Benson v. Northwest Airlines, Inc.

• Citation: 62 F.3d 1108
• Decision Date: 15 August 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-2824,94-2824
• Parties: , 4 A.D. Cases 1234, 11 A.D.D. 9 Robert D. BENSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC., Karen Pierce; Harvey Armstrong, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Page 1108

62 F.3d 1108

64 USLW 2163, 4 A.D. Cases 1234, 11 A.D.D. 9

Robert D. BENSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC., Karen Pierce; Harvey Armstrong Defendants-Appellees.

No. 94-2824.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted March 15, 1995.

Decided Aug. 15, 1995.

Thomas E. Marshall, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant.

Carol A. Peterson, Minneapolis, MN (David C. Lundsgaard on the brief), for appellees.

Before MAGILL, Circuit Judge, JOHN R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

JOHN R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Robert D. Benson appeals from the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of Northwest Airlines, Inc., on his claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101-12213 (Supp. V 1993). The district court concluded that Benson was not a "qualified individual with a disability," dismissed his ADA claim, and remanded his remaining claims to state court. In so doing, the district court failed to apply the burden-shifting scheme appropriate to discrimination cases. We reverse and remand.

In 1986, Northwest Airlines hired Benson as a mechanic. In 1988, Benson began working as an engineer in Northwest's Technical Operations Department designing products and tools. He was promoted to Senior Engineer effective January 1, 1991. He again became a mechanic for Northwest in March 1992 and was assigned to recondition aircraft.

In October 1992, Benson was replacing the insulation in the lower cargo bay of a DC-10, a job which required that he lie on the floor and repeatedly push insulation behind him. Benson suffered severe chest pains and was taken to the hospital. Doctors determined that he had experienced a relapse of brachial plexopathy, also known as Parsonage-Turner syndrome, a rare neurological disorder which can cause pain, weakness or numbness in the arm and shoulder. This had been minimally asymptomatic until that time. In November of 1992, Benson returned to work and transferred to the Recycling Unit, where employees with work-related injuries worked until able to return to their former positions or find alternative positions.

In a letter dated December 7, 1992, Benson's doctor advised Northwest of Benson's medical condition. The doctor recommended that Benson never again engage in work that involved extensive use of his left arm or repetitive motion of his left shoulder because he would likely "suffer further relapses and require extensive periods on disability." The doctor stated that, "[i]n particular, [Benson's] previous job as a mechanic, would be totally inappropriate for his condition."

In December of 1993, a more senior employee "bumped" Benson from Recycling, and Benson became a plant maintenance mechanic. In that position, Benson served as a dispatcher for other mechanics. Four days later, Richard Paxton, the manager of that department, disqualified Benson from the position "due to the medical limitations established by [Benson's] physician." Northwest placed Benson on a 90-day unpaid leave of absence shortly thereafter, and told him to either find another position with Northwest which fell within his physical abilities or face termination, as was company policy. Benson contends that a foreman's position opened up in the Recycling Department, but Paxton refused the transfer. Benson unsuccessfully sought engineering positions, and Northwest officially terminated his employment on March 16, 1993.

Benson filed a discrimination charge with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the EEOC, claiming Northwest discriminated against him because of his disability and failed to reasonably accommodate that disability. He then brought this action in state court, alleging an ADA violation and five state claims. Northwest removed and filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis that Benson was not a "qualified individual with a disability" within the meaning of the ADA, specifically relying on the physician's assessment. The district court granted Northwest's motion on the ADA claim and remanded the state law claims to state court. Benson v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., Civ. No. 3-93-507 (D.Minn. June 27, 1994).

The court first found that Benson indisputably possessed the requisite skill, experience, education, and job-related requirements of a mechanic, but rejected Benson's argument that he was able to perform adequately as a mechanic with accommodation. Id. at 15. The district court stated: "The burden of proof rests on the plaintiff to establish that he could perform the essential functions of the position at issue." Id. The court further stated: "There is no basis in the record ... to conclude that Benson's ability to work as a dispatcher or as a sorter in the Recycling Unit equates to his ability to perform the essential functions of a mechanic's job." Id. The court concluded that Benson's employment in the "temporary" positions failed "to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether he was a 'qualified individual with a disability.' " Id.

The court also held that Benson failed to establish that he possessed the requisite skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of the foreman position in the Recycling Unit. Id. at 16. "[I]ndeed, the record is bare as to what those prerequisites of the foreman position might be." Id. Further, the court stated that Benson did not identify the essential functions of the foreman's position or indicate whether he could perform that job with or without accommodation. The district court concluded that Benson failed to establish that he was a " 'qualified person with a disability' with respect to the Recycling foreman position." Id.

The court rejected Benson's argument that Northwest did not reasonably accommodate his disability because a supervisor in the Recycling Unit wanted to create a permanent position for Benson but was unable to get upper management approval. The court stated that "for reassignment to be a 'reasonable accommodation' a position must exist and be vacant." Id. at 17. Finally, the court held that Benson failed to prove that he was qualified for or could perform the essential functions of the engineering positions. Id.

Benson argues that genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment and that the district court improperly placed the burden of proof regarding essential functions on Benson. Benson also argues that Northwest could easily accommodate his disability. In an amicus brief, the EEOC supports Benson's argument that the district court erred in assigning the ultimate burden of proof to Benson and improperly granted summary judgment.

I.

Summary judgment is appropriate when no genuine issue of material fact remains and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We review a grant of summary judgment de novo and apply the same standard as did the district court. Wooten v. Farmland Foods, 58 F.3d 382, 385 (8th Cir.1995). We view all evidence in the light most favorable to Benson, see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513-14, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), and bear in mind that, "[b]ecause discrimination cases often depend on inferences rather than on direct evidence, summary judgment should not be granted unless the evidence could not support any reasonable inference for the nonmovant." Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994).

Protection under Title I of the ADA extends to "a qualified individual with a disability." 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12112(a). The determination of qualification takes two parts: (1) whether the individual meets the necessary prerequisites for the job, such as education, experience, training, and the like; and (2) whether the individual can perform the essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12111(8); 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1630.2(m) (1994); EEOC, A Technical Assistance Manual on the Employment Provisions (Title I) of the Americans with Disabilities Act II-11 to II-13 (1992).

To obtain relief under the ADA, an aggrieved employee must establish that he has a disability as defined in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12102(2); that he is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation; and that he has suffered adverse employment action because of his disability. Wooten, 58 F.3d at 385. The employee at all times retains the burden of persuading the trier of fact that he has been the victim of illegal discrimination due to his disability. See St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, --- U.S. ----, ---- - ----, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2747-50, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993) (Title VII case); White v. York Int'l Corp., 45 F.3d 357, 361 (10th Cir.1995) (applying Hicks to ADA case). However, once the plaintiff makes "a facial showing that reasonable accommodation is possible," the burden of production shifts to the employer to show that it is unable to accommodate the employee. ¹ Mason v. Frank, 32 F.3d 315, 318-19 (8th Cir.1994) (affirming judgment entered in favor of employer under Rehabilitation Act); Arneson v. Heckler, 879 F.2d 393, 396 (8th Cir.1989) (reversing the dismissal of a claim under the Rehabilitation Act). ² See Hicks, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2747. If the employer shows that the employee cannot perform the essential functions of the job even with reasonable accommodation, the employee must rebut that showing with evidence of his individual capabilities. See Mason, 32 F.3d at 319. At that point, the employee's burden merges with his ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that he has suffered unlawful discrimination. See Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 256, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1095, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981) (Title VII case) quoted in Hicks, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2752.

II.

Applying these principles, we conclude that summary judgment is inappropriate. Material issues of fact remain as to what the...