Hawkins v. Tulsa Cnty. Court Clerk
| Decision Date | 29 August 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 11–CV–372–JED–TLW. |
| Citation | 46 F.Supp.3d 1175 |
| Parties | Dorotha Louise HAWKINS, an individual, Plaintiff, v. Tulsa County Court Clerk, Sally Howe SMITH, in Her Official Capacity, Tulsa County, and the Board of County Commissioners for Tulsa County, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Oklahoma |
Daniel E. Smolen, Donald Eugene Smolen, II, Lauren Grace Lambright, Smolen Smolen & Roytman PLLC, Tulsa, OK, for Plaintiff.
Kyle L. Buchanan, Jacob Samuel Crawford, William Kirk Turner, Newton O'Connor Turner & Ketchum PC, Douglas Allen Wilson, Nolan Morris Fields, IV, Tulsa, OK, for Defendants.
This is a disability-based employment discrimination case brought by Dorotha Louise Hawkins (“Hawkins” or “plaintiff”) against Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith (“Smith”), the Board of County Commissioners for Tulsa County (“BOCC”), and “Tulsa County.” Hawkins alleges that she became disabled following a stroke and that the defendants failed to accommodate her limitations. Hawkins also complains that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliated against when she complained about the harassing behavior of her supervisor. The defendants seek summary judgment as to all of plaintiff's claims.
Hawkins began her employment in the Tulsa County Court Clerk's Office (the “Court Clerk's Office”) in September of 2000 as a clerk in the Criminal Courts Division. She transferred to the Accounting Department in 2004, assuming the position of Bookkeeper I. Hawkins remained in that position throughout the course of the events allegedly giving rise to her claims in this case.
Hawkins has had numerous health problems. When she was hired by the Court Clerk's Office, she disclosed that she had congenital heart defects
, aortic stenosis, hypertension, and back-related problems. Due to arthritis in her knees and back, she walked with a cane (and later a walker) for the entirety of her employment with the Court Clerk's Office. Hawkins's health problems caused her to miss a significant amount of work over her tenure. From January 2004 to April 2009, Hawkins was hospitalized six times for various maladies and was consequently absent from work. With respect to these hospitalizations, Hawkins was never denied a leave of absence for these illnesses and the Court Clerk's Office complied with any work place restrictions that were placed upon her.
On July 2, 2009, Hawkins had a stroke
. She was absent from work less than three weeks, returning on July 21, 2009. She returned with a note from her physical therapist that said she “was not exhibiting any dizziness with her activities of daily living” and that she “was able to ambulate on level/un level surfaces and up and down stairs/ramps without difficulty.” (Doc. 81–12). The note further stated that she should be able to work half days without difficulty. Hawkins also provided the Court Clerk's Office with a note from her physician that stated she “may return to work part time for a week then she may continue her regular schedule.” (Doc. 81–13). The Court Clerk's Office abided this solitary restriction. Hawkins acknowledges that she did not provide the Court Clerk's Office with any further medical documentation indicating a need for additional workplace restrictions after July 21, 2009.
Hawkins's supervisor throughout the relevant timeframe was Theresa Wehmeyer. Wehmeyer also supervised Hawkins's counterpart, Sally Doris, who, like Hawkins, occupied the position of Bookkeeper I. Prior to her stroke, Wehmeyer maintained a very positive relationship with Hawkins and Doris. Wehmeyer, who also walked with a cane as a result of knee problems, was described by Hawkins as the best supervisor she had ever had—at least prior to Hawkins's stroke. Wehmeyer purchased birthday and holiday cards for Hawkins, provided her with Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys, and even gave her Christmas presents. Hawkins testified that Wehmeyer also paid for her to get a manicure, contributed to charity on her behalf so she could wear jeans at work, and gave her rides to work on two occasions.
The record demonstrates that Wehmeyer continued to provide such courtesies even after Hawkins's stroke. For example, Wehmeyer purchased presents for Hawkins for Halloween and Christmas of 2009, Valentine's Day and her birthday in 2010, and turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2009. Around Christmas in 2009, Wehmeyer drove Hawkins to a Home Depot store to purchase gravel for a hole in her driveway and, when the store would not accept Hawkins's personal check, Wehmeyer paid for gravel out of her own pocket.1 Additionally, on September 15, 2009, Wehmeyer evaluated Hawkins's work performance for the July 2008–July 2009 time period, awarding her the highest score Hawkins had ever received during her ten year employment with the Court Clerk's Office.
Hawkins maintains that, despite these seemingly kind gestures, Wehmeyer became mean-spirited to her at work after the stroke. Hawkins asserts that, within two weeks of her return to work after her stroke, Wehmeyer began harassing her on an ongoing basis. Hawkins's journal recounts how Wehmeyer “seemed to resent the fact that so many people from other departments were dropping in to see how [Hawkins] was.” (Doc. 89–10). Her journal further discusses what she believed to be the change in Wehmeyer:
I'm having to use a walker because my balance isn't good yet, but [Wehmeyer's] insisting that I go around each morning to pick up the reports and that I take the checks to the Treasurers when they're written. It's extremely hard to carry things like that when using the walker. Sally did it a few times, the 1st week I was back, but then Theresa said I had to do it. I don't understand why she's being so cold about this. When she's had an operation, Sally [and] I have done all we can to make things easier for her.
(Id. ). Hawkins testified that, even though her quality of work was no different than before her stroke, Wehmeyer would frequently criticize her for making mistakes. Hawkins testified that Wehmeyer would attribute the mistakes to Hawkins's stroke-related physical condition, accusing her of memory problems.2
On March 3, 2010, an incident occurred where Wehmeyer told Doris that she should divorce her husband, then criticized Hawkins's hair as looking like a mess. Wehmeyer then proceeded to question Hawkins as to whether she was taking too much pain medication in light of the fact that Hawkins's son had died of a pain medication overdose.3 Hawkins was so upset that she went to the restroom to cry. A co-worker saw her shortly after and inquired what was wrong. When told of the incident, the co-worker then informed Vicky Goodson, an upper-level supervisor. The next day, Goodson contacted Hawkins and inquired about the incident. Goodson had Hawkins inform Smith of the details. Hawkins expressed concern at that time that she was afraid of retribution from Wehmeyer as a result of the incident being reported. Smith had a “strong talk” with Wehmeyer about her conduct, and on March 8, Hawkins and Doris were summoned to Smith's office where she, Goodson, and Wehmeyer were waiting. In the meeting, Wehmeyer apologized to Hawkins and Doris and they accepted her policy. From Smith's perspective, it appeared as though it resolved the issue. Hawkins disagrees.
Hawkins says that, in the weeks that followed the meeting with Smith, Wehmeyer's negative conduct intensified. Hawkins recounts that Wehmeyer still forced her to walk to deliver checks when she did not feel physically capable of doing so. In addition, Hawkins received an email from Wehmeyer intended for a different recipient, which was critical of Hawkins for having a new phone despite alleged money problems. Hawkins received verbal warnings for carelessness on March 3 and 8 of 2010 and May 11 and 24 of 2010. On June 18, 2010, Hawkins was issued a written warning in the form of an Unacceptable Performance Notice. The written warning resulted from three alleged mistakes in failing to follow written procedures. Hawkins signed the warning, adding that she would “accept full responsibility for not taking extra time to prevent the errors.” (Doc. 81–19). With respect to the written warning, Hawkins states that it was actually Doris who made the mistakes, but she accepted responsibility in order to protect Doris.
On June 9, 2010, Hawkins and Smith had an email exchange. Smith wrote to Hawkins, stating that she had a problem with Hawkins “shopping” for another position. (Doc. 89–13 at 2). Smith further stated that she was “obviously reviewing [Hawkins's] issues and again I currently have no position open that would accommodate your physical condition.” (Id. ). In her response, Hawkins stated in pertinent part:
(Id. ). The record does not reflect any further complaints on the part of Hawkins regarding Wehmeyer's treatment of her.
On June 28, 2010, Hawkins had a heart attack. This heart attack resulted in Hawkins becoming permanently disabled, exhausting her Family and Medical Leave Act time, and being terminated from her position with the Court Clerk's Office. Hawkins now receives Social Security Disability benefits and has made...
To continue reading
Request your trial