Grenier v. Cyanamid Plastics, Inc.

• Decision Date: 14 September 1995
• Docket Number: No. 95-1313,95-1313
• Citation: 70 F.3d 667
• Parties: , 5 A.D. Cases 75, 13 A.D.D. 844, 7 NDLR P 209 Andre GRENIER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CYANAMID PLASTICS, INC., Defendant-Appellee. . Heard
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 667

70 F.3d 667

64 USLW 2357, 5 A.D. Cases 75, 13

A.D.D. 844, 7 NDLR P 209

Andre GRENIER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CYANAMID PLASTICS, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 95-1313.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

Heard Sept. 14, 1995.

Decided Nov. 27, 1995.

Roderick H. Potter, Saco, ME, with whom Potter, Prescott, Jamieson & Nelson, was on brief, for appellant.

Jerrol A. Crouter, Portland, ME, with whom Christopher G. Jernigan and Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon, were on brief, for appellee.

Before SELYA and BOUDIN, Circuit Judges, and SARIS, ^* District Judge.

SARIS, District Judge.

Appellant Andre Grenier ("Grenier") was employed as an electrician for Cyanamid Plastics, Inc., d/b/a Cyro Industries ("Cyro"), for several years before he was placed on disability leave due to psychological problems. After his employment had officially terminated by automatic operation of the company disability policy, but while still receiving disability benefits, Grenier notified Cyro that he was an individual with a disability who needed reasonable accommodation to return to work and applied to be re-hired into his previous position. Before making him a job offer, Cyro requested Grenier to provide certification from his physician stating that he was prepared to return to work without restrictions or identifying the reasonable accommodations necessary for him to return to work. When Grenier failed to do so, his application was rejected.

The difficult issue on appeal is whether Cyro violated the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12112(d), which prohibits certain preemployment medical examinations and inquiries of a job applicant. Concluding that Cyro did not violate this provision of the ADA, we affirm the district court's entry of summary judgment for Cyro.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A. Facts

Reviewing the factual record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, as we must at summary judgment, see Mesnick v. General Elec. Co., 950 F.2d 816, 822 (1st Cir.1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 985, 112 S.Ct. 2965, 119 L.Ed.2d 586 (1992), we treat the following facts as undisputed.

1. The Disability Leave

Andre Grenier worked as a shift electrician for Cyro at its plant in Sanford, Maine, from 1980 to 1989. Grenier's technical skill as an electrician was good. In 1989, Grenier and several other employees were questioned about vandalism of plant machinery that had occurred during their shift. Grenier responded to the questioning "in a highly emotional and irrational manner" and failed to report to his next scheduled shift. He informed his supervisor, William Kennedy, that he was afraid to be on a shift without an alibi, and that he was "losing it." Stating that Grenier's behavior was "very disruptive and potentially dangerous," Kennedy placed Grenier on medical leave in November 1989. This leave was explicitly "until such a time when you can be cleared by our medical department to return to work." Kennedy informed Grenier in writing that in order to return he would have to go through the standard reentry screening process, including permitting his doctors to discuss the specifics of his case with the company doctor.

In August 1990, Grenier mailed the first of a series of letters to Cyro, including a one-page letter received September 27, 1990, and a six-page "statement" of April 11, 1991. In these letters, Grenier criticized the plant manager Skip Brogli and complained that company actions in investigating vandalism at the plant and placing him on medical leave had caused him to suffer increased anxiety. He attacked several policies of the plant that he claimed were a "constant source of aggravation" to him. He also discussed in detail various collateral issues, such as the criminal charges faced by the son of a Cyro manager, a sexual harassment investigation of a fellow employee, and various transfers of Cyro managers.

Grenier informed Cyro in his letters that his analyst Dr. Stewart "describes me as being Narcissistic," but noted that "I prefer the word 'proud.' " He stated that "Dr. Stewart also describes me as having 'somewhat paranoid beliefs concerning the malevolent intent of the (relatively new) management.' " He also noted that "[a]fter a year and a half of being unable to work, my analyst feels that it would be in my best interests to quit my job and find another ... that I've become obsessed with this Skip guy [manager Skip Brogli]." He stated repeatedly, however, that he refused to quit his job.

"As a final note," wrote Grenier in one letter, dated April 11, 1991, "I want to point that [sic], although Dr. Stewart is indicating that he feels that I am not totally disabled, I still feel convinced that I am." Grenier realized his statement had "some strong elements of paranoia," but claimed that "the paranoia is not just my own ... it has become fairly rampant throughout the workforce." And:

The continuing incidents of vandalism, recently, should be a clear signal to Corporate headquarters that Cyro Industries, in Sanford, Me. is still more than just a little bit sick.

There is still some hope, however, if only the right steps are taken. And unless the right steps are taken, somebody else is going to be hurt, maybe even killed. Of that, I am sure.

Grenier would not voluntarily terminate his employment. He remained on indefinite disability leave until May 12, 1991, when his employment at Cyro terminated automatically as a result of the expiration of his continuous service credits. Cyro informed Grenier of his termination by letter May 15, 1991.

Grenier received disability benefits from Cyro for a two-year period ending December 31, 1992. Under the company's plan, benefits were payable for up to two years if Grenier was under the regular care of a licensed physician and unable to perform the duties of his specific job, but benefits would have continued beyond this period only if the Disability Department determined that his medical condition prevented him "from working at any job for which [he was] reasonably qualified to perform." On December 4, 1992, the Cyro disability department wrote Grenier that based on information received from an independent medical examination of July 30, 1992, he was not disabled to this extent and, therefore, no benefits were payable after January 1, 1993.

2. Application for Re-Employment

In a letter dated December 18, 1992, and addressed to Robert Lysaght, the Personnel Operations Manager at the Sanford plant, Grenier asked to be considered an applicant for the job of shift electrician, his former position. Grenier was still receiving disability benefits at this time. In this letter, which was under the heading "request for employment accommodation," Grenier stated:

I qualify as an individual with a disability as defined by Federal and State Civil Rights laws.

I understand that CYRO Industries is conducting interviews for the position of shift mechanic in the electrical department. The purpose of this letter is to request accommodation to return to work in the same capacity as I had been working since September of 1980.

. . . . .

I believe that I should be afforded the opportunity to be accommodated to return to my job, at the very least, for a trial period, to prove that I am able to perform my job.

I believe that, under reasonable circumstances, I should be able to perform in a safe and reliable manner.

In response, Lysaght told Grenier in a January 5, 1993, letter that "CYRO is not currently accepting applications" but that the Maine unemployment office would be notified when Cyro was soliciting applications. In reality, a job notice was posted on January 4, 1993--subsequent to Grenier's request for consideration as an applicant, but prior to the date of Lysaght's response. Lysaght requested in his letter:

Since your termination of employment came as a result of the expiration of Continuous Service Credits while you were on an extended medical leave, CYRO would reasonably request that you provide us with certification from a physician that you are prepared to return to work without restrictions or identifying any accommodations that are required for you to return to work at the Sanford location. Of course, any requests for employment accommodation will be considered with regard to the reasonableness at the time of the employment interview process.

Therefore, in order to return to work with CYRO Industries you need 1) keep in touch with the Maine Unemployment office in Sanford to learn when CYRO is accepting employment applications; 2) complete an employment application for a position for which you are qualified; and 3) provide CYRO with notice from your physician that you are prepared to return to work without restrictions or identifying those reasonable accommodations that may be necessary.

By letter of January 15, 1993, Grenier forwarded his therapist's certification that he was disabled and requested to discuss accommodation with Cyro Vice President William Loman. He also maintained that his employment had never terminated, and argued that the May 15, 1991, letter that informed him of the termination "simply implies that my employment is terminated."

Cyro's New Jersey-based Personnel Director Thomas Ayres responded by letter of January 25th by informing Grenier that he must follow the steps outlined in Lysaght's January 5th letter in order to be considered for employment.

Additional correspondence ensued. Grenier asserted that he was "capable of performing the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation" but failed to describe how he would perform and refused to provide medical documentation. Cyro continued to request the documentation.

On February 22, 1993, Cyro mailed Grenier an employment application, which Grenier promptly returned. By letter of March 15, 1993, Cyro rejected Grenier's application for employment, stating that, "[a]fter careful review of all relevant information, your request for employment...