Cox v. Autozone, Inc., Civil Action No. 97-A-478-N.

• Decision Date: 20 January 1998
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 97-A-478-N.
• Parties: Alicia Regenia COX, Plaintiff, v. AUTOZONE, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

990 F.Supp. 1369

Alicia Regenia COX, Plaintiff, v. AUTOZONE, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 97-A-478-N.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama.

January 20, 1998.

Susan S. DePaola, Montgomery, AL, for Plaintiff.

Elmer E. White, Birmingham, AL, Sam Zurik, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALBRITTON, Chief Judge.

This cause is before the court on two motions. Primarily at issue is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed on October 21, 1997. Plaintiff filed a Response to this motion on November 12, 1997, and included with that response a Motion to Strike a document submitted with the Defendant's summary judgment motion. This motion to strike is also at issue.

The Plaintiff filed this action on April 1, 1997. The Complaint was brought under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.¹ Plaintiff alleges that she took leave under the Act from her job as manager at an AutoZone franchise in Birmingham, Alabama. After returning to work, the company allegedly failed to restore her to an equivalent position (count 1 of complaint) and questioned her attempts to exercise her statutory rights, in such a manner as to lead to a constructive discharge (count 2). Plaintiff asks for lost wages and benefits, interest thereon, liquidated damages, equitable relief including reinstatement, attorneys fees, and any other just and reasonable relief.

For the reasons discussed herein, the motion for summary judgment is due to be GRANTED

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Id. at 323.

If the movant succeeds in demonstrating the absence of a material issue of fact, the burden shifts to the non-movant to establish, with evidence beyond the pleadings, that a genuine issue material to the non-movant's case exists. See Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). A dispute of material fact "is `genuine' ... if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the non-movant's response consists of nothing more than conclusory allegations, the court must enter summary judgment for the movant. See Peppers v. Coates, 887 F.2d 1493 (11th Cir.1989).

II. FACTS

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the evidence presented by the nonmovant must be believed and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in its favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. When viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant, submissions before the court establish the following facts:

The Defendant is a covered employer under the terms of the FMLA, and Plaintiff was its employee from April 1992 until December 1995. See Defendant's Answer at para. 3 and 6; 29 U.S.C. § 2611(4). In June of 1995, Plaintiff was promoted to the position of manager of an AutoZone store in Birmingham, Alabama. See Answer at para. 7. One month after her promotion, on July 17, 1995, Plaintiff took temporary disability leave because of her pregnancy. She claims, and the company admits, that the reason for her leave qualifies as a serious health condition under the FMLA. Id. at para. 8; 29 U.S.C. § 2611(11).² While on leave, Plaintiff received the maximum 13 weeks of manager's salary payable under AutoZone's disability pay plan. Plaintiff's Depo. at 49:11-13; Plaintiff's Exh. E1 (AutoZone Disability Pay Plan).

It is uncontested that Plaintiff did not return to work after 12 weeks. Instead, she stayed out of work for 15 weeks, not returning to work until October 31, 1995. See Plaintiff's complaint at para. 8-10. After she did return to work, Defendant admits that it returned Plaintiff to the position of assistant manager, making less money, and that she questioned this demotion. See Answer 12-14. Defendant contends that the change from manager to assistant manager was lawful because the Plaintiff exceeded the 12 weeks of leave for which FMLA provides job protection and that the Plaintiff's absence exceeded the leave time to which she was entitled. Eventually plaintiff resigned from her position, and claims constructive discharge.

Plaintiff contends that AutoZone never told her that she was using up her 12 weeks of FMLA leave, and that she should be allowed to take all of her employer-provided 13 weeks of disability pay, plus 12 additional weeks of unpaid leave, and be entitled to return to her old position. In effect, she is claiming that her AutoZone-provided leave should run consecutively with her federally-mandated FMLA leave. The Defendant contends that this is not the approach of FMLA, and that its employee handbook specifies that leave taken with disability pay runs concurrently with FMLA leave.³

III. DISCUSSION

A. The Motion to Strike.

Plaintiff has strenuously objected to the court's consideration of Exhibit E to the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, a copy of the AutoZone handbook for employees dated September 1994. If handbooks were printed annually and given to employees around December — as is evidenced by the Plaintiff's submissions of handbook receipts⁴ — this would be the handbook in effect at the time Plaintiff took and returned from her leave. Plaintiff has made several arguments to convince the court to strike this document, including lack of authentication. The court does not have to decide the motion to strike, however, as the motion for summary judgment can be fully decided without reference to, or consideration of, the document. Plaintiff's motion to strike is, therefore, DENIED AS MOOT.

B. Summary Judgment

The Family and Medical Leave Act

Under the principles of at-will employment, an employer can fire, treat negatively, criticize, discipline, or do anything else short of an illegal act, to an employee for good reason or no reason at all. Bothered by the raw potential for abuse in this sort of freedom, a number of restrictions on employers have been developed. For example, employees themselves often negotiate contracts which limit the rights of the employer, in exchange for certain restrictions on themselves. Likewise, employees sometimes band together into unions which negotiate labor agreements on behalf of all employees. Congress and various state legislatures also routinely get into the act, passing a number of statutes, such as Title VII, which limit the arbitrary power of employers to act in ways which are thought to be contrary to the public interest.

One of the newer nation-wide restrictions on employers is the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. FMLA guarantees certain employees-those who are not part-timers and have been employed by a large employer for more than a year-the benefit of leave time for certain family and medical emergencies. See 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2) (defining "eligible employee").⁵ The Act grants these employees a statutory right to take off 12 weeks of any 12 month period, provided that they are doing so for what Congress considers to be a good reason. 29 U.S.C. § 2612. Congressionally enumerated reasons include the (1) birth or adoption of a child, or giving foster care to a child, (2) taking care of a relative with a "serious health condition," and (3) when the employee herself cannot "perform the functions of [her] position" because she suffers from a "serious health condition." 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a).

The Act entitles the employer to certain notice and certification regarding the reason for leave. 29 U.S.C. § 2613. When these requirements are met, however, the Act entitles the employee to full restoration to her position (or an equivalent), and to restoration of her "benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment" upon return from the leave. 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a). The Act also requires that the employer maintain the employee's group health insurance during her absence, as long as the employee does return to work when able. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(c).⁶

Besides placing certain duties on employers, the Act also prohibits employers from a number of actions. 29 U.S.C. § 2615. The provision makes it unlawful for employers to "interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right" guaranteed by the Act. 29 U.S.C § 2615(a)(1). Likewise, employers are told not to "discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice made unlawful" by the FMLA. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(2). Retaliation is also prohibited. The employer is not allowed to discharge or discriminate against anyone who has filed a charge, instituted a proceeding, testified, or otherwise given information in a proceeding. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(b). When the prohibitions of the Act are violated, the Secretary may take action, and the employee herself may file a private suit for specified damages.⁷

The court is faced with a private action pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 2615 in the present suit. Plaintiff makes two claims. The first is that AutoZone did not properly restore her to the position of manager when she returned to work. The second is that AutoZone harassed her for enforcing her FMLA rights so severely as to amount to constructive discharge. Both of these claims must fail, for the same reason. FMLA did not...