Haschmann v. Time Warner Entertainment Co.

• Decision Date: 29 July 1998
• Docket Number: Nos. 97-3333,97-3708,s. 97-3333
• Citation: 151 F.3d 591
• Parties: 74 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,575, 135 Lab.Cas. P 33,702, 4 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1531, 8 A.D. Cases 692, 13 NDLR P 169 Connie L. HASCHMANN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY, L.P., doing business as Cablevision New York, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 591

151 F.3d 591

74 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,575, 135 Lab.Cas. P 33,702,

4 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1531, 8 A.D. Cases 692,

13 NDLR P 169

Connie L. HASCHMANN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY, L.P., doing business as

Cablevision New York, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 97-3333, 97-3708.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued April 3, 1998.

Decided July 29, 1998.

George Burnett (argued), Liebmann, Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry, Green Bay, WI, for Haschmann.

Winston A. Ostrow (argued), Godgrey & Kahn, Green Bay, WI, for Time Warner Entertainment Co. in No. 97-3333.

William Duffin, Godfrey & Kahn, Milwaukee, WI, Winston A. Ostrow (argued), Godfrey & Kahn, Green Bay, WI, for Time Warner Entertainment Co. in No. 97-3708.

Before FLAUM, EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Connie Haschmann was diagnosed to have systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus") in 1988. After her employer, the Green Bay Division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. ("Time Warner"), terminated her employment in 1995, Ms. Haschmann filed a complaint against the company, alleging that it fired her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-213, and the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), codified at 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-54. A jury found for Ms. Haschmann and awarded her damages of $32,000 in back pay and $8,000 in compensatory damages; the district court later amended the judgment to include attorney's fees and costs. ¹ After the district court denied the company's postjudgment motions, Time Warner appealed the jury verdict. For the reasons presented in the following opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I BACKGROUND

A. Facts

As we review the record and set forth the factual background of this case, we keep in mind that we are reviewing a jury verdict and therefore "must take the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the victor's favor." Transport Ins. Co. v. Post Express Co., 138 F.3d 1189, 1192-93 (7th Cir.1998). We first shall set forth the undisputed facts that form the basis of this action; we then shall describe the controverted matters at the heart of this controversy; lastly, we shall present other matters of record that must be considered in our review of the jury's verdict.

1.

Ms. Haschmann was employed for seven months as the Vice President of Finance of Time Warner's Green Bay Division, from April 3, 1995, to the date of her termination Ms. Haschmann suffers from systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus"), an autoimmune system disorder that affects the central nervous system and is without cure. ² The course of the disease is unpredictable; it has periods of inactivity and periods of flare. During a temporary flare, lupus causes joint pain, inflammations and extreme fatigue; it can affect a person's ability to process information. Ms. Haschmann's affliction with the disease was well known in the Rochester division, but it did not affect her job performance before her arrival at the Green Bay Division. In fact, she felt fine the first few months; however, in July and August, 1995, Ms. Haschmann began to notice difficulties in processing information and in communicating. Division president Keating criticized her for a lack of thoroughness; the criticism continued and the relationship between Ms. Haschmann and Keating deteriorated.

November 3, 1995. She had been working in Time Warner's larger Rochester, New York, Division as a division controller since 1991. In fact, she had been awarded a Walter Kaitz Fellowship upon joining Time Warner and had received superior evaluations every year she was there. Her transfer to the Green Bay Division was a promotion; in Green Bay, as Vice President of Finance, she was the Chief Financial Officer of the Division. She headed a department of ten employees, three of whom reported directly to her. As Vice President of Finance, Ms. Haschmann was responsible for all the financial and accounting matters of the Division including budgeting, inventory, compliance with governmental regulations, customer relations and financial reporting. Her other duties included the hiring, training and supervision of employees. She was also responsible for the preservation of company assets through the implementation of and compliance with financial and fiscal controls, policies and procedures. She reported directly to Kathy Keating, the President of the Green Bay Division.

On August 18, 1995, Time Warner consulted Dr. Richard Baumann, an industrial psychologist, about Ms. Haschmann's problems at work and her poor personal relationship with Keating. On August 23, 1995, Dr. Baumann met with Ms. Haschmann, Keating and Tom LaFleur, Time Warner's Personnel Director. LaFleur and Keating told him of Time Warner's dissatisfaction with Ms. Haschmann's performance, and Ms. Haschmann told him of her dormant lupus condition. Ms. Haschmann acknowledged that there were problems between herself and Keating which she attributed to different operating styles and poor communication. Dr. Baumann suggested that both Ms. Haschmann and Keating evaluate Ms. Haschmann's performance. Ms. Haschmann's self-evaluation acknowledged that she considered her performance unacceptable; in fact, she rated herself marginal or unsatisfactory in 10 out of 12 categories. Keating's evaluation was highly critical of Ms. Haschmann's performance. Keating testified that she then decided to let Ms. Haschmann go in September.

On August 28, 1995, Ms. Haschmann had her first appointment with a lupus specialist in the Green Bay-Appleton area; she saw rheumatologist Dr. Kent Partain. At that time, Dr. Partain testified, Ms. Haschmann's lupus showed no significant activity; however, around September 14th, she had a marked change of her symptoms. He noted her double vision, blurred vision, damage to the nerves in her brain and difficulties with her memory and her judgment. When Ms. Haschmann saw Dr. Partain again on September 21, 1995, her condition had worsened. The day before, her eye had swelled shut, her face had palsied, and her symptoms had mimicked a stroke. On September 21, Dr Upon Dr. Partain's recommendation, Time Warner granted Ms. Haschmann medical leave beginning on September 21, 1995. Dr. Partain indicated that the leave would range from 2 to 4 weeks in length. As of October 9, 1995, he allowed her to return to work gradually, moving from four hours per day the first week to eight hours a day three weeks later. On her first day back, Ms. Haschmann met with LaFleur and Keating for over an hour to explain the disease and her doctor's instructions concerning the treatment of the lupus flare. On October 11, Ms. Haschmann and Keating met to discuss her employment evaluation. Both agreed that Ms. Haschmann's performance over the last few months before her illness had been poor. According to Ms. Haschmann, Keating promised to give her an opportunity to improve her performance once her health returned and she began working full time. Keating denied that she made this promise. Keating's only specific criticisms of Ms. Haschmann after that time were for attending a dinner on behalf of the company and for arriving at work too early one day. ⁴ Ms. Haschmann testified that she knew what Keating wanted her to work on and she was focusing on doing the best job she could.

Partain recommended that she take a medical leave of absence. ³

On October 26, 1995, Ms. Haschmann had a relapse which required her to take a second leave of absence. Dr. Partain testified that he expected the leave to be short-lived. Ms. Haschmann called Time Warner and requested the leave. In response, LaFleur asked her to report to the main office on November 2, 1995, and to bring her keys. ⁵ On November 2, Ms. Haschmann obtained a note from Dr. Partain stating that she was advised to remain off work due to a flare of her central nervous system as a result of her lupus. Unable to come to work on November 2, she postponed the meeting. When Ms. Haschmann reported on November 3, she was fired. On the same day, Time Warner received a letter from Ms. Haschmann's attorney advising Time Warner that Ms. Haschmann would be absent from work for 2 to 4 weeks and explaining her rights under the ADA and the FMLA. When Ms. Haschmann asked for an explanation for her termination, especially in light of Keating's promise of further opportunity just a few weeks earlier, Ms. Haschmann's questions went unanswered. Ms. Haschmann testified that she was fired despite her attorney's notice to Time Warner that she was on leave under the FMLA.

2.

The dispute at trial centered on when Ms. Haschmann's performance of her duties became unacceptable. Keating testified that Ms. Haschmann's performance was unacceptable continuously from the day she began working in the Green Bay Division, April 3, 1995.

At trial, Keating detailed the problems with Ms. Haschmann: In April and May, Keating testified, Ms. Haschmann was unable to do a relatively simple analysis in connection with the company's budget review. According to Keating, Ms. Haschmann Ms. Haschmann's perception of her job performance differed significantly from Keating's. In her view, her work was acceptable in the first months of her employment, and she was getting along well with others in the office. Nevertheless, "if I did something that was wrong [Keating] let me know." Tr. at 69. Ms. Haschmann testified that, in July and August, she began experiencing difficulties processing information and communicating, and in September the problems increased. She described her frustration; she "was known as the human filing cabinet in Rochester [because she] retained everything," tr. at 70, she testified, and now she was unable to remember things. In August and September, Keating began her "verbal counseling" concerning Ms. Haschmann's performance shortcomings; after Keating told Ms. Haschmann of her errors, Keating would keep a...