Kramer v. Homeward Bound, Inc.
| Decision Date | 21 July 2015 |
| Docket Number | 14-cv-15-slc |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Wisconsin |
| Parties | DARLA KRAMER, Plaintiff, v. HOMEWARD BOUND, INC., Defendant. |
In this civil lawsuit brought pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 ("ADAAA"), plaintiff Darla Kramer contends that her employer, defendant Homeward Bound, Inc., violated the Act by failing to reasonably accommodate her epilepsy and then firing her from her position as a staff supervisor because of that disability.1 Homeward Bound denies this, contending that it offered Kramer reasonable accommodations that would have allowed her to perform the essential functions of her position and that it fired Kramer only because she refused to perform those functions.
Before the court is Homeward Bound's motion for summary judgment. Dkt. 25. I am granting this motion. The evidence shows that Kramer has based this lawsuit on her own understanding of what her medical limitations ought to be, which are different from those communicated by her doctor to Homeward Bound. As for the medical limitations actually endorsed by Kramer's physician, the undisputed evidence shows that Homeward Bound reasonably accommodated those restrictions by restructuring Kramer's job responsibilities, andthat it terminated Kramer only after she refused to perform essential functions of her restructured job. Accordingly, Kramer is not entitled to relief and her case must be dismissed.
For the purpose of deciding Homeward Bound's motion for summary judgment, I find the facts set out below to be material and undisputed:2
UNDISPUTED FACTS
Defendant Homeward Bound, Inc. is located in Lancaster, Wisconsin. It has two other offices, one in Prairie du Chien, the other in Baraboo. Homeward Bound is a "Supportive Home Care and Home Health Agency" that operates in Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Richland, Sauk, Lafayette, Juneau, Colombia, Adams and Vernon Counties. Homeward Bound provides care to its customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
At all times relevant to this suit, Homeward Bound was managed by Rita Schmitz, (the owner) and Pat Balk (the Service Coordinator). Schmitz was responsible for the company's overall performance while Balk managed the office, supervised the staff supervisors and support staff, provided liaison support with contractual agencies, and developed and maintained the service delivery system. At the time of Kramer's employment, there were 12 administrative staff employees, including Kramer.
In late 2010, Kramer interviewed with Balk for a position as a staff supervisor at Homeward Bound's Prairie du Chien office. The company's written job description for the staff supervisor position listed the duties of a staff supervisor to include hiring and supervising care providers, making contact with clients upon admission and following up on referrals, and being responsible for intake and monthly work schedules for clients and their providers. The job description also states that staff supervisors are required to "take part in on call rotation with other supervisors."
At the time Kramer interviewed for the staff supervisor position, the on-call responsibilities were discussed with her. Balk told Kramer that if she was hired for the position, she would be placed on the on-call rotation after a 90-day probationary period. Kramer stated that handling the on-call responsibilities would be "no problem" because she had been working "24/7" at a Kwik Trip.3
During the time that a staff supervisor is on call, she can use her time for personal purposes and travel, so long as she remains within one-half hour of the 10-county area in which Homeward Bound operates. Workers on call are paid $20 a night throughout the work week and $2 an hour on weekends, which go from 4:30 p.m. on Friday to 8 a.m. on Monday. Although on-call shifts can sometimes be busy, a typical on-call shift requires taking infrequent phone calls to address rescheduling issues related to healthcare providers and patients. Every morning, Balk received an on-call report that showed the calls received and time spent on the call by the employees who were on call for that week.
Staff supervisors are scheduled to be on-call about five times a year. Each December, Homeward Bound provides to its staff supervisors the call schedule for the entire following year. Any staff supervisor who cannot-or would rather not work-an assigned on-call shift is responsible for finding her own replacement for that shift.
Homeward Bound's employee handbook explains that 24-7 on-call services are necessary in order to serve Homeward Bound's customers "in the best, most efficient way possible." The handbook specifically provides that:
Homeward Bound's employee handbook also provides that "automatic termination will result after 3 unexcused absences in the course of employment."
Included on the handbook's list of conduct deemed to be "unacceptable" in the workplace is "(q) Failure to comply with authorized hours and/or assigned work schedule."
Homeward Bound hired Kramer as a staff supervisor on November 15, 2010. Kramer was scheduled to work 40 hours a week, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.Homeward Bound's November 15, 2010 "welcome letter" to Kramer discussed job duties but did not mention the on-call requirement. However, the letter did say that Kramer's duties included "any other duties that may be assigned by your supervisor" and that by signing the letter, Kramer was agreeing to abide by "all other requirements as listed in the employee handbook." [Aff. of Darla Kramer, dkt. 37, exh. 5.] Kramer's first 90 days on the job were an orientation period during which Kramer was not required to take on-call.
On December 2, 2010, Kramer acknowledged having received the company's employee handbook, including the on-call policy. (She received an updated handbook setting forth the same policy on April 11, 2011.) In December 2010, Homeward Bound held an all-administrative staff training meeting that included a discussion of the policy manual.
Also in December 2010, Kramer and the other staff supervisors received their entire on-call schedule for the 2011 calendar year. Terri Lips, a staff supervisor who preferred not to be on call, immediately sought and obtained replacements for her 2011 on-call shifts.
In February 2011, Kramer submitted a personal time off request for her on-call week of April 22-29, 2011; Kramer found replacements for her on-call shifts for the entire week.
Kramer was on-call the week of March 7 through March 15, 2011 and she performed her assigned duties without restrictions. During this week, Kramer took phone calls for a total of approximately 64 minutes.
On or about March 26, 2011, Kramer reported to Homeward Bound that she had suffered a seizure. A few days later, Kramer reported that she was not allowed to operate a motor vehicle due to a medical restriction; that same date, Homeward Bound received a letter from Kramer's doctor confirming that Kramer was unable to safely operate a motor vehicle,which meant no driving for about three months. Beginning April 1, 2011, Homeward Bound accommodated this restriction by arranging for other staff to drive Kramer to and from her clients or by paying her cab fare.
In May 2011, at Balk's request, Kramer traded her on-call week of May 17-23 for Balk's assigned week of May 9-16. During this week, Kramer took phone calls for a total of about 99 minutes.
The week of June 6-13, 2011, Kramer covered the on-call shift of another employee who had asked for a replacement. During this period, Kramer took phone calls for a total of about 228 minutes.
In June 2011, Kramer asked Balk if she could be scheduled for only 37.5 hours a week (7.5 hours a day) instead of 40, reporting that she was able to complete her work in that amount of time. Homeward Bound granted plaintiff's request. Starting June 20, 2011, Kramer's regular work schedule was changed to reflect that she worked only 37.5 hours a week (7.5 hours a day).
Dec. of Balk, dkt. 29, exh. 9.
After receiving this letter, Balk and Schmitz approached Kramer and told her that they were reducing her on call hours to the period from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and that another employee would fill in for Kramer from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day. This change would ensure that Kramer's on-call responsibilities would not prevent her from obtaining eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Kramer responded that she goes to bed before 10 p.m. and sleeps nine hours a night. Balk and Schmitz responded that if Kramer went to bed at 8:30 p.m., then she could be on call starting at 4:30...
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