Cravens v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

• Decision Date: 17 November 1999
• Docket Number: No. 99-1924,99-1924
• Citation: 214 F.3d 1011
• Parties: (8th Cir. 2000) REBECCA CRAVENS, APPELLANT, v. BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS CITY, APPELLEE. Submitted:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1011

214 F.3d 1011 (8th Cir. 2000)

REBECCA CRAVENS, APPELLANT, v. BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS CITY, APPELLEE.

No. 99-1924

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

Submitted: November 17, 1999

Filed: June 7, 2000

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before McMILLIAN, Fagg and Morris Shepard Arnold, Circuit Judges.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Rebecca Cravens appeals from a final order entered in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri granting summary judgment in favor of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas City ("BCBS") on her claim pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), R.S. Mo. 213.055.1 (1994). See Cravens v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, No. 98-0410-CV-W-2 (W.D. Mo. Mar. 18, 1999) (summary judgment order) (hereinafter "slip op."). For reversal, Cravens argues that summary judgment was improper because there was a genuine issue of material fact as to (1) whether Cravens was a "qualified individual with a disability" within the meaning of the ADA; and (2) whether BCBS failed to comply adequately with its duty under the ADA to engage in an interactive process with Cravens with respect to reasonable accommodation. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the district court's order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction in the district court was proper based upon 28 U.S.C. 1331 and 1367. Jurisdiction in the court of appeals is proper based upon 28 U.S.C. 1291. The notice of appeal was timely filed pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 4(a).

Background

Rebecca Cravens was an eighteen-year employee of BCBS, working for the company in different capacities from 1977 until October 31, 1995. In late 1993 or early 1994, she assumed the position of Senior Operations Specialist, a claims processing position which required Cravens to spend a substantial part of her time "keying" or typing claim information into BCBS' computer system. ¹ See slip op. at 2.

In June 1995 Cravens sought medical treatment for pain in her wrists. Her doctors placed her under a temporary restriction to avoid repetitive motion and, specifically, to refrain from "keying." As a result of this restriction, Cravens was unable to perform all of her duties as Senior Operations Specialist. Accordingly, during June and July 1995, BCBS gave Cravens a series of temporary, "no keying" assignments, including filing, photocopying, stuffing envelopes, answering patient referral telephone calls, pulling microfilm, and helping other departments. See id.

On July 28, 1995, Cravens was diagnosed with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and thus permanently restricted to no or minimal keyboard activity. On August 16, 1995, Cravens met with Pam Weil, her supervisor, and Lola Griffey, a BCBS human resources department representative. At this meeting, Cravens was told that she had ten to twelve weeks to find another BCBS position (with no keying requirement) via the internal application process available to all employees. BCBS agreed to retain Cravens in her limited duty position in the meantime, with the understanding that her employment would be terminated if she were unable to secure another job within the company. See id. at 2-3. Later that same day, Cravens forwarded a memorandum to Griffey relating her understanding of the meeting and requesting "as much assistance as possible" from Griffey and the human resources department in obtaining another job within BCBS. Joint Appendix (hereinafter "App."), vol. II, at 309 (memorandum from Cravens to Griffey).

On September 25, 1995, Weil informed Cravens that, because she was unable to key, and because her department had no permanent non-keying positions available, Cravens would soon be replaced by a new employee who could "key in" claims. See slip op. at 3. Cravens was eventually terminated on October 31, 1995. See App., vol. II, at 310 (letter from Weil to Cravens).

On January 2, 1998, Cravens filed this action in Missouri state court, alleging violations of Title I of the ADA as well as the MHRA. Specifically, Cravens claimed that she was discriminatorily discharged after BCBS failed to accommodate her disability by reassigning her or helping her locate another position within the company or both. BCBS removed the case to federal court and moved for summary judgment.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of BCBS, holding that Cravens had failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADA. Specifically, the district court determined that Cravens had not generated a factual dispute as to whether she was a "qualified individual with a disability" within the meaning of the ADA. As the district court noted, Cravens could not perform the essential "keying" function of the Senior Operations Specialist position given her medical restriction; moreover, she could not show that any reasonable accommodation (other than reassignment to another position) was available to remedy her situation. See slip op. at 6. As to the argument that reassignment constituted a mandatory reasonable accommodation under the ADA and corresponding Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines, the district court was persuaded that:

reassignment can be used as a means of accommodating a disabled employee when accommodating him [or her] in his [or her] current position is possible, but difficult for [the] employer. It follows that when it is not at all possible to accommodate an employee in his [or her] current position, there is no obligation to reassign.

Id. at 8-9 (emphasis included in original) (quoting Smith v. Midland Brake, Inc., 138 F.3d 1304, 1308 (10th Cir. 1998), rev'd and remanded, 180 F.3d 1154 (1999) (en banc)). According to the district court, because Cravens could not claim entitlement to such an accommodation, she therefore could not be a "qualified individual with a disability." See id. at 9.

Even assuming arguendo that such a reassignment duty existed under the ADA, the district court held that summary judgment was nonetheless warranted because Cravens had not created a genuine issue of material fact about whether reassignment would have been a reasonable accommodation in the instant case. Specifically, the district court determined that she had failed to identify any vacant positions which existed within BCBS at the time of her termination and for which she was qualified. See id. at 11. Finally, the district court held that it was beyond genuine dispute that BCBS had adequately engaged in an interactive process with Cravens in an attempt to provide her reasonable accommodation, see id. at 13, and that BCBS was not required under the ADA to identify alternative positions for her, assess her qualifications, notify her of available jobs, or "automatically plac[e] her in the position of her choice to the exclusion of other equally qualified persons." Id. at 14. This appeal followed.

Discussion

We review decisions to grant summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as did the district court, see Wooten v. Farmland Foods, 58 F.3d 382, 385 (8th Cir. 1995), and affirming only when no genuine issue of material fact remains and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50 (1986). We view all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and recall 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 non-movant." Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir. 1994). However, summary judgment is proper if the plaintiff fails to establish any element of his or her prima facie case. See Wilking v. County of Ramsey, 153 F.3d 869, 873 (8th Cir. 1998).

Statutory Background:

Title I of the ADA bars employers from discriminating against "a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment." 42 U.S.C. 12112(a). The ADA further defines discrimination to include

not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such covered entity . . . .

Id. 12112(b)(5)(A). As the statutory language indicates, ADA protection extends only to a "qualified individual with a disability," namely, "an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires." Id. 12111(8).

Thus, to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADA, an aggrieved employee must show that he or she (1) is disabled within the meaning of the ADA, (2) is qualified (with or without reasonable accommodation) to perform the essential functions of the job at issue, and (3) has suffered an adverse employment decision because of the disability. See Treanor v. MCI Telecommunications Corp., 200 F.3d 570, 574 (8th Cir. 2000). The determination of qualification involves a two- fold inquiry: (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 Benson...