Boldini v. Postmaster General US Postal Service

• Decision Date: 11 May 1995
• Docket Number: No. CV-91-680-L.,CV-91-680-L.
• Citation: 928 F. Supp. 125
• Parties: Constance BOLDINI v. POSTMASTER GENERAL U.S. POSTAL SERVICE.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Hampshire

928 F. Supp. 125

Constance BOLDINI v. POSTMASTER GENERAL U.S. POSTAL SERVICE.

No. CV-91-680-L.

United States District Court, D. New Hampshire.

May 11, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

T. David Plourde, Concord, NH, for defendant.

Joanne T. Petito, Concord, NH, for plaintiff.

ORDER

LOUGHLIN, Senior District Judge.

Currently before the court is defendant's motion for summary judgment. Doc. 55. For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff began working as a part-time substitute on a rural delivery route with the Peterborough, New Hampshire Post Office on March 7, 1981. Eventually, she became a full time regular carrier with the Peterborough Post Office. On March 1, 1986, plaintiff transferred from the Peterborough office and began a full-time rural delivery route position in the Merrimack, New Hampshire Post Office. On March 1, 1987, she again transferred positions, this time to a full-time rural carrier position in the Rindge, New Hampshire Post Office.

In June, 1988, Donna Cronin became the postmaster of the Rindge, New Hampshire Post Office. Although new to her job, during the first few months as postmaster Donna Cronin took an active role in addressing many of the various route problems and complaints brought to her attention by plaintiff and other employees.

However, according to Ms. Cronin, even in light of the attempts to address the various problems, between June, 1988 and August 24, 1989, plaintiff was dissatisfied with progress and engaged in numerous verbal altercations with co-employees and customers. Specifically, during such altercations plaintiff became loud and abusive, failed to follow instructions, or took issue with the nature and extent of her various duties and responsibilities as a rural route carrier. Beginning in November, 1988, Ms. Cronin disciplined plaintiff on four occasions for insubordinate behavior, failing to follow instructions, using loud and abusive language, disrupting the work place, and failing to safeguard the mails, all of which are violations of official postal rules and regulations.

On November 9, 1988, plaintiff had a Fitness for Duty Examination in connection with a vehicular accident. The examination was conducted by Dr. Dean Seibert, a doctor with whom the postal service contracted to conduct examinations of postal employees. Dr. Seibert's summary of medical findings noted hospitalizations of plaintiff in 1958 and 1963, and stated that plaintiff has an "emotional disorder" "as a consequence of a number of stressful events in her life." After Dr. Seibert consulted with plaintiff's treating physician, plaintiff was cleared for duty with no restrictions.

On August 12, 1989, postmaster Cronin scheduled a routine annual inspection of plaintiff's route to take place on August 24, 1989. The inspection required Ms. Cronin to follow Ms. Boldini on her route. On the morning of August 24, 1989, Ms. Cronin's relationship with plaintiff came to a head when plaintiff asked that the inspection be rescheduled. When advised by Ms. Cronin that the inspection could not be rescheduled, plaintiff left the office. Upon returning a few minutes later, plaintiff advised Ms. Cronin that she was going home at her doctor's advice. Plaintiff never returned to work after August 24, 1989.

On August 29, 1989, Ms. Cronin requested medical documentation explaining the nature of plaintiff's illness or injury and establishing whether she was or was not able to perform her duties. On August 30, 1989, plaintiff's treating physician issued a brief note advising that plaintiff was under his care for severe mental stress-related anxiety; that he discussed plaintiff's condition with the postal service's doctor, Dr. Dean Seibert; that they agreed that plaintiff should be out of work secondary to the stress causing her to be unsafe to drive; and that she would remain out of work until further notice.

Between August 24, 1989 and October 1, 1991, plaintiff was retained on the postal employee list but did not receive pay. Her rural route remained assigned to her but was completed by substitutes. On or about September 20, 1989, plaintiff applied for workers' compensation benefits with the Department of Labor, claiming she had been harassed and mistreated at the Rindge Post Office since February, 1987. Benefits were denied on April 10, 1990. On or around August 20, 1991, plaintiff applied for, and received disability retirement benefits. Subsequently, plaintiff's mail route was filled through the contractual "bidding" process.

On November 20, 1991, plaintiff filed an employment discrimination action under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, alleging that she was constructively discharged from her job at the Rindge, New Hampshire Post Office on August 24, 1989. Within her complaint, she alleges Ms. Cronin "engaged in conduct calculated to upset and harass the Plaintiff with the long-term goal of securing disciplinary sanctions against Plaintiff which would ultimately result in the termination of plaintiff's employment." Plaintiff's complaint at para. 16. Moreover, plaintiff alleges that her stress and anxiety levels were exacerbated by Ms. Cronin's conduct, i.e. encouraging other employees in the Rindge Post Office to ostracize and ignore her while she was in the work place. Id. at para. 20.

Defendant now moves for summary judgment on the plaintiff's claim under the Rehabilitation Act.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is appropriate when the record reveals "no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Griggs-Ryan v. Smith, 904 F.2d 112, 115 (1st Cir.1990).

In summary judgment proceedings, the moving party has the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), motion denied, 480 U.S. 903, 107 S.Ct. 1343, 94 L.Ed.2d 515 (1987). If the moving party carries its burden, the non-moving party must set forth specific facts showing that there remains a genuine issue of material fact for trial, demonstrating "some factual disagreement sufficient to deflect brevis disposition." Mesnick v. General Electric Co., 950 F.2d 816, 822 (1st Cir.1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 985, 112 S.Ct. 2965, 119 L.Ed.2d 586 (1992). "In this context, `genuine' means that the evidence about the fact is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the point in favor of the non-moving party and `material' means that the fact is one that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." United States v. One Parcel of Real Property with Bldgs., 960 F.2d 200, 204 (1st Cir.1992) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). The non-moving party "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party's pleadings, but the non-moving party's response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). "The non-moving party cannot content himself with unsupported allegations; rather, he must set forth specific facts, in suitable evidentiary form, in order to establish the existence of a genuine issue for trial." Rivera-Muriente v. Agosto-Alicea, 959 F.2d 349, 352 (1st Cir.1992). "Summary judgment may be appropriate if the non-moving party rests merely upon conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation." Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990).

With the above principles in mind, the court reviews the arguments presented in defendant's motion for summary judgment.

Defendant contends summary judgment is appropriate in this action because, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, no trier of fact could reasonably find: (1) that plaintiff was constructively discharged; (2) that plaintiff was a disabled person with the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act; (3) that plaintiff was "otherwise qualified" under the Act; and (4) that the accommodations offered by defendant were other than reasonable.

"The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Act") was the first major federal statute designed to provide assistance to the population of handicapped people in this country." Des-Roches v. United States Postal Service, 631 F.Supp. 1375, 1378 (D.N.H.1986). "Section 501 of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 791, contains various provisions for encouraging the federal government to employ the handicapped." Id.

To establish a prima facie case of handicap discrimination under §§ 501(b) and 504 of the Act, a plaintiff must establish that: 1) she was a handicapped person within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act; 2) she was an otherwise qualified handicapped person; and 3) she was excluded from the position she sought with the postal service solely by reason of her handicap. Lofgren v. Casey, 642 F.Supp. 1076, 1077 (D.Mass.1986); Strathie v. DOT, 716 F.2d 227, 230 (3d Cir. 1983).

"In handicap discrimination cases brought pursuant to federal law, the claimant bears the burden of proving each element of her chain." Cook v. Department of Mental Health, Retardation, & Hosps., 10 F.3d 17, 22 (1st Cir.1993); see Joyner v. Dumpson, 712 F.2d 770, 774 (2d Cir.1983); Sedor v. Frank, 756 F.Supp. 684, 686 (D.Conn.1991).

I. Determination of handicap under the Rehabilitation Act

A handicapped person is defined under the Act as:

any person who (i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment.

Lofgren, 642 F.Supp. at 1078.

"It is noteworthy that the section's perceived disability model can be satisfied whether or not a person actually has a physical or mental impairment." Cook, 10 F.3d at 22; see also 45 C.F.R. § 84.3(j)(2)(...