Kolpas v. G.D. Searle & Co., 96 C 0456.

• Decision Date: 20 March 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96 C 0456.,96 C 0456.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
• Parties: Pamela V. KOLPAS, Plaintiff, v. G.D. SEARLE & CO., Defendant.

959 F.Supp. 525

Pamela V. KOLPAS, Plaintiff, v. G.D. SEARLE & CO., Defendant.

No. 96 C 0456.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

March 20, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Patrick J. Sherlock, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.

Mark A. Casciari, Jeffrey Kenneth Ross, Stephanie L. Perl, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, Chicago, IL, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES F. HOLDERMAN, District Judge:

Plaintiff, Pamela V. Kolpas, filed a two-count complaint against defendant, G.D. Searle & Co., alleging employment discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (Count I) and retaliatory discharge (Count II). Defendant has filed a motion for summary judgment on both counts pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the following reasons, defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

STATEMENT OF FACTS¹

Defendant hired plaintiff in October 1993 to work as its supervisor of accounts payable. Plaintiff was responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the Accounts Payable department. Plaintiff's supervisor was Enanu Wondirad. At the time of plaintiff's hiring, Wondirad told plaintiff that she ordinarily could work forty to fifty hours per week. Plaintiff, however, was required to regularly work between sixty to seventy hours per week and more than seventy hours per week during busy times.

On June 20, 1994, plaintiff began a short-term medical leave of absence. In accordance with defendant's short-term leave policy, plaintiff received approval from defendant's Occupational Health department. Plaintiff has a medical heart condition, mitral valve prolapse, that led her to take the short-term medical leave. She was originally diagnosed with the condition in 1990. Mitral valve prolapse can cause chest pain and headaches resulting in anxiety. Because of the condition, plaintiff must monitor her intake of caffeine and cannot participate in rigorous sports. Plaintiff admits that her condition does not interfere with her ability to work or hold a job or in any of her activities. She adds, however, that she was advised by her doctor to work a normal work week.

On October 3, 1994, plaintiff wrote a letter to Donna Holley, defendant's Director of Human Resources, to request that defendant meet with her to explore possible options to reasonably accommodate her alleged disability. In the letter, plaintiff stated that three conditions needed to be met before she could return to work: (1) she was unable to work under Wondirad; (2) she was willing to be transferred to another equivalent position within defendant or an affiliate; and (3) she could only work forty hours a week as recommended by her physician, to keep stress and anxiety to a minimum. Plaintiff claims that these were just some of the many conditions that could have been met in order to accommodate her disability. In the same letter, plaintiff also listed several incidents of Wondirad's degrading and disrespectful behavior towards her which caused her stress and anxiety.

Upon receipt of plaintiff's letter, Holley searched on defendant's bulletin board, which is available to all employees, for open financial positions. Holley found two open positions in finance, Senior Consolidations Accountant and Senior Financial Analyst International. Defendant says that the two jobs required well over forty hours of work per week. In addition, both jobs were higher graded jobs than plaintiff's position so placement of plaintiff in either job would have been a promotion. On October 11, 1994, Holley spoke with plaintiff about the openings. She informed plaintiff of the two available positions and told plaintiff that both jobs required well over forty hours of work per week. According to defendant's policy, of which plaintiff was aware, when a position is posted on the bulletin board it is the employee who files an application for the position. Plaintiff did not apply for either of the two positions identified by Holley because she assumed that Holley would send her an application. Despite the fact that plaintiff never received an application, she did not request that Holley send her an application.

On October 31, 1994, plaintiffs physician, Dr. Cottrell, wrote a letter to defendant stating that defendant should take action to minimize plaintiff's stress at work and offered to discuss issues with defendant.

Pursuant to defendant's short-term medical leave policy, an employee's return to work is conditioned on defendant's receipt of a release to return to work, submitted by a physician. Absent a release, the employee is terminated by defendant's Employee Relations department. Plaintiff claims that she was only informed in a letter from defendant that when an employee reaches the end of their short-term disability eligibility period and they remain disabled, they are terminated from active employment with defendant. This letter, dated October 11, 1994, states that defendant required plaintiff to have been released by her physician in order to return to work. Plaintiff's physician would not release her back to work, plaintiff alleges, because he recommended plaintiff be transferred to a less stressful department.

On December 16, 1994, the ending date of plaintiff's short-term medical leave, she was terminated by defendant's Employee Relations department. Defendant states that plaintiff's termination was due to her not providing their Occupational Health department with a doctor's release to return to work. Plaintiff argues that the decision was made because defendant refused to reasonably accommodate her disability. Plaintiff currently works for Ralin Medical Company in their accounting department.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under Rule 56(c), summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ. P.56(c). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the evidence of the non-movant must be believed and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in the non-movant's favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). This court's function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.

A party who bears the burden of proof on a particular issue, however, may not rest on its pleadings, but must affirmatively demonstrate, by specific factual allegations, that there is a genuine issue of material fact which requires trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). There is no issue for trial "unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

ANALYSIS

I. ADA Violation (Count I)

Count I of plaintiff's complaint alleges that she was discriminated against in violation of the ADA on the basis of what she contends is a disability. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with a disability because of the disability of such individual with respect to job application, hiring, advancement, discharge, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a) (1995). One type of discrimination claim can be the result of an employer not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A). Such discrimination claims are examined under a reasonable accommodation analysis. Bultemeyer v. Fort Wayne Community Sch., 100 F.3d 1281, 1284 (7th Cir.1996). Plaintiff must show that: (1) she was or is disabled; (2) defendant was aware of her disability; and (3) she was an otherwise qualified individual for her job. Id.

The first threshold question that plaintiff must satisfy to succeed in her claim is to show that she is a disabled person as defined by the statute. The ADA defines disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities" of an individual, or a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2). Regulations passed to interpret the ADA define "major life activities" as "functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working." 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(i). "Substantially limits" means that the person is either unable to perform or is significantly restricted as to the manner or duration under which that person can perform a major life activity as compared to an average individual. Roth v. Lutheran Gen. Hosp., 57 F.3d 1446, 1454 n. 12 (7th Cir.1995). The person must be significantly restricted in the ability to perform a class of jobs or a broad range of jobs in various classes. Weiler v, Household Fin. Corp., 101 F.3d 519, 525 (7th Cir.1996).

The inability to perform either a particular job for a particular employer or a narrow range of jobs is not a disability. Roth, 57 F.3d at 1454-55 & n. 13. The impairment must substantially limit employment generally. Byrne v. Board of Educ., Sch. Of West Allis-West Milwaukee, 979 F.2d 560, 565 (7th Cir.1992).² The court should examine if the impairment, for that person, constitutes a significant barrier to employment or if the person can perform or has procured other employment. Id. The definition of "major life" activity is not to be interpreted to mean "working at the specific job of one's choice." Id.

Without establishing first that she is an individual with a disability protected by the ADA, plaintiff cannot succeed on her ADA claim. Plaintiff alleges that her mitral valve...