Butt v. Greenbelt Home Care Agency, No. C01-0152-LRR (N.D. Iowa 2/28/2003), C01-0152-LRR.
| Decision Date | 28 February 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. C01-0152-LRR.,C01-0152-LRR. |
| Parties | DELORES COVELL BUTT, Plaintiff, v. GREENBELT HOME CARE AGENCY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
This matter is before the court on the motion of the defendant Greenbelt Home Care Agency ("Greenbelt") for summary judgment. Greenbelt filed its motion, statement of material facts, appendix, and supporting brief on November 29, 2002. (Doc. Nos. 8, 9, 10 & 11, respectively) The plaintiff Delores Covell Butt ("Butt") filed a motion (Doc. No. 12) on December 4, 2002, seeking discovery pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f), for purposes of responding to Greenbelt's motion. On December 26, 2002, Chief United States Magistrate Judge John A. Jarvey denied the motion for discovery, and directed Butt to file her resistance to Greenbelt's motion by January 6, 2003. (Doc. No. 16) Butt filed a resistance to Greenbelt's statement of facts, a brief in support of her resistance to Greenbelt's motion, and a statement of disputed facts on January 8, 2003.1 (Doc. Nos. 17, 18 & 19, respectively)
On January 16, 2003, Greenbelt filed a reply to Butt's statement of facts, a reply brief, and a supplemental appendix. (Doc. Nos. 21, 22 & 23, respectively) On February 13, 2003, Judge Linda R. Reade referred this matter to the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), for the preparation of a report and recommended disposition of Greenbelt's motion for summary judgment. The court has reviewed all of the parties' filings, and finding this matter to be ready for decision, turns to consideration of the issues raised by Greenbelt in its motion.
Butt brings this action under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 623, et seq. ("ADEA"); the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. ("ADA"); and the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, as amended, Iowa Code chapter 216 (1997) ("ICRA"). She also bring a claim for retaliatory discharge. (See Complaint, Doc. No. 1.) Prior to filing this action, Butt exhausted the appropriate administrative remedies and obtained right-to-sue determinations from both the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission ("ICRC"). .
Butt was born August 4, 1931. She was hired as a home health care coordinator by the defendant Greenbelt Home Care Agency ("Greenbelt") on August 29, 2000, just a few weeks before her sixty-ninth birthday. She worked for Greenbelt for four months, until December 29, 2000, when she was fired. In this action, Butt claims she was terminated because of her age or disability, or both, in violation of the ADA, ADEA, and ICRA, and in retaliation for her complaints that she was being discriminated against. Butt seeks damages, interest, attorney fees, and costs of suit.
Greenbelt denies Butt's claims, arguing Butt was terminated due to ongoing problems with her job performance. Greenbelt further argues Butt has produced no evidence to support a finding that she is disabled or was subjected to discrimination, or that her termination was retaliatory.
The following facts are undisputed, except as otherwise noted. Butt is a registered nurse, licensed by the State of Iowa. (Doc. No. 1, ¶ 6) She received an Associate Degree in clinical nursing from the Iowa Methodist School of Nursing in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1971. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Dubuque in 1979. Butt also has completed work at the University of Iowa toward a Master's degree in health education science.2 She has held leadership positions in the Iowa Nurses' Organization, participated in forming the Iowa Hospice Organization, and served as a delegate to the National Hospice Organization. (Doc. No. 20, Ex. 4) From her resume, Butt appears to have considerable experience in both the practical and the administrative aspects of nursing. (See id.)
Butt responded to an advertisement and applied for a job with Greenbelt as a home health care coordinator. Greenbelt's administrator, Sheryl Kennedy, hired Butt on August 29, 2000. (Doc. No. 1, ¶ 10; Doc. No. 11, p. 1) Kennedy told Butt that the person who had held the position previously, Cindy Ellingson, was being promoted to a management position within Greenbelt's office. (Doc. No. 20, Ex. 1, p. 4) During her interview, Butt told Kennedy that she had bilateral knee prostheses. Butt explained to Kennedy that her knee prostheses "hadn't stopped [her] functioning at all," and she "didn't actually have any problems walking." (Doc. No. 20, Ex. 1, p. 6) Butt told Kennedy her lack of impairment due to her knee prostheses "was apparent because [she] was the only RN at the Rockwell Nursing Home with two wings and 50 patients." (Id., pp. 6-7) Butt provided Greenbelt with a complete educational and employment history, and personal and professional references. (Id., Exs. 4 & 14)
Butt and Kennedy also discussed Butt's age briefly during her employment interview. Butt made the comment, "I guess I'm probably the oldest nurse that you will have hired." (Id., Ex. 1, p 4) Kennedy responded that she was not concerned about Butt's age. (Id.) Kennedy hired Butt to cover the Ackley/Iowa Falls regional area, which required Butt to commute at least eighteen miles from her home on a regular basis. (Id., Ex. 1, p. 4) Butt was to start out as a visiting nurse, providing home health care, and then become a coordinator when she demonstrated an "ability to perform the coordinator's traffic, which include[s] a lot of documentation, computer usage, being able to coordinate all the services that the particular client requires and knowing the resources available in the county." (Id., Ex. 6, p. 5) Once Butt moved into the coordinator position, her job description was to include being "responsible for the total care of the client and all the services and the various levels of care that are provided to that client." (Id., Ex. 6, p. 6) This included working with pharmacists, physicians, and therapists, to coordinate patient care. (Id.) Another nurse, Jill Harkin Silver, also was hired by Greenbelt for the Ackley/Iowa Falls region. Silver began working for Greenbelt on September 14, 2000, the day after her 23rd birthday. (Id., Ex. 5, pp. 2, 5)
Pursuant to Greenbelt's policy, each new nurse is assigned a mentor. During a nurse's orientation period, the nurse follows the mentor on a few home visits, and then watches while the mentor completes paperwork and inputs information into the "Oasis" computer system. After observing these procedures a couple of times, the roles are reversed, and the mentor observes the nurse. (Id., Ex. 6, pp. 34-36) The mentor serves as (Id., Ex. 6, p. 36) Sharon Huston, an RN coordinator with Greenbelt, was assigned to serve as Butt's mentor during her orientation period. (Id.) At some point, Huston apparently told Kennedy she did not want to be Butt's mentor any longer. (Id., pp. 40, 41)
On September 22, 2000, Kennedy received a memorandum from three of Greenbelt's home health coordinators (Huston, Kennedy, and a Tammy VanderLoop) regarding what they described as their concerns and observations arising from Butt's orientation, and listing the following eleven items:
1. Using the patient's bathrooms during a visit.
2. Using the Handicapped parking at Cedar Ridge & Eldora Clinic.
3. Great amount of difficulty walking up steps with & without a railing.
4. Inappropriately putting fingers on patients' mouths.
5. Not following infection control standards.
6. Lacks knowledge of heart and lung sounds.
7. Difficulty ambulating a distance of greater than 100 feet.
8. Unable to travel/ride with nurses with smaller cars.
9. Checking for edema — need to bend over[,] look & touch.
10. Ability to lift.
11. Hearing? — not always acknowledging what the patient says.
(Doc. No. 20, Ex. 17) A handwritten note on the bottom of the memorandum indicates Kennedy reviewed these items of concern with Butt on September 25, 2000. Kennedy noted she would "continue to monitor these areas with [Butt] during 6 mos. probationary period."3 (Id.)
On October 19, 2000, Kennedy issued a written warning notice to Butt, in which Kennedy stated, inter alia:
The following serves as a disciplinary warning:
Violation. (1) Making derogatory remarks in front of HCA/client about his home and clothing. "Shouldn't be in this home," "Should throw clothes in garbage." (2) Making unprofessional remark to aide — "Have Fun." Follow up action taken. [Butt] will be professional and non-discriminatory in her comments made to clients and home care aides. Please review Code of Ethics.
(Doc. No. 10, p. 46) The form indicates no disciplinary action was taken. (Id.)
In late October 2000, Butt complained to Gloria Peet, an administrative assistant, that "she was not being properly oriented, [and] was not getting the orientation that she needed to perform her job." (Id., p. 31) Butt also complained that she was being harassed. On October 30, 2000, Butt met with Kennedy and Peet to discuss her complaints. One of the suggestions that came out of the meeting was to have Kennedy make some home visits with Butt. (Doc. No. 19, ¶ 11; Doc. No. 20, Ex. 6, p. 31) Kennedy did so, and observed, "By and large I thought [Butt] did a relatively good job." (Doc. No. 20, Ex. 6, p. 32)
Butt claims Greenbelt "began retaliating against [her] after the complaint, and continued to discriminate against her based on her age and...
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