Gee v. MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES

• Decision Date: 26 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. A04-1542.,A04-1542.
• Parties: Carrie J. GEE, Appellant, v. MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, et al., Respondents.
• Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals

700 N.W.2d 548

Carrie J. GEE, Appellant, v. MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, et al., Respondents.

No. A04-1542.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

July 26, 2005.

Stephen H. Parsons, Marshall H. Tanick, Phillip J. Trobaugh, Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for appellant.

Mike Hatch, Attorney General, Gary R. Cunningham, Assistant Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, for respondent.

Considered and decided by LANSING, Presiding Judge; HALBROOKS, Judge; and MINGE, Judge.

OPINION

LANSING, Judge.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment dismissal of claims for disability discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. Because the district court applied an incorrect standard to determine that Carrie Gee is not a disabled person for purposes of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, we reverse and remand the dismissal of Gee's disability-discrimination claim. We affirm, however, the district court's dismissal of Gee's whistleblower claim because the evidence is insufficient to establish that she made a good-faith report of a violation of federal or state law.

FACTS

Carrie Gee was employed at the Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) from 1998 to 2003 as a fixed-term assistant professor in the college of education. In the spring of 2001, Gee learned that a tenure-track science-education position would become available for the 2002-2003 academic year. Gee asserts that Dr. Peg Ballard, her supervisor and friend, and Dr. Joanne Brandt, Interim Dean of the College of Education, encouraged Gee to apply for the position. Although the position required completion of a doctorate degree, all-but-dissertation (ABD) candidates were eligible for hire. In her affidavit, Gee stated that Ballard was aware of Gee's ABD status and had "convinced the Search Committee to include ABD applicants . . . to ensure that [Gee] could be considered." According to Gee, Ballard also assured her that, in the event she was not hired for the tenure-track position, Ballard would extend her employment in a fixed-term position.

The science-education position's notice of vacancy, which states the qualifications for hiring, indicates that "ABD candidates will be considered; however, the doctorate must be completed by the end of the 2002-2003 academic year." Gee contacted faculty at the Indiana University, Bloomington in October 2001 to determine whether she could complete her dissertation within the requisite time. The faculty informed her that she could timely complete the doctorate but that she needed to "retake qualifying exams." Gee forwarded this e-mail to Ballard, discussed her ability to complete the dissertation with Brandt, and applied for the position in January of 2002. Her curriculum vitae indicates that she was "ABD (all but dissertation) for the Ed.D," and she states in her affidavit that she "was first admitted to Ed.D. candidacy (ABD) ... in April of 1988."

Concurrently with these events, Gee began experiencing medical problems. In March 2001 she was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. For the next three weeks, she was hospitalized and had seven surgeries, one of which involved the amputation of the big toe on her right foot. Gee continued to have medical difficulties throughout the 2001-2002 academic year. In August she had two additional surgeries, including a partial excision of the first metatarsal in her right foot and laser surgery on her left eye for diabetes retinopathy.

Gee walks with a quad-footed cane to maintain balance and to keep weight off her right foot, and she wears a leg brace. As a result of her condition, she cannot walk long distances, climb stairs easily, or stand for long periods. She has difficulty reading because of blurred or double vision.

In a search-committee meeting, Ballard and Dr. Karl Matz both indicated that Gee should not be considered for the tenure position because she was ABD and had little evidence of written scholarship. The committee chose to exclude her from further consideration. Ballard informed Gee on March 29, 2002, that the search committee was not considering Gee for the tenure-track position. Six days later, she also informed Gee that she would not be considered for a fixed-term position. The committee decided to extend an offer to another person, who was an ABD candidate. This person did not accept the offer, and the position remained open.

During her employment at MSU, Gee supported an effort to reactivate a student chapter of Education Minnesota (EdMN), an educators' union that had ceased activity in 1999. Beginning in August 2001, Gee worked directly on the reactivation. In her affidavit, Gee asserts that she encountered resistance from Ballard, who opposed the organization, and Matz, who was the faculty advisor to Kappa Delta Pi, the honor society for education students. In response to a request from the local field representative of EdMN, Gee contacted Carol Skorr, an administrative assistant who worked closely with Ballard, about the balance in the student organization's account. When Gee inquired about the balance, Skorr told her that the account contained only ten or twenty dollars. Gee expressed surprise because a percentage of each student member's dues had been rebated to the account for the organization's use. Gee asked what the funds had been spent on; Skorr replied that it was spent "on students."

On February 6, 2002, Gee attended a faculty meeting at which Ballard informed another faculty member that there was "plenty of money" for the student organization. Gee told the faculty members the substance of her conversation with Skorr. Gee made a second inquiry of Skorr about the expenditures. In her deposition testimony, Gee asserts that she made the second inquiry because she "was concerned about the conflicting information" and its effect on her efforts to reactivate EdMN. Ballard confronted Gee about her inquiries and told her that the account's status was not her business and that she should not upset Skorr. Gee ultimately obtained information on the use of the funds but not until after March 29, 2002.

Gee sued in July 2003, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation for reporting the possible diversion of the EdMN funds. MSU moved for summary judgment on both claims. The district court granted the motion for summary judgment on Gee's whistleblower claim, concluding that the only statement that could be considered a report was not made for the purpose of exposing an illegality. The district court also granted summary judgment dismissing the disability-discrimination claim, concluding that Gee had established a genuine issue of material fact on whether she was qualified for the tenure-track position but not on whether she had a disability as defined by the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Gee appeals the dismissal of both claims.

ISSUES

I. Does a physical impairment that materially affects a person's ability to walk and see constitute a disability under the Minnesota Human Rights Act?

II. Did the inquiry about the absence of money in the student-group account constitute a good-faith report of a violation of law that is protected by Minnesota's whistleblower statute?

ANALYSIS

On appeal from summary judgment, we determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court erred in its application of the law. Funchess v. Cecil Newman Corp., 632 N.W.2d 666, 672 (Minn.2001). In assessing the evidence, we view it in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment has been granted. Fabio v. Bellomo, 504 N.W.2d 758, 761 (Minn.1993). A summary judgment based on application of a statute to undisputed facts receives de novo review. Wiegel v. City of St. Paul, 639 N.W.2d 378, 381 (Minn.2002).

I

The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) prohibits an employer from discharging, refusing to hire, or discriminating against a person with respect to terms or conditions of employment on the basis of a person's disability. Minn.Stat. § 363A.08, subd. 2 (2004). A plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of discrimination either by offering direct evidence of discriminatory intent or by establishing an inference of discriminatory intent under the McDonnell-Douglas shifting-burden analysis. Hoover v. Norwest Private Mortgage Banking, 632 N.W.2d 534, 542 (Minn.2001) (citing McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973)).

The district court evaluated Gee's disability-discrimination claim using the McDonnell-Douglas analysis and determined that Gee must demonstrate that (1) she was disabled within the meaning of the MHRA, (2) she applied and was qualified for the job posted by MSU, (3) despite her qualifications she was rejected, and (4) the position remained available after her rejection or was given to someone else with her qualifications. See Hoover, 632 N.W.2d at 542

(listing elements necessary to establish prima facie case). Only the first two elements were disputed in the motion for summary judgment. On the second element the district court determined that Gee established a genuine issue of material fact on whether she was qualified for the position. But the court granted summary judgment based on its conclusion that Gee did not establish that she was disabled or that a genuine issue of material fact existed on the question of whether she was disabled.

The MHRA defines disability as "any condition or characteristic that renders a person a disabled person." Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, subd. 12 (2004). A "disabled person" is in turn defined as "any person who (1) has a physical, sensory, or mental impairment which materially limits one or more major life activities; (2) has a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment." Id. Thus, an employee claiming disability discrimination must establish an impairment that materially limits a major life activity. Gee contends that her impairments have materially limited her major life...