Jackson v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co.

• Decision Date: 20 April 2022
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. RDB-21-0426
• Parties: Lynette JACKSON, Plaintiff, v. SPRINT/UNITED MANAGEMENT COMPANY et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

599 F.Supp.3d 314

Lynette JACKSON, Plaintiff,

v.SPRINT/UNITED MANAGEMENT COMPANY et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. RDB-21-0426

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

Signed April 20, 2022

Andrew David Freeman, Anisha S. Queen, Brown Goldstein and Levy LLP, Baltimore, MD, for Plaintiff.

Ethan Daniel Balsam, Joseph Greener, Littler Mendelson PC, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Richard D. Bennett, United States Senior District Judge

Plaintiff Lynette Jackson ("Jackson") brings this employment discrimination action against Defendants Sprint/United Management Co. and T-Mobile U.S., Inc. (collectively, "Sprint"), alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. Jackson is a former Sprint employee who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and was terminated on February 22, 2019—four days after taking FMLA leave for this condition. (See Defs.’ Resp. to Req. for Admiss. 1, ECF No. 38-25) Jackson claims that her termination constitutes discrimination on the basis of her disability, and retaliation under both the FMLA and the ADA. (Pl.’s Resp. Opp. Summ. J. 1–2, ECF No. 38.)

Now pending is Sprint's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 37). In support of this motion, Sprint contends that Jackson cannot establish a prima facie case under either the ADA or the FMLA, and argues that she was fired solely for "persistent attendance and performance issues." (Defs.’ Mem. Supp. Summ. J. 21–23, ECF No. 37-1; Defs.’ Repl. Supp. Summ. J. 18–19, ECF No. 39.) The parties’ submissions have been reviewed and no hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2021). For the reasons set forth below, Sprint's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Specifically, Sprint's motion is granted as to Count II, alleging disability discrimination, and denied as to Counts I and III, alleging retaliation under the FMLA and the ADA.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Lynette Jackson ("Jackson") was employed as a Retail Sales Consultant for Defendants Sprint/United Management Co. and T-Mobile U.S., Inc. (collectively, "Sprint") between January 2018 and February 2019. (Dep. of Lynette Jackson ["Jackson Dep."] 52:6–9, 252:15–17, 299:17–20, ECF Nos. 37-2, 38-1.) As a Retail Sales Consultant, Jackson was responsible for facilitating customer sales by activating new phones, upgrading phone lines, and selling accessories. (Jackson Dep. 13:7–16, 46:11–47:24.) This case arises from Jackson's termination on February 22, 2019—which Jackson claims was motivated by discrimination on the basis of her multiple sclerosis and retaliation for her decision to take FMLA leave. (Resp. Opp. 7, ECF No. 38.)

I. Sprint's Attendance Policy and Corrective Action Process

Sprint requires retail personnel to follow a Corrective Action and Attendance Policy. (Corrective Action and Attendance Policy, ECF No. 37-3.) This policy requires employees to report to work on time, to adhere to designated meal and break periods, and to notify their supervisors of an absence at least two hours in advance of a scheduled shift. (Id. at 6.) Employees are authorized a maximum of 40 hours of unscheduled paid time off during each fiscal year to accommodate "unplanned personal needs such as sick time, personal issues, or family issues." (Id. at 7.)¹ Sprint also provides FMLA-mandated leave to employees who have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1250 hours in the last year. (FMLA & State Leaves 2, ECF No. 37-10; Dep. of Laura Stephens ["Stephens Dep."] 51:17–22.) Managers are expected to encourage employees to take medical leave as necessary and should refrain from discouraging them from using approved FMLA leave. (Dep. of Jose Compean ["Compean Dep."] 106:14–107:2; Stephens Dep. 52:14–53:15.)

Sprint has adopted "a five-step progressive discipline process," (Mem. Supp. 4, ECF No. 37-1), to address performance issues and disciplinary concerns, proceeding through the following sequential stages: (1) coaching;² (2) verbal warning; (3) written warning; (4) final written warning; (5) termination. (Corrective Action Policy 2; see Jackson Dep. 64:23–65:12.) Each employee's supervisor must record any corrective action document in Sprint's Oasis database, discuss the contents of the document with the employee, send the document to the employee for their acknowledgment, and add the document to the employee's personnel file. (Corrective Action Policy 3; Jackson Dep. 222:9–18; Dep. of Richard Pierce ["Pierce Dep."] 97:10–16, ECF No. 35-16; Gbangbalasa Dep. 76:3–4.)

The Corrective Action Policy is flexible: "Management retains the discretion to place an employee on any level of the corrective action [process] deemed appropriate or proceed directly to termination." (Corrective Action Policy 2.) Nevertheless, corrective action for performance and attendance concerns is ordinarily handled through the five-step pipeline. (Id. at 7; Pierce Dep. 97:2–21.) The primary exception to this policy is a "no-call, no-show" absence—referring to an instance in which an employee was scheduled to work a certain shift but neither showed up nor informed their supervisor that they were unable to work. (Corrective Action Policy 8; Pierce Dep. 105:5–18.) If an employee is deemed a "no-call, no-show," their manager may proceed directly to a written or final written warning. (Corrective Action Policy 8.) Three consecutive "no-call, no-show" absences are construed as voluntary abandonment of employment and result in automatic termination. (Id. )

II. Jackson's Performance

Lynette Jackson worked at Sprint Store 153 in Columbia, Md., from January 2018 to February 2019. (Jackson Dep. 52:6–9; Dep. of Crystal Cauthen ["Cauthen Dep."] 32:3–9.) As relevant, from April to December 2018, she was supervised by Retail Store Manager Crystal Cauthen and two Assistant Store Managers, Oladapo Gbangbalasa and Adelphus Pryor. (Defs.’ Ans. to Pl.’s First Set of Interrogs. No. 4, ECF No. 38-11; see also Cauthen Dep. 32:3–16; Dep. of Adelphus Pryor ["Pryor Dep."] 34:1–34:21, ECF Nos. 37-18, 38-19.)³ On December 11, 2018, Cauthen was transferred to another store. (Defs.’ Ans. No. 4; Cauthen Text Messages 121–24, ECF No. 37-8.) Jose Compean replaced her as Retail Store Manager, while Gbangbalasa and Pryor continued as Assistant Store Managers. (Defs.’ Ans. No. 4.) Jackson was fired on February 22, 2019, three months after Compean became her manager. (Jackson Dep. 253:3–9.)

Retail Sales Consultants are "expected to provide a total sales solution to Sprint's customers[ ] for any of their wireless/mobility needs," (Defs.’ Ans. No. 5), by activating new phones, upgrading phone lines, and selling accessories, (Jackson Dep. 13:7–16, 46:11–47:24). Accordingly, Retail Sales Consultants are held to monthly sales goals. (Id. 13:7–16.) Jackson's supervisors testified that it is not realistic to expect staff to meet their goals every month. (Cauthen Dep. 91:7–15; Compean Dep. 107:6–108:22; Gbangbalasa Dep. 76:16–21; Pryor Dep. 88:17–89:2.) Pryor testified that store managers routinely provide "one-on-one, on-the-spot coaching" to train retailers who are falling behind their goals. (Pryor Dep. 89:12–18.) Cauthen opined that "it's impossible to meet and exceed a metric every single time, and it's [the manager's] job as a leader to coach and develop [employees] to ... meet and exceed [their] metrics." (Cauthen Dep. 91:7–15.) Additionally, Gbangbalasa noted that employees do not ordinarily receive corrective action until they have demonstrated consecutive months of poor performance. (Gbangbalasa Dep. 78:7–17.)

The parties disagree about whether Jackson was performing adequately in this role. Jackson was coached by Gbangbalasa once, and Pyror twice, for failing to reach her goals. (Jackson Dep. 86:19–88:5; Coaching Log, ECF No. 37-7.) However, Jackson insists that she was never reprimanded, and that she "received a lot of positive acknowledgments ... from her management team." (Jackson Dep. 69:13–72:20, 86:5–18.) To varying degrees, her supervisors characterized her as a reliable employee based on "her sales performance, ... referring to activations, upgrades, accessories protections, [ ] customer upgrades, and customer satisfaction." (Gbangbalasa Dep. 79:13–20, 83:7–8; see also Pierce Dep. 108:13–16; Cauthen Dep. 101:15–21; Compean Dep. 118:11–119:8, 120:10–121:6.) Cauthen praised Jackson's performance, expressed interest in hiring her as an assistant store manager, and expanded her responsibilities by selecting her to serve as a "small business expert." (Cauthen Dep. 101:15–21, 103:11–19, 125:1–5; Cauthen Text Messages 3–4, 10–11, 45–46, 81–85, 129, 147, 150.) Compean highlighted Jackson in two email chains celebrating top sellers for priority devices—including on February 16, 2019, less than one week before her termination. (Compean Dep. 118:11–119:8, 120:10–121:6; Sales Emails, ECF Nos. 38-16, 38-17.) Gbangbalasa commented that he wished he could "clone" Jackson due to her ability to close accounts and build rapport with customers. (Gbangbalasa Dep. 88:1–89:12.)

III. Jackson's Multiple Sclerosis and FMLA Leave

Jackson suffers from multiple sclerosis

("MS"), a chronic and episodic neurological condition that leaves her immunocompromised and produces several debilitating symptoms. (Jackson Dep. 88:6-22; Certification of Health Care Provider 3–4, ECF No. 38-2; Sprint's Resp. to Req. for Admiss. 1, ECF No. 38-25.) Jackson was diagnosed in 2011, at the age of 19, and has been seeing Drs. Rabin and Fox of Johns Hopkins Neurology for this condition since 2012. (Jackson Dep. 214:12; Certification 3–4.) As a result of her multiple sclerosis, Jackson commonly experiences "numbness, skin infections, nosebleeds, chronic fatigue, and optic neuritis." (Resp. Opp. 3; Jackson Dep. 217:6–219:24.) At times, these conditions leave Jackson too ill to work. (Certification 3–4.) Accordingly, Jackson insists that "it's really...