Hoge v. Honda of America Mfg., Inc.

• Decision Date: 16 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-3477.,No. 03-3452.,03-3452.,03-3477.
• Parties: Lori HOGE, Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, v. HONDA OF AMERICA MFG., INC., Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

384 F.3d 238

Lori HOGE, Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, v. HONDA OF AMERICA MFG., INC., Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

No. 03-3452.

No. 03-3477.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: June 16, 2004.

Decided and Filed: September 16, 2004.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., J.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gary A. Reeve (argued and briefed), Reeve & Watts, Worthington, OH, for Cross-Appellant.

Mary Ellen Fairfield (argued and briefed), Theodore P. Mattis, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, Columbus, OH, for Defendant-Appellant.

Joshua J. Morrow (briefed), Marshall & Marrow, Columbus, OH, for Amicus Curiae.

Before: RYAN and COOK, Circuit Judges; CLELAND, District Judge.^*

OPINION

CLELAND, District Judge.

This appeal concerns the timing and nature of an employee's right to job restoration under the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a). On February 14, 2002, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted Plaintiff Lori Hoge partial summary judgment on her claim for relief under the FMLA. The district court determined that, after Plaintiff appeared and attempted to return to work on June 27, 2000, she was entitled to be restored to her former position or an equivalent position with Defendant Honda of American Manufacturing, Inc. ("Honda") by June 28, 2000 because she was returning from authorized FMLA leave, ruling that Honda violated the FMLA when it failed to return Plaintiff to an equivalent position until July 31, 2000. The district court subsequently awarded Plaintiff monetary damages, attorneys' fees, and costs.

Defendant appeals, arguing that the FMLA required Honda to reinstate Plaintiff to her employment position or an equivalent position only within a reasonable time, not immediately, and that there is no issue of fact that Honda did so in this case. Honda claims that Plaintiff's physical limitations, her unanticipated return, and the significant changes made by Honda to its production processes during a "model changeover" reasonably prevented Honda from restoring Plaintiff to work until July 31, 2000.

Plaintiff cross-appeals, challenging three of the district court's determinations. First, Plaintiff claims that the lower court erred in determining that Plaintiff was entitled to be reinstated under the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a), by June 28, 2000, arguing that Honda should have reinstated her immediately on June 27, 2000. Second, she challenges the district court's determination that she waived her FMLA right to full restoration by agreeing to a "Gradual Return to Work" program on July 31, 2000. Third, she appeals the district court's decision on her request for liquidated damages.

We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In November 1995, Plaintiff Lori Hoge, a production associate at Honda's East Liberty Ohio plant, sustained a back injury in a non-work related car accident. She was hospitalized, took an extended leave of absence from her job, and returned to work in March 1996. Her injury, a fracture of a lumbar vertebrae, imposed several permanent physical restrictions on her work activities. Plaintiff's permanent work restrictions included: no jumping in or out of cars; no lower back extensions in excess of fifteen degrees; no lower back flexion in excess of thirty degrees; no pushing or pulling liner racks; no lifting of more than fifteen pounds; and a forty-hour workweek limitation. After her back injury, Hoge returned to work on the "door line," a position that accommodated her physical restrictions. She worked on the door line, taking intermittent FMLA leave for her back injury, until she took the approved FMLA leave leading to the instant dispute.

On April 20, 2000, Honda approved Hoge's request for continuous FMLA leave from May 11 until June 12, 2000 for abdominal surgery unrelated to her back injury. On or about June 12, 2000, Hoge telephoned Honda to request an extension of her FMLA leave, informing Defendant that she would need additional time to recover from her abdominal surgery. Although the parties agree that Honda approved two requested extensions of FMLA leave beyond Plaintiff's original June 12 expected return date, they dispute the date of her anticipated return.

The lower court concluded that "the undisputed evidence reveals... that Plaintiff failed to give any advance notice of her return so as to allow Defendant time to immediately locate an equivalent position." On the other hand, Plaintiff states that she never requested FMLA beyond June 26 and that Honda's documentation shows that her FMLA leave was twice extended and was scheduled to end on June 26, 2000. Examining the evidence in the record reveals the existence of an issue of fact on when Honda expected Plaintiff to return.

The evidence of Hoge's expected return date is equivocal. In a letter dated June 28, 2000, Honda approved a continuous FMLA leave extension "beginning on 6/12/00 and ending on 7/19/00." The letter stated that Honda "expected [Plaintiff] to return to work at the beginning of [her] shift on 7/20/00." However, in another letter dated June 30, signed by a different representative of Honda's Leave Coordination Department, Mark Lippencott, Honda approved continuous FMLA leave for Hoge from June 26, 2000 (the day before Plaintiff attempted to return to work) until July 12, 2000 with her expected return on July 13, 2000. Mr. Lippencott signed a third letter sent to Plaintiff, also dated June 30, 2000, which approved continuous "Medical leave" from July 13 until December 31, 2000. These documents reveal that Honda approved (although possibly ex post) Plaintiff's absence from work as FMLA leave for the period between June 12 and June 27, 2000 and also suggest that Honda did not expect Plaintiff to return to work on the morning of June 27. On the other hand, Plaintiff's affidavit states that she did not request FMLA leave beyond June 26, 2000. Further, a leave of absence extension request, dated June 19, 2000 and approved by Honda on June 28, 2000, establishes June 26, 2000 as the return date for Hoge.

During Hoge's leave, Honda continued instituting a "new model changeover" that included multiple engineering and stylistic changes for the production of its year 2000 models. The model changeover directly affected Honda's assembly department where Hoge worked and was gradually implemented between February 8 and August 15, 2000.

After obtaining a release from her treating physician, Dr. Ronald Spier, Plaintiff appeared for work on June 27, 2000, expecting to return to her door line position. Upon her return, she presented to Honda's medical department a "Physician's Permit" which stated that she was able to return to her previous position on the door line. Plaintiff returned with the same physical restrictions associated with her back injury that she had before taking leave. She expected to be placed in a position which accommodated those restrictions. The medical department contacted Brett Strine, the person responsible for placing Hoge. Mr. Strine considered possible placements in light of the ongoing model changeover and staffing levels, but informed Plaintiff that no positions were available. Honda then conducted a placement review but did not find a suitable position for Plaintiff until July 26, 2000. Hoge eventually returned to a position on the engine line on July 31, 2000. Honda claims that the delay in finding an equivalent position was reasonable and was caused by several factors including Plaintiff's unexpected return and the time required to locate an equivalent position to accommodate Hoge's physical restrictions in light of the substantial changes made to its production processes.

Plaintiff's restoration to a position on the engine line was accomplished in accordance with a "Gradual Return to Work" ("GRTW") program. Under this program, Hoge worked less than full time and her weekly hours increased over six weeks. Honda did not restore Plaintiff to a full-time work schedule of forty hours per week until September 18, 2000.

Plaintiff filed a two-count complaint against Honda, alleging violation of her FMLA rights and wrongful adverse employment action in violation of Ohio public policy. The parties voluntarily dismissed the state claim, leaving only the FMLA interference claim. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgement and the district court granted Plaintiff's motion in part and denied Defendant's motion. The district court ruled that Defendant violated the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2615(a)(1) and 2614(a), by failing to reinstate Plaintiff to her position on the door line or an equivalent position by June 28, 2000. The district court ruled that Plaintiff had a right to restoration to her door line position or an equivalent under 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a), notwithstanding the fact that she continued to have permanent physical restrictions associated with her back injury. The lower court also found that it was undisputed that "Defendant had several jobs which Plaintiff could perform as to all essential functions, since she [was] currently working in such position and ha[d] been in one or more of such positions since her return to work on July 31, 2000." The district court also rejected Defendant's argument that 29 U.S.C. § 2614 permits employers a "reasonable time" to reinstate an eligible employee returning from approved FMLA leave, concluding that Defendant violated the FMLA by failing to reinstate Plaintiff to a position by June 28. The court, however, also dismissed Plaintiff's argument that she was entitled to immediate restoration on June 27 because, in its view, the undisputed evidence revealed that she failed to give Honda any advance notice of her return. The district court further ruled that Plaintiff could not recover lost wages associated with her...