Johnson v. Cleveland City Sch. Dist.
| Decision Date | 15 November 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 10-3267,10-3267 |
| Parties | SHARON JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CLEVELAND CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant-Appellee, SHARON MCDONALD, in her individual and official capacity, Defendant-Appellee, DONNA BOWEN, in her individual and official capacity, Defendant-Appellee, and CLINTON FAULKNER, individually and officially, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 11a0766n.06
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
OPINIONBEFORE: ROGERS and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges, and DONALD, District Judge.1
McKeague, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Sha'Ron Johnson ("Johnson") filed suit against her former employer, Cleveland City School District ("the District" or "Defendant"), as well as individual District employees, alleging that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act("ADA") and Ohio law by failing to accommodate her disability, and firing her in retaliation for her filings and on the basis of her disability. The case came before this Court once already on the issue of whether certain claims were properly exhausted. On remand, the district court determined that Johnson's complaint never alleged a claim for retaliatory failure to accommodate. It further held that because her doctors provided documentation saying she is unable to "verbally control" resistive students, she is unable to fulfill an "essential function" of any of the contemplated jobs within the District and therefore was not "otherwise qualified" for the positions. As this was an element of the two remaining claims, failure to accommodate and retaliatory discharge, the district court granted summary judgment on all claims. We AFFIRM.
This case is before this Court for the second time. Plaintiff Sha'Ron Johnson ("Johnson") began working for Defendant Cleveland City School District ("the District" or "Defendant") in 1989. She was well qualified and received positive work evaluations since that time. In November 1988, she was involved in a serious car accident that damaged her spinal cord. Further negligence during medical testing resulted in permanent damage to her spinal cord, causing Cervical Myelopathy. Cervical Myelopathy has symptoms similar to a stroke: her body weakens over time and is aggravated by stress, and acute symptoms can occur if she over-exerts herself.
Subsequently, her condition worsened. Ultimately, in 2002, the District's human resources department retained Dr. Patrick Bray to conduct a "fit for duty examination," to evaluate Johnson's disability. Dr. Bray sent the District his assessment, indicating that he believed Johnson had a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), and therefore listed severalrecommended accommodations: (1) No standing for more than one hour per day; (2) No continuous speaking; (3) Alternate sitting, standing, and walking; (4) Minimal stairs; and (5) Use of ambulatory aids such as a cane, and under extreme circumstances, an electrical scooter as needed.
The District looked for a position that could provide these accommodations. In 2004, a position called "academic interventionist" was created for Johnson by Susan Hawthorne-Clay, the principal at Adlai Stevenson Elementary, working with students in small groups, as well as doing programming, professional development, and writing grants. In 2005, when Hawthorne-Clay moved to Robert Jamison Elementary, Johnson moved with her. Unlike at Adlai Stevenson, Johnson was allocated to fill a teacher position at Jamison, but she continued to instead perform her "academic interventionist" duties.
In 2006, a new deputy chief in the District, Sharon McDonald, was visiting all schools in the District. On her visit to Jamison, McDonald met with Johnson and became concerned that Johnson was not fulfilling her intended position. McDonald spoke with Hawthorne-Clay, and then contacted Clinton Faulkner, the deputy chief of human resources, and Donna Bowen, the executive director of human resources.2 Bowen indicated that Johnson was an allocated teacher at Jamison, but that a permanent substitute teacher was teaching Johnson's classes. After reviewing Johnson's file, Faulkner contacted Dr. Bray to find out about Johnson's disability accommodations.
On September 2, 2006, McDonald instructed Hawthorne-Clay to place Johnson back in the classroom. After several rounds of communication, Johnson was assigned to an eighth-gradeclassroom at Jamison, on the second floor. The elevator to the second floor was broken, as was the climate control in that classroom. Johnson felt she needed to walk downstairs frequently in order to cool off. A permanent substitute teacher was temporarily assigned to the same room to assist Johnson with the transition. The District discussed several accommodations, including exploring ways to limit Johnson's speaking. Johnson stated that after receiving this assignment, she requested a first-floor classroom from "someone," but she did not know who. Another employee was assigned to escort Johnson's students to the first floor so that she would not have to take them up and down the stairs.
McDonald visited Jamison again on September 8, 2006 and sought out Johnson's classroom. She was accompanied by Assistant Superintendent Robert Moore, an assistant principal, and possibly a security officer. They observed that another teacher was teaching in the classroom, while Johnson sat with a small group of students. McDonald called Johnson into the hallway, and asked her why she was not teaching. Johnson replied that she was sick, and then left for the day.3 Johnson did not return to the school that semester, but did continue to receive pay.4
On September 12, 2006, Johnson filed a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission ("OCRC"), alleging that "the ADA classroom restrictions that had been established, at the requestof the district's doctor, which allowed me to teach small groups of children," were "no longer being honored" by the new administration.5 On December 14, 2006, the OCRC issued a no-probable-cause finding on Johnson's claim. It found that Johnson was not disabled, and that even if she was disabled, she was not denied a reasonable accommodation because her restrictions did not require a small class size or the need for a low-stress environment.6 On December 20, 2006, the District denied Johnson's request for a leave of absence, and a few days later, Johnson was informed that since her claim was denied, they expected her to return to work—in the same classroom—on January 8, 2007, this time without an assistant. Johnson did return, but upon finding the room still too hot, she notified the school office and left before noon. The next day, she sent the District employees an email stating that she would not return immediately, but would instead "use sick time . . . until a resolution concerning [her] 'Fit for Duty' [was] reached." Johnson did not return to work the next day, and only worked five more days in the spring of 2007, each time doing work other than her normal classroom duties.
Johnson asked for, and was granted, permission to update her disability documentation. The District provided a fit-for-duty examination on February 8, 2007. Three doctors examined Johnson in the next few months; they all found she had a disability and offered similar proposed accommodations. Dr. Bray, conducting the fit-for-duty exam, updated his previous recommendations. In addition to the earlier accommodations, his letter dated February 8, 2007 statedthat Johnson should have "no work environment with extreme heat, humidity, or cold temperatures;" and should "not be required to verbally control resistant behavior in students that persists after initial warning."7 Dr. Goraya, in a letter dated January 23, 2007, stated that Johnson should not be required to stand for more than one hour without intermittent sitting; must be able to alternate sitting, standing, and walking; must have minimal use of stairs (only two per day); must not work in an environment with extreme hot, humid, or cold temperatures; and must be allowed use of ambulatory aids as needed. Lastly, Dr. Gretter provided a letter dated April 27, 2007, which echoed the restrictions on standing, stairs, ambulatory airs, and hot work environments, but also stated that she should not be required "to verbally control resistive students." In the meantime, Principal Hawthorn-Clay told Johnson that she was not allowed to be at the school until human resources received the doctor's report; Johnson was called off sick for the remainder of the year but continued to receive her pay.
Ultimately, on May 15, 2007, Johnson and the District held a meeting to discuss how her disability could be accommodated. Johnson provided the doctors' letters and discussed her requested accommodations. She also informed the District that she had received a school counseling certification and that she would like a counseling position. School officials noted their concern with the restriction on disciplining students, and told Johnson that teachers and counselors have to be able to calm down students if they get out of hand. Johnson responded that with all of her training, sheknew how to control students without violating her restrictions. However, one District official testified that Johnson also stated at the meeting that she had problems with resistive students in the past, because in large groups of older students, some get out of hand—she also stated that having to correct them makes her condition worse. Johnson renewed her request for a small class size, but was told it was not a reasonable accommodation.8 The District indicated they would need to review the medical records and get back to Johnson.
On May 21, 2007, Johnson filed this complaint in federal district court alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), as well as Ohio's civil rights statute, breach of...
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