Gelabert-Landenheim v. American Airlines

• Decision Date: 08 May 2001
• Docket Number: P,No. 00-2324,GELABERT-LADENHEI,00-2324
• Citation: 252 F.3d 54
• Parties: (1st Cir. 2001) LISAlaintiff, Appellant, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Defendant, Appellee. Heard
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 54

252 F.3d 54 (1st Cir. 2001)

LISA GELABERT-LADENHEIM, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Defendant, Appellee.

No. 00-2324

United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit

Heard May 8, 2001

Decided June 12, 2001

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Hector M. Laffitte, U.S. District Judge]

Raymond L. Sanchez Maceira, with whom Melba Rivera Camacho was on brief, for appellant.

John F. Suhre, with whom Gwendolyn Young Reams, Associate General Counsel, Philip B. Sklover, Associate General Counsel, and Vincent J. Blackwood, Assistant General Counsel, were on brief, for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, amicus curiae.

Angel Castillo, Jr., with whom Kara S. Nickel and Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP were on brief, for appellee.

Before Selya, Circuit Judge, Coffin, Senior Circuit Judge, and Lynch, Circuit Judge.

LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Unlike other areas of discrimination law where the protected status of the plaintiff (e.g., race or gender) is usually not at issue, the law of disability discrimination often presents a threshold question of whether a plaintiff is in fact disabled. This question frequently arises when the plaintiff is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome ("CTS"), an affliction that can result from repetitive motion injury. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., the term "disability" has a specialized meaning, more restrictive at times than the meaning in the common use of the term "disabled." Under the ADA a person must not only have a disability in the sense of a physical or mental "impairment," but, importantly, that impairment must also "substantially limit" a "major life activity." 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A). The CTS cases often turn on these last two prongs, and the results vary with the individualized facts of a given case. That is particularly so when the "major life activity" claimed to be impaired is that of "working."

The district court here entered summary judgment against plaintiff Lisa Gelabert-Ladenheim's ADA employment claim, concluding that because defendant American Airlines reasonably accommodated her alleged disability, namely, CTS, it did not violate the Act. See Gelabert-Ladenheim v. American Airlines, Inc., 115 F. Supp. 2d 225 (D.P.R. 2000). We affirm on the different ground that the plaintiff has not produced sufficient evidence on summary judgment that her impairment substantially limits a major life activity, and so she does not meet the specialized definition of the term "disabled."

I.

Plaintiff Lisa Gelabert-Ladenheim has a B.S. degree in Mass Communication from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. Gelabert can type and operate a computer and various software programs. By her own admission she is qualified for positions in the fields of advertising, public relations, radio and television production, news writing and editing, and English-Spanish translation. Her past work experience is broad and includes jobs working in retail sales, narrating a documentary, doing a voice-over for a Spanish language commercial, and translating wire-copy.

In 1986, Gelabert began working as a passenger services agent for American Airlines at the Luis Munoz Marn International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Gelabert worked as a gate agent for most of her career with American, after starting at the ticket counter. As a gate agent, Gelabert was required to use computers, prepare itineraries, compute fares, prepare and issue tickets, check baggage, and assist passengers who are elderly, traveling with small children, or in wheelchairs. Gelabert was also required periodically to update her training in ticketing.

Gelabert always worked part-time for American (twenty hours a week). Throughout her employment there, and afterwards, until four months after she had started a full-time job at the Wyndham El San Juan Hotel and Casino, Gelabert also worked another part-time job as a production coordinator and administrative assistant for a concert production company called Rocktropic.

In May 1993, Gelabert injured her left hand while on duty at American. She took a ten-month medical leave of absence; during her treatment she was diagnosed with CTS in both hands, worse in her left hand. By June 1994, Gelabert had received the maximum benefit from insurance treatment, and in August 1994, she was released from her insurance treatment with a declared 5% incapacity in her left wrist. Gelabert continued to receive treatment from a private physician. The condition deteriorated and now imposes a permanent impairment of 20% on both hands.

In February 1994, Gelabert returned to work at American. American placed her on restricted duty and assigned her to a temporary part-time position at a curbside station for American Eagle Airlines, Inc., its regional affiliate. This curbside position required Gelabert to direct passenger traffic and provide information, but not to lift luggage. She maintained her status as an American employee as well as her previous salary.

After August 1994, American reviewed Gelabert's medical file and adopted the permanent physical exertion restrictions proposed by Gelabert's treating physician. On March 17, 1995, American informed Gelabert of her permanent work restrictions: no lifting of more than thirty pounds; no pushing or pulling of more than twenty pounds; no sitting or standing longer than eight hours; and moderate repetitive typing of no more than one to two hours at a time, followed by a fifteen minute break. Because Gelabert was no longer eligible for a restricted duty assignment and because she could not perform all her previous duties as a gate agent, American placed Gelabert on unpaid medical leave and authorized job search assistance to try to find her an alternate position at American. Gelabert remained on unpaid medical leave from March 19, 1995 until April 16, 2000, when she exhausted her allotment of medical leave. Throughout, American has maintained that Gelabert is not disabled within the meaning of the ADA.

Gelabert's main contact during the American Airlines job search was Mara Ramos-Salgado, a human services representative in San Juan. Gelabert and Ramos spoke approximately once a week, though Gelabert always initiated the contact. Ramos advised Gelabert to apply for several available positions at the San Juan airport, including ramp customer service team leader, ramp support staff, cargo services coordinator, and operations customer service team leader. Gelabert did not apply for any of these positions because she did not feel she could perform the duties they required. Gelabert neither requested any type of accommodation nor consulted with her physician before choosing not to apply. Gelabert also insisted that any position be part-time to enable her to continue working her other part-time job at Rocktropic. In addition, Gelabert told Ramos she needed to remain in the San Juan area to be close to family members who had health problems.

Gelabert eventually applied and interviewed for other positions at American. In May 1995, Gelabert applied for a vacant light-duty position as a special services representative, but that position was given to another American employee who had baggage handling experience Gelabert lacked.¹ In February 1996, Gelabert applied for another vacant light-duty position as a platinum desk agent, but that position was given to another American employee who had more extensive and more recent ticketing experience than Gelabert. In both instances, American believed Gelabert, though qualified, was not the most qualified person for the job.

In May 1996, American contacted Gelabert for an interview for a part-time, temporary position as a sales and service representative in reservations. Gelabert was interviewed and was offered the job but declined, without exploring it, telling American that because the position involved heavy repetitive typing she could not perform its essential functions. Gelabert says American never told her that all sales and service representatives received a fifteen minute break from typing every one to two hours -- a regimen that paralleled Gelabert's own work restrictions. Ramos says Gelabert never asked whether American could have accommodated her by allowing her to take such breaks. Had Gelabert asked, Ramos says, she would have been told about the fifteen minute breaks. Indeed, other employees with CTS, and with restrictions similar to Gelabert's, worked as sales and service representatives at American at the time.

In July 1996, Gelabert accepted a position outside American as an administrative office manager at the Wyndham El San Juan Hotel and Casino ("the Hotel"). There Gelabert is responsible for assisting the president and managing director with the Hotel's day-to-day operation. The position is full-time, and Gelabert currently earns approximately $51,000 per year. Gelabert's highest salary at American was approximately $15,000 per year (albeit for part-time work).

Gelabert also continued to work part-time for Rocktropic for approximately four months after she had been hired by the Hotel. Gelabert's decision to leave Rocktropic was not related to her CTS, but rather was based on her desire for a "career change." Gelabert's CTS has never significantly interfered with her job at the Hotel, nor did it ever significantly interfere with her job at Rocktropic.

II.

On December 20, 1996, Gelabert filed a disability discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against American Airlines. On June 15, 1999, she commenced this action. On August 28, 2000, the district court granted American's motion for summary judgment. The court determined that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Gelabert was disabled under the ADA. It cited the restrictions on Gelabert's ability to type for more than forty-five...