Davis v. Kimbel Mech. Sys., Inc.
| Decision Date | 25 October 2017 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. 5:16-CV-5194 |
| Parties | SHEILAH DAVIS PLAINTIFF v. KIMBEL MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, INC.; ROB KIMBEL; BRAD SMITH; and DUSTIN HUGHES DEFENDANTS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Arkansas |
Currently before the Court are an Amended Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 23), Brief in Support (Doc. 24), and Statement of Undisputed Facts (Doc. 25) submitted by Defendants Kimbel Mechanical Systems ("KMS"), Rob Kimbel, Brad Smith, and Dustin Hughes (collectively "Defendants"). Plaintiff Sheilah Davis ("Davis") has submitted a Response in Opposition (Doc. 29) and a Statement of Facts in Dispute (Doc. 30) to which the Defendants have submitted a Reply (Doc. 33). The briefs referenced above are amended and substituted versions of briefs first submitted in March of 2017. The Amended Motion for Summary Judgment is now ripe for decision, and for the reasons stated herein, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.
Many of the crucial events surrounding this litigation are not in dispute, as the parties generally agree that most in fact occurred. However, the parties paint radically different portraits of the importance of these events to the present case. Because the instant Motion is one for summary judgment, the Court will recite the facts in the light most favorable to Davis, the non-moving party, and will limit its discussion only to what is necessary to provide context for the Court's decision. In addition, because the temporal ordering of events is crucial for certain of Davis's claims—especially the retaliation claims—the Court will recount events chronologically.
Davis began working for KMS as a receptionist on August 29, 2011. Sometime in or about April of 2014, Davis was promoted and put in charge of the newly established Warranty Department.1 As Defendants note, "for all practical purposes, she was the Warranty Department as initially constituted." (Doc. 19, p. 1). During the early part of her time managing the Warranty Department, Davis was paid at a rate of $22.00 per hour. Due to the amount of overtime she accrued, Davis earned around $90,000 in 2014—approximately twice the amount she would have made working a 40-hour work week.
As a result of the company's substantial growth, in or around January 2015, KMS began a company-wide restructuring. KMS initially restructured both the accounting and pre-con departments as part of this process. At around that same time, KMS assigned Sean DeWitt,2 a Project Manager who handled special projects for the company, to work inside the department.3 In part due to the tremendous number of overtime hours she hadbeen required to work, Davis requested that KMS provide her department with help, acknowledging that KMS's growth meant that to accomplish the Warranty Department's work, the job now required the addition of at least several people.4 In fact, she "begged" that the Warranty Department be the next department to be restructured. See Doc. 33-1, p. 8.
Sometime in or around February 2015, Davis was diagnosed with diabetes ketoacidosis, diabetes mellitus, fibromyalgia, Bell's palsy, depression, and thyroid disorders. Although Davis was hospitalized around this time, her health problems initially did not prohibit her from working. On a couple of occasions, she requested to work a day or two at home, which her supervisor, Dustin Hughes, approved.
Although neither could remember the exact timeframe, both Davis and another employee of the Warranty Department, Madison Spears, stated that sometime before KMS officially announced that it was restructuring the Warranty Department to the rest of the company, an intra-department meeting was held where these changes were announced. In preparation for the meeting, Dustin Hughes, KMS's Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Davis's direct supervisor, had drawn circles on a white board, with him occupying the highest circle, Sean DeWitt occupying the circle under Hughes, and Davis and Spears occupying circles below DeWitt. At that meeting, Davis asked Hughes if he needed to put her name up there as the director still, and Hughes reportedly told her that "I guess you're not the manager, you're demoted" and that she was "no longer in the titlerole." (Doc. 30-1, pp. 19, 21).
On or about April 9, 2015, KMS officially announced the restructuring of the Warranty Department to the rest of its employees via a company-wide email.5 See Doc. 25-3, p. 3. The restructuring divided the Warranty Department into four regions, with one person in charge of each region. As part of its restructuring, KMS requested that employees needing assistance from the Warranty Department on particular projects should work with the coordinator who was assigned to oversee that region. Id. Davis was placed in charge of the Northwest Arkansas Market Housing region, which she recognized as the most important role, due to the nature and responsibility associated with the region and the fact that it was essentially KMS's "home base." (Doc. 25-2, pp. 130-31). DeWitt was also placed over one of the four regions. The other two regions were assigned to two females: Madison Spears and Brandy McGough.
Davis testified that after the email was sent to all KMS employees, she was called in for yet another meeting with Hughes. Davis alleges that at this second meeting, Hughes stated that Davis was being demoted to manager of the Northwest Arkansas Housing Market due to health reasons. (Doc. 30-1, pp. 20-21). Davis alleges that Hughes repeated this statement the next day in the presence of DeWitt. At this second meeting, Davis (Doc. 30-1, p. 23).
On May 26, 2015, Davis presented a doctor's note requesting that she be allowed to work from home for six months due to her medical conditions. After she presented the doctor's note, Davis met twice with Hughes to discuss whether an accommodation could be made. Davis alleges that the first meeting lasted only five minutes. (Doc. 30, ¶ 45). She further alleges that DeWitt was present for the second meeting, but then alleges that this meeting was actually an email. Id. The email, sent by Hughes on June 19, sets forth the terms of Davis's accommodation, which she agreed to in writing on June 21, 2015. (Doc. 25-3, p. 5). That email also confirmed Davis's position with the company, including that she had been officially changed from an hourly position to a salary (earning $71,500 per year).6 According to the terms of the accommodation, Davis was to work from home three days a week for six months with the intention of returning full-time at the end of the six-month period or sooner, if possible. Id. Davis alleges that KMS eventually had her working four days a week before the six-month period ended due in part to the fact that DeWitt had a standing engagement on Thursdays and she was needed at the office to cover.
On July 6, 2015, Davis informed KMS that she needed to take time off effective immediately and requested to use her accrued vacation time. Although KMS's policy usually required two weeks advanced notice before using vacation time, KMS approved the request. Around this same time, DeWitt was tasked with managing the WarrantyDepartment. As Defendants note, because Davis was away from the job due to her disability, DeWitt had to stay longer in the Warranty Department and fill Davis's role until new people could be hired and trained. (Doc. 30-8, p. 8). On or about August 10, 2015, Davis's husband asked KMS if Davis could use un-accrued vacation time to cover additional time off. KMS granted this request.
On September 9, 2015, Davis's physician assessed that she would be able to work "0 hours per day." (Doc. 25-2, p. 21-22). Although she had to call KMS to inquire about the process, on or about September 25, 2015, Davis requested leave under the FMLA, which KMS granted and made retroactive to the first day of her leave period—July 7, 2015. Davis has stated that her condition has steadily worsened so that, since September of 2015, she now spends around 80-90% of each day in bed. (Doc. 25-2, p.16). Although she has not returned to work since July of 2015, Davis is still an employee for KMS. While she is considered an "inactive" employee, KMS currently pays portions of Davis's health insurance, Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance Coverage, and all of her life insurance premium. (Doc. 24, p. 6; Doc. 29, p. 2).
Although she never filed a formal complaint or report of discrimination with KMS, Davis filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC on or about September 24, 2015. Davis subsequently filed the present Complaint in the Circuit Court of Washington County, Arkansas, on June 14, 2016, against KMS and Individual Defendants Rob Kimbel (Owner, KMS), Brad Smith (CEO of KMS), and Dustin Hughes (again, her direct supervisor and KMS COO). Her Complaint asserts as a basis for the lawsuit that her reduction in pay from $90,000 to $71,500 and her demotion from overseeing the entire WarrantyDepartment to being just a Manager (along with the reduction in responsibilities that this entailed) were made for discriminatory reasons. In addition, Davis asserts that KMS retaliated against her for engaging in statutorily protected activities, including asking to work at home because of her disability, filing for FMLA benefits, and filing an E.E.O.C. complaint. As such, the Complaint alleges eight causes of action7: 1) disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 2) retaliation for requesting reasonable accommodation under the ADA, 3) age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 4) gender discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 5) interference with rights protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act ...
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