Corrales v. Westin Hotel Mgmt. LP

• Decision Date: 22 April 2019
• Docket Number: 17 C 6868
• Parties: BERTHA CORRALES, Plaintiff, v. WESTIN HOTEL MANAGEMENT LP, d/b/a The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Hotel, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

BERTHA CORRALES, Plaintiff, v. WESTIN HOTEL MANAGEMENT LP, d/b/aThe Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Hotel, Defendant.

17 C 6868

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

April 22, 2019

Judge Gary Feinerman

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Bertha Corrales brings this suit against her employer, Westin Hotel Management LP, alleging that it discriminated and retaliated against her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. Doc. 5. Westin moves for summary judgment. Doc. 37. The motion is granted.

Background

The following facts are set forth as favorably to Corrales, the non-movant, as the record and Local Rule 56.1 permit. See Johnson v. Advocate Health & Hosps. Corp., 892 F.3d 887, 893 (7th Cir. 2018). On summary judgment, the court must assume the truth of those facts, but does not vouch for them. See Donley v. Stryker Sales Corp., 906 F.3d 635, 636 (7th Cir. 2018).

Westin has employed Corrales as a housekeeper at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Hotel since 2008, but has not assigned her any work since July 9, 2016. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 1, 36; Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 70-71. Westin housekeepers are expected to clean at least 17 "room credits" per eight-hour shift, with the "credits" earned for cleaning a particular room depending on the number and type of beds in the room. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 8-9; Doc. 51 at ¶ 66; Doc. 45-2 at 36; Doc. 45-3 at 63, 126-127. From 2008 until she was attacked by a hotel guest on October 25, 2014, Corrales cleaned at least 17 room credits every shift. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 17-18. Having sustained serious physical injuries to her elbow, knee, neck, and back from the attack, she took three days off and submitted a workers' compensation claim. Id. at ¶ 18; Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 44-45.

Corrales returned to work three days later, on October 28, 2014, subject to the following restrictions imposed by her treating physician: no lifting, pushing, and pulling more than five pounds; no squatting, kneeling, bending, climbing, or reaching above her shoulders; and no repetitive motions. Doc. 45 at ¶ 19. The housekeeper job description, however, required standing for up to four hours; frequent walking, bending, squatting, and stretching; regular lifting of up to fifty pounds; and maneuvering carts that weigh up to 250 pounds. Id. at ¶ 7; Doc. 39-2 at 101-103. Due to Corrales's restrictions, Westin temporarily reassigned her from cleaning rooms to light duty work like folding towels, vacuuming floors, and stocking small items for the housekeeping department. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 20-21, 26. Also, at Corrales's request, Westin provided her a closer parking spot and a security guard to accompany her to her car. Id. at ¶ 38.

Between October 2014 and June 2015, while her workers' compensation claim was pending, Corrales submitted several notes from her treating physicians that restricted her from cleaning more than 15 "rooms" per day and lifting more than ten pounds, so Westin continued to assign her light duty work. Id. at ¶¶ 23-24; Doc. 51 at ¶ 57; Doc. 45-3 at 19. Westin kept Corrales on light duty after she returned in July 2015 from a June 2015 knee surgery, which further limited her to sedentary and seated work. Doc. 45 at ¶ 25.

In May 2016, while still performing light duty work, Corrales visited Dr. Michael Kornblatt, who concluded that she could return to full duty after conducting an independent medical evaluation related to her workers' compensation claim. Id. at ¶¶ 26-27; Doc. 39-2 at 128-129. Based on Dr. Kornblatt's evaluation, Westin reassigned Corrales to cleaning rooms,starting her at fewer than 17 room credits on June 3, 2016, and gradually increasing her assignments to 17 room credits by July 8, 2016. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 28-29; Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 51, 69. During the days Corrales was assigned a reduced cleaning workload, another housekeeper had to make up her shortfall in room credits. Doc. 45 at ¶ 29.

Meanwhile, at some point in June 2016, Corrales told her supervisor, Julie Glazier, that she could clean no more than 12 room credits per shift. Id. at ¶ 30; Doc. 45-2 at 44-45. Corrales later provided Westin a July 7, 2016 evaluation from her treating physician, who, unlike Dr. Kornblatt, concluded that she could not clean more than 12 "rooms"; that she needed to alternate 45 minutes of standing work with 45 minutes of sedentary work; and that she could not lift, carry, pull, or push more than ten pounds. Doc. 45 at ¶ 31; Doc. 51 at ¶ 59; Doc. 39-2 at 131-132. On July 8, 2016, Corrales advised Westin Market Director of Human Resources Diane Wnek that those restrictions would "last the rest of her life." Doc. 45 at ¶ 32. Wnek responded that another physician (presumably Dr. Kornblatt) had concluded that Corrales was capable of cleaning 17 room credits. Id. at ¶ 30; Doc. 45-2 at 44-45. Because Corrales declined to clean 17 room credits, Wnek sent her home. Doc. 45 at ¶ 32; Doc. 51 at ¶ 52.

Westin does not always discipline housekeepers who fail to clean 17 room credits during a single shift. For example, when a group of children with autism stayed at the hotel, their rooms took longer to clean, so Westin required only 14 or 15 room credits from the housekeepers assigned to those rooms. Doc. 51 at ¶ 68; Doc. 45-3 at 127. Additionally, Westin housekeepers are not required to stay overtime if they fail to clean 17 room credits during a shift, and some housekeepers are paid by room credit rather than hourly. Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 64, 66.

On July 13, 2016, Westin Human Resources Coordinator Cindy Ojeda told Corrales that only full duty housekeeping positions were available. Doc. 45 at ¶ 33; Doc. 45-4 at 9. WhenCorrales responded that she could clean only 12 "rooms," Westin redistributed her assignments to other housekeepers and did not invite her to resume her previous light duty work. Doc. 45 at ¶ 35; Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 61, 70-71. In July 2016, Corrales applied for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, which she currently receives. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 11-15. Although Westin's policy was to assist and evaluate ADA accommodation requests, Corrales never met with anyone at Westin to discuss potential accommodations after submitting her July 7, 2016 physician's note. Doc. 51 at ¶¶ 56, 62, 65.

Westin does not have permanent light duty positions at the hotel, but it offers light duty work to employees with temporary medical restrictions until they can return to full duty. Doc. 45 at ¶ 22. Another injured housekeeper, Veronica Washington, performed light duty work for about the same period as Corrales, but there is no evidence about where (or whether) Washington worked at Westin after June 2016. Doc. 51 at ¶ 48; Doc. 45-2 at 51-52. In addition, Westin allowed another injured housekeeper with minimal work restrictions to serve as a lobby attendant. Doc. 51 at ¶ 60; Doc. 45-3 at 23-24.

Before concluding the background, the court notes that Corrales objects to ¶¶ 22, 29, and 38 of Westin's Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement on the ground that they are "compound," Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 22, 29, 38, and to ¶ 21 of Westin's Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement on the ground that it states an "opinion"—Wnek's "hope" that Corrales would return to full duty after temporary light duty work—rather than a "fact," id. at ¶ 21. By failing to support her objections with developed argument or pertinent legal authority, Corrales has forfeited them. See M.G. Skinner & Assocs. Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Norman Spencer Agency, Inc., 845 F.3d 313, 321 (7th Cir. 2017) ("Perfunctory and undeveloped arguments are waived, as are arguments unsupported by legal authority.").

The objections fail on the merits in any event. As to the "compound" objection, Local Rule 56.1(a) requires that factual assertions be set forth in "short numbered paragraphs"—as ¶¶ 22, 29, and 38 of Westin's Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement are—but does not prohibit a movant from setting forth multiple facts in a single paragraph. N.D. Ill. L.R. 56.1(a). As to the opinion/fact objection to ¶ 21, Westin's assertion about how long Wnek intended to offer Corrales light duty work is a factual assertion, not an opinion. See Toll Processing Servs., LLC v. Kastalon, Inc., 880 F.3d 820, 825 (7th Cir. 2018) (explaining that an individual's "[i]ntent ... is a question of fact"); Koch v. Koch, 450 F.3d 703, 710 (7th Cir. 2006) ("To be clear, determinations of intent involve questions of fact ... .").

In addition, Corrales denies ¶¶ 22, 29, and 34 of Westin's Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement on the ground that they rely on facts averred in Wnek's supplemental declaration that go beyond the facts to which she testified at her deposition. Doc. 45 at ¶¶ 22, 29, 34; Doc. 39-2 at 191-193. To properly deny ¶¶ 22, 29, and 34, it is not enough for Corrales to show that Wnek failed to mention the additional facts in response to open-ended questions at the end of her deposition; rather, at a minimum, Corrales must show that the averments in Wnek's declaration contradict her deposition testimony. See Fischer v. Avanade, Inc., 519 F.3d 393, 407 (7th Cir. 2008) (holding that a witness's "more fulsome testimony in his declaration cannot be said to contradict his earlier, curt response at his deposition"); Shepherd v. Slater Steels Corp., 168 F.3d 998, 1007 (7th Cir. 1999) ("[W]here deposition testimony is ambiguous or incomplete, ... the witness may legitimately clarify or expand upon that testimony by way of an affidavit."). Because this particular denial of ¶¶ 22, 29, and 34 of Westin's Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement does not comport with Local Rule 56.1(b)(3)(B), the court deems those paragraphs admitted to the extent Corrales does not otherwise controvert them with record evidence. See N.D. Ill. L.R.56.1(b)(3)(C) ("All material facts set forth in the [Local Rule 56.1(a)(3)] statement ... will be deemed to be admitted unless controverted by the statement of the opposing party.").

Discussion

Corrales alleges that Westin discriminated and retaliated against her in violation of the ADA...