Fox v. General Motors Corp.

• Decision Date: 01 March 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-1589,00-1589
• Citation: 247 F.3d 169
• Parties: (4th Cir. 2001) ROBERT J. FOX, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant, and ROBERT TRUMBLE, Bankruptcy Trustee, Trustee. Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 169

247 F.3d 169 (4th Cir. 2001)

ROBERT J. FOX, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant, and ROBERT TRUMBLE, Bankruptcy Trustee, Trustee.

No. 00-1589

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Argued: March 1, 2001

Decided: April 13, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. W. Craig Broadwater, District Judge.

(CA-97-14-3)

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] COUNSEL: ARGUED: Susan Renee Snowden, MARTIN & SEIBERT, L.C., Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellant. Terry Lane Armentrout, ARMENTROUT & ARMENTROUT, P.L.C., Harrisonburg, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Ronald S. Rossi, Michele L. Dearing, MARTIN & SEIBERT, L.C., Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appel- lant.

Before WILKINS, MOTZ, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part by published opinion. Judge Motz wrote the opinion, in which Judge Wilkins and Judge Traxler joined.

OPINION

DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ, Circuit Judge:

This case requires us to resolve an issue of first impression in the appellate courts: is a hostile work environment claim cognizable under the Americans with Disabilities Act? We conclude that it is, and that the plaintiff here presented sufficient evidence to establish such a claim. Accordingly, we affirm the jury verdict for the plaintiff, but vacate, as without basis, a portion of the damages awarded to him.

I.

Robert Fox began working for General Motors in Wilmington, Del- aware in 1968. Shortly thereafter, Fox moved to GM's newly-opened Martinsburg, West Virginia plant. For the next twelve years, from 1968 until 1980, Fox worked at the Martinsburg plant as a tool han- dler, stock attendant, and finally truck driver.

In 1980, Fox suffered a non-work related injury to his back and became unable to work. Fox remained employed at GM, but was on disability leave until September 1991, at which time Fox returned to the plant to work in the unitizing department. In August 1992, Fox re- injured his back and was forced to take disability leave again. He was able to return to work, with light duty restrictions in October 1992. In November 1993, Fox aggravated his back again and took disability leave, this time for nearly a year. Fox returned to work in the unitiz- ing department in October 1994 and remained there until August 1995, when he again went on disability leave. It is the period of employment preceding this leave -- from October 1994 until August 1995 -- that is at issue in this case.¹ When Fox returned to work in October 1994, his doctor restricted him to light-duty work. Fox testi- fied that because of his disability his supervisors and co-workers sub- jected him to a barrage of harassment and his supervisors often ordered him to perform jobs beyond his physical abilities.

Specifically, Fox testified that when his immediate supervisor, Jim Pearrell, attempted to accommodate Fox's restrictions, some of Fox's co-workers resented this accommodation; they complained to another supervisor, Tom Dame, and the general foreman, Bill Okal. Dame and Okal then sought to prevent Pearrell from accommodating Fox; they took pictures of the tasks that Fox performed and asserted that those tasks were no different, in terms of the effect on Fox's back, than the tasks Fox refused to perform because of his disability. Okal then insisted that Pearrell require Fox to perform the tasks that Fox main- tained aggravated his back.

In December 1994, Dame directly supervised Fox for a period of two days. On the second day, Dame approached Fox, who was work- ing at the light-duty table, and, in a loud voice, using profane lan- guage, asked Fox to perform a task that was beyond his physical ability. When Fox responded that he could not perform the requested task, Dame asked "Why the F--- can't you do it?" Fox explained that his abilities were medically limited because of his back. Dame then stated "I don't need any of you handicapped M-----F-----'s. As far as I am concerned you can go the H--- home."²

On another occasion, when a supervisor again assigned Fox a spe- cific task that would likely hurt his back, he requested a meeting with Pearrell, Okal, several management officials, and his union represen- tative. At the meeting, Okal began by telling Fox that he knew how Fox felt because he too had back problems. Fox responded, "Mr. Okal, you do not know how I feel. My back don't speak to yours . . . . I have back problems and I can't go by your feelings." Okal became upset and then told Fox that he would like to know"[h]ow in the F---- do you take a S-H-I-T with these restrictions?" At this point, some of the other officials at the meeting began making fun of the disabled workers.

After that meeting, Fox continued to be able to perform, and did perform, numerous jobs in the unitizing department, but Okal none- theless "kept putting [Fox] in jobs [he] couldn't do." Fox then con- sulted his neurologist, Dr. Liberman, who issued new medical restrictions for Fox, under which Fox was limited to working at the light-duty table. Prior to that time, workers with medical restrictions performed light-duty tasks at a large group table, but after Dr. Liber- man restricted Fox to tasks at the light-duty table, Okal assigned Fox to a small individual table and chair directly in front of his office. Not only were the table and chair located in a hazardous area, but they were also too low for Fox, who testified that he was six feet seven inches tall. As a result, he re-aggravated his back injury.

Because of Okal's harassment, Fox decided to apply for a truck driver position, which met his medical restrictions and for which he was otherwise qualified. Okal, however, refused to allow Fox to take the physical examination that was a prerequisite for obtaining the truck driver position.

In addition to these incidents, Fox testified to constant verbal harassment and insults directed at him and other disabled workers; indeed, Fox testified that "it was brought up all the time." For exam- ple, at safety meetings, held each week, Okal referred to the disabled workers as "handicapped people" and "hospital people." Okal and Dame also frequently called Fox and other disabled workers "handi- capped MFs" and "911 hospital people." Fox also testified that Okal instructed the other employees not to talk to the disabled employees. Perhaps because of this, Fox's co-workers ostracized the disabled employees and refused to bring needed materials to the light-duty table where they worked. Fox also testified that Okal refused to per- mit disabled employees to work overtime.

Several other employees at the GM plant similarly testified that they themselves had been harassed because of their disabilities or had witnessed harassment of Fox and other disabled workers. Andrew Young explained that he heard Okal and Dame make disparaging comments about the disabled employees at the light-duty table, call- ing them "hospital people." Vince Largent recalled that both Dame and Okal directed profanity and insults at the disabled workers and that Okal instructed the other employees not to talk to the disabled workers at the light-duty table. Lewis Washington testified that Dame and Okal used profanity and insulted the employees who had medical restrictions and that other workers treated those employees "like they had a disease." Finally, John Green recalled that Okal supervised the disabled workers at the light-duty table more closely than other employees and segregated them from other employees.

Fox testified that the harassment he experienced at GM caused him both physical and emotional injury. Additionally, Fox offered testi- mony from his psychiatrist, Dr. Soule, and his neurologist, Dr. Liberman.

Dr. Soule, who had been treating Fox since January 1994 for depression caused by his back pain, his divorce, and the death of his daughter, testified that in April 1995 Fox came to him complaining of harassment at work.³ Fox told the psychiatrist that he was being "openly joked about" because of his disability, and was being asked to perform tasks that aggravated his back injury. Fox reported that he "fe[lt] ready to explode." For these reasons, Dr. Soule ordered that Fox be placed on medical leave from work for a few weeks in the Spring.

Dr. Liberman testified that Fox came to him in July 1995, com- plaining that he was being forced to work at a chair and table that hurt his back, and that he was being harassed at work and"deliberately given things to do" that aggravated his back injury. On August 14, 1995, Fox returned to Dr. Liberman complaining of worsening back pain, anxiety, and severe depression, including some suicidal thoughts. Dr. Liberman concluded that, although Fox was physically capable of performing light-duty work, the constant harassment pre- cluded Fox from continuing to work at the GM plant. Dr. Liberman explained that the harassment caused depression and anxiety, which in turn led to a worsening of Fox's physical condition. At that time, then, Dr Liberman recommended that Fox be placed on disability leave.

Fox went on disability leave as recommended by Dr. Liberman in August 1995 and remained on leave until May 1998. Fox sought workers' compensation benefits from the state of West Virginia for that period of leave. Although his request was initially denied, he eventually received temporary total disability benefits for the period August 15, 1995 through October 11, 1997. Dr. Liberman completed Fox's workers' compensation forms. On those forms, he indicated that Fox was totally disabled and could not do any work. In 1997, Fox initiated this action against GM. Fox alleged that, after his return to work in October 1994, GM discriminated against him and subjected him to a hostile work environment in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. S 12101 et seq. (1994). After the first trial...