Donahoo v. Master Data Center

• Decision Date: 29 July 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-73675.,02-73675.
• Citation: 282 F.Supp.2d 540
• Parties: Denita DONAHOO, Plaintiff, v. MASTER DATA CENTER, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

282 F.Supp.2d 540

Denita DONAHOO, Plaintiff, v. MASTER DATA CENTER, Defendant.

No. 02-73675.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan. Southern Division.

July 29, 2003.

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Herbert A. Sanders, Sanders & Johnson, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiff.

Daniel D. Swanson, Sommers, Schwartz, Southfield, MI, for Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

EDMUNDS, District Judge.

The matter came before the Court on Defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant, her employer, claiming that Defendant violated her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") and the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act ("PWDCRA"), unlawfully retaliated against her for asserting her rights under the PWDCRA, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her. For the reasons fully explained below, the Court should GRANT Defendant's motion because Plaintiff cannot establish that she is disabled under the PWDCRA; when she returned from her medical leave she did not return from a FMLA leave and therefore was not entitled to its protections; and she cannot show that Defendant's conduct was extreme or outrageous enough to constitute the tort of intentional infliction of emotion distress.

I. Facts

Plaintiff, Denita Donahoo, began working for Defendant, Master Data Center ("MDC"), as a programmer/analyst in May of 2000.¹ (Pl.Ex. A.) Defendant is in the business of developing software to track annuity payments for its clients' trademarks and patents. (Pl. Dep. at 33.) Ms. Donahoo wrote conversion programs for Defendant's clients, and at the time of her accident, her title was Conversion Programmer.

On June 29, 2001, Ms. Donahoo injured her right foot, leg, shoulder, and elbow in a car accident. Id. at 17-18. She was driving with her fiancé near Northland Mall when her car collided with another. Id. at 14. Both drivers pulled over in the Northland Mall parking lot, and Ms. Donahoo exited her car and approached the other car to exchange insurance information. Id. at 15. As she attempted to hand the other driver her information through the other car's open window, the other driver rolled up the window and drove away, dragging Ms. Donahoo down the street. Id. Ms. Donahoo broke her right foot, lost mobility in her right arm and shoulder, and had open injuries to her elbow, hands, foot, and leg. Id. at 17-18.

In total, Ms. Donahoo was off of work from the date of the accident until December 24, 2001, with the exception of two days she worked in July. (Pl.Ex. J.) Ms. Donahoo avers that MDC "denied me FMLA leave and instead place me on `other' leave, effective July 1, 2001." (Donahoo Aff. ¶ 6.) Her statement implies, but does not expressly state, that she requested an FMLA leave.

On July 20, 2001, Ms. Donahoo requested a meeting with Mr. Salvatore Caruso, MDC's business manager, to discuss a personal matter. (Caruso Aff. ¶ 5.) At that meeting, Ms. Donahoo told Mr. Caruso that she needed a favor. Id. She was in the process of buying a new house, but did not want to close on the purchase. Id. She informed Mr. Caruso that the only way she could avoid closing on the new home was for MDC to place her on an undetermined leave of absence. Id. Mr. Caruso responded that he could not do so because her most current doctor's note specified that her anticipated return to work date was July 24, 2001. Id.

MDC then requested and obtained a second opinion regarding Ms. Donahoo ability to work from Dr. Roland Brandt. (Caruso Aff. ¶ 6.) At her consultation with Dr. Brandt on August 15, 2001, he found that the problems with her right shoulder were still "unresolved." (Pl.Ex. C.) He issued work restrictions, which consisted of avoiding use of the right arm above shoulder level, avoiding forceful use, and avoiding lifting anything over two pounds with the right upper extremity. He also stated, "She describes her position as working on a computer keyboard and it is my opinion that she could do this job. She may have some discomfort which progresses through the day and she may need to take a break occasionally, but she should be functional at desktop level. It may be helpful to adjust her chair height or desk height to accommodate any discomfort that she does develop in her shoulder." Id.

Following Mr. Caruso's receipt of Dr. Brandt's opinion, Mr. Caruso called Ms. Donahoo and they agreed she would return to work on August 27, 2001. (Caruso Aff. ¶ 7.) Ms. Donahoo did report for work on the morning of August 27, but when Mr. Caruso returned from lunch, he found a note from Ms. Donahoo's doctor, Dr. Ross, indicating that she was physically unable to work as a conversion programmer. Id. at ¶ 8. Later that afternoon, Mr. Caruso met with Ms. Donahoo and presented her with two options, detailed in a written memo: (1) she could return to work, as of that day, in her current position of Conversion Programmer, or (2) she could return to short-term disability effective immediately. If she chose the second option, the memo stated that "Master Data Center can only promise you a job with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms and conditions upon her [sic] return to work." Id. at ¶ 9; Def. Ex. D. The next morning, Ms. Donahoo left a voicemail message for Mr. Caruso indicating that she would not be at work. (Caruso Aff. ¶ 10.) Mr. Caruso immediately called Plaintiff and left her a message indicating that he understood from her message that she was returning to disability leave and that if he was mistaken, she should contact him immediately. Id. Ms. Donahoo did not respond to Mr. Caruso's message. Id.

Ms. Donahoo's latest doctor's note had allowed her to return to work on September 28, 2001. (Def.Ex. E.) By October 2, 2001, Ms. Donahoo had not reported for work and MDC had not received any communication from her. Id. Consequently, on October 2, 2001, Mr. Caruso sent her a notice of termination, which stated in part: "Company policy states that `if you do not return from this leave as scheduled or obtain other employment while on leave, we will consider this to be job abandonment, which is a voluntary resignation without notice' . . . If there are any extenuating circumstances I need to be aware of, or it you have any questions, place call me . . . ." Id.

On October 5, 2001, MDC received a certified letter from Ms. Donahoo, which included a doctor's note. (Def.Ex. F.) Mr. Caruso sent Ms. Donahoo a letter in response, which stated that MDC decided to rescind the termination letter, but that her employment was subject to two conditions: she must submit written status reports every two weeks detailing the progress of her rehabilitation and her anticipated date of return, and upon her return, MDC only guaranteed her a job with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions as the job she held before her leave. Id.

Upon Ms. Donahoo's return to work on December 24, 2001, her physician placed certain restrictions on her work, including requiring an ergonomic keyboard and chair, frequent breaks, and time off to attend physical therapy sessions. (Def.Ex. G.) Ms. Donahoo did not return to her former position as conversion programmer. (Pl. Dep. at 36.) Instead, she was reassigned to work as a receipt analyst. Id. While Ms. Donahoo felt the job was beneath her education, experience, and qualifications, she admits that she did not suffer any loss in pay or benefits by MDC reassigning her to the new position. Id. at 51-52.

Ms. Donahoo claims that MDC did not comply with her work restrictions by not providing her with an ergonomic keyboard and by not providing with the type of ergonomic chair that adjusted the way she needed it to adjust. Id. at 47. Also, the new position of receipt analyst changed Ms. Donahoo's work environment in several respects, which she claims made her medical problems more difficult to manage. As a receipt analyst, Ms. Donahoo was required to lift heavy files and bundles of receipts. Rather than MDC providing assistance proactively, Ms. Donahoo was required to find assistance every time she needed to lift or move the heavy files and receipts. Id. at 61. She was also required to work certain hours, while in her previous position she could "flex-time", and work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., for example, if she so chose. Id. at 50-53. Finally, her new position was basically a data entry position, requiring her to sit and type the entire day. Id. at 43-45. As a conversion programmer, she spent only fifty percent of her time typing, and spent the rest of her time interacting with other employees and clients. Id. at 44-46.

Ms. Donahoo requested that MDC return her to her previous position, but MDC denied her request. Id. at 37. MDC claims that her position was eliminated for business reasons—when Ms. Donahoo held the position, there were three conversion programmers, but since she left MDC made the business decision to only employ one conversion programmer. (Caruso Aff. ¶ 13.) Ms. Donahoo, however, believes that MDC hired another individual to fill Ms. Donahoo's former position, despite her request for the job. (Pl. Dep. at 58.)

In addition to claiming that MDC directly violated state and federal disability and medical leave statutes, Ms. Donahoo alleges that MDC retaliated against her on the basis of her disability. She lists the following acts as acts of retaliation:

(1) MDC changed her job from conversion programmer to the less skillful job of receipt analyst;

(2) MDC changed Ms. Donahoo's hours from flex-time to a set schedule;

(3) When Ms. Donahoo requested information, she only received verbal responses, never anything in writing via fax or email (Pl. Dep. at 53-54);

(4) Ms. Donahoo's supervisor would change her duties and requirements throughout the workday and week (Pl. Dep.82-83);

(5) MDC did not accommodate Ms. Donahoo's restrictions, as instructed by her...