay at Northside Hospital.
Upon being informed of plaintiff's illness, Ms. Patterson contacted Fannin Hospital's Director of Personnel, Ms. Lauren Tipton. Ms. Tipton is responsible for the administration of its personnel policies, including Fannin Hospital's Family and Medical Leave Policy. Ms. Patterson then completed the necessary paperwork to provide plaintiff with a medical leave of absence pursuant to the FMLA. Plaintiff was approved for Family and Medical Leave on December 30, 1994.
Plaintiff remained in Northside Hospital until December 31, 1994, after which he was placed on bed rest for two weeks by Dr. Myerson. Plaintiff utilized approximately 120 hours, or three weeks, of eligible FMLA leave during his hospitalization and convalescence. Once the hospital was informed of plaintiff's illness, plaintiff's wife was requested to come to Fannin Hospital and pick up a packet of necessary forms relating to plaintiff's leave with instructions for their completion. Pursuant to Fannin's routine practice, included in these forms were materials explaining plaintiff's rights and obligations under the FMLA. Plaintiff's wife picked up these forms from the radiology department at some point during plaintiff's convalescence.
Plaintiff returned to work on January 18, 1995, after Dr. Myerson signed a certificate of fitness to return to work. Plaintiff's medical certification from his doctor authorizing his return to work did not mention any follow-up appointments or regimen of care. Plaintiff did have an appointment scheduled for February 3, 1995, which he had scheduled at a prior routine visit to Dr. Myerson in November of 1994. Upon his discharge from the hospital on December 31, 1994, Dr. Myerson instructed plaintiff that any follow-up could take place during the course of his previously scheduled regular appointments.
Prior to his hospitalization, plaintiff failed to submit a leave request form for his scheduled doctor's appointment or otherwise notify his supervisor of any planned absence. During the period of plaintiff's hospitalization, his return to work on January 18, 1995, and the ensuing two weeks he was employed at Fannin Hospital, the court finds that the plaintiff again neglected to mention the February 3 appointment to his supervisor, Ms. Patterson.
Plaintiff did not inform Ms. Patterson of his appointment with Dr. Myerson on February 3 until January 30, 1995. Plaintiff originally verbally requested the day off as a vacation day. Ms. Patterson informed him he could not have the day off because the hospital would be "short-staffed" without his presence and that a written request was the proper procedure for requesting leave. Plaintiff subsequently filled out a written request form requesting the day off to attend the appointment. Ms. Patterson again denied plaintiff's request. Plaintiff also recorded his appointment for February 3 in the patient scheduling book and on the wall calendar in the radiology department. It should be noted, however, that writing a requested day off on the wall calendar did not grant a day off pursuant to hospital policy.
Ms. Patterson requested that plaintiff reschedule his appointment because a number of individuals in the radiology department had already been granted leave on that day,2 including Ms. Patterson, and plaintiff's presence was needed in order to avoid inadequate staffing. There is no evidence that plaintiff made any effort to reschedule his appointment with Dr. Myerson. To the contrary, all evidence suggests that plaintiff never contacted Dr. Myerson after January 19, 1995.3 Furthermore, plaintiff never canceled his appointment with Dr. Myerson.
On February 1, 1995, Ms. Patterson asked plaintiff for his assurance that he would be at work on February 3rd. Plaintiff indicated he would be there. Ms. Patterson subsequently heard reports from employees that plaintiff stated he was going to call in sick and miss work on ...
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