Larson v. Central Washington University
| Decision Date | 20 August 2020 |
| Docket Number | 37018-6-III |
| Parties | JOHANNA LARSON, Appellant, v. CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, a Division of the State of Washington, Respondent. |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Johanna Larson appeals orders granting Central Washington University the summary judgment dismissal of Ms. Larson's claims of unlawful discharge. We affirm.
Johanna Larson began working as a secretary in Central Washington University (CWU)'s department of world languages on August 4, 2014. Her supervisor was Dr. Laila Abdalla. Ms Larson's tenure at CWU was marred by ongoing performance problems. Deficiencies included lack of personal responsibility, dishonesty, and poor attendance. Ms. Larson was given on-the-job mentoring, but her problems persisted.
Dr Abdalla provided Ms. Larson a written letter of expectation on August 7, 2015. Among other things, the letter noted the need for Ms. Larson to properly document her work hours and absences. In the letter, Dr. Abdalla stated she wanted to review the expectations set forth in her letter during a meeting to take place on September 23.
On September 3, Dr. Abdalla authored a follow-up letter. In the letter, Dr. Abdalla documented Ms. Larson's ongoing problems, including continued failure to abide by leave protocols. For example, Ms. Larson left work early on August 12, 13, and 31 without notifying Dr. Abdalla or cancelling pending appointments. Dr. Abdalla instructed Ms. Larson that she needed to work on communication and take responsibility for her actions.
The meeting to discuss the two letters took place as scheduled on September 23. At the meeting, Ms. Larson claimed that many of her performance problems were due to confusion and a poor memory. Dr. Abdalla instructed Ms. Larson to create a written report of the issues and expectations that had been discussed. The meeting ended around lunch time. Ms. Larson did not come back after lunch. She instead e-mailed Dr Abdalla to say she had taken ill.
When Ms. Larson returned to work on September 24, Dr. Abdalla reminded her to complete a report of their meeting by the end of the day, or at least by noon the following day. Ms. Larson did not do so. Instead, late in the afternoon of September 24, Ms. Larson went to Dr. Abdalla's office and reported she had fallen and hurt her shoulder. Dr. Abdalla drove Ms Larson to the hospital, where Ms. Larson was treated and released without restrictions.
Ms Larson returned to work the next day with her arm in a sling. She asked Dr. Abdalla to alter her schedule in light of her shoulder injury. "She stated she could not perform her job duties and she left at noon, again without notifying the Department as had been repeatedly requested in the past." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 157. On September 27, Ms. Larson informed Dr. Abdalla and CWU's human resources department via her work email that she would "be consulting with [her] family doctor concerning [her] injury and return to work." Id. at 78.
CWU granted Ms. Larson authorized leave from work due to her injury. During her absence, Ms. Larson's doctor reported to CWU that Ms. Larson should not write or type due to her injury. She was "temporarily restricted in the use of her dominant arm." Id.
CWU accommodated Ms. Larson's injury by providing speech recognition software for her computer. She was also given a telephone headset to reduce stress on her shoulder. Ms. Larson received a full salary for the time she lost from work due to her shoulder injury. Ms. Larson's doctor approved CWU's accommodations.
Ms. Larson returned to work on October 12, 2015. Once back at the job, Ms. Larson asked if she could work an alternate schedule as an accommodation for her injury. This request was denied. There is no documentary evidence Ms. Larson's doctor ever recommended an alternate schedule.
Ms. Larson's performance problems continued after her return to work. Dr. Abdulla conferred with her dean and decided to initiate corrective discipline pursuant to CWU's collective bargaining agreement. A predisciplinary letter from the dean, dated October 19, 2015, notified Ms. Larson that CWU was "considering disciplinary action up to and including dismissal." Id. at 225. The letter enumerated Ms. Larson's repeated inability to follow timekeeping and leave policies. It directed Ms. Larson to attend a predisciplinary meeting with Dr. Abdulla and other CWU representatives on October 28. Ms. Larson had until 5:00 p.m. on October 28 to submit a written response to CWU's allegations if she chose. She failed to do so. The predisciplinary meeting was rescheduled for November 4.
Ms. Larson was not at work the week of November 2-6, 2015. On November 3, she supplied a note from a medical provider stating she "should not return to work today and until feeling better." Id. at 129. The note did not explain the nature of Ms. Larson's medical condition or when she might be able to return to work.[1]
After receiving the November 3 note, CWU sent Ms. Larson a request for more information so it could determine the amount of time she would be gone from work. Ms. Larson did not respond. Instead, she sent an e-mail to Dr. Abdalla on November 6, stating, "I am still ill and will not be in the office today." Id. at 75.
Although gone from work, Ms. Larson attended her predisciplinary meeting on November 4. At the meeting, one of the main issues was Ms. Larson's inability to follow CWU's leave notification process. The parties were unable to agree about whether Ms. Larson's conduct was deficient.
Ms. Larson came to work on Monday, November 9, but claimed she was in pain and not feeling well. She told Dr. Abdalla she needed to go home. She also said "she would do the same the next day, that is, come to work for a few hours, and then leave." Id. at 157-58.
Ms. Larson's ongoing absences prompted Dr. Abdalla to contact human resources. Dr. Abdalla was advised that under CWU's collective bargaining agreement, Dr. Abdalla should request a note from Ms. Larson's doctor "releasing her to work and providing any additional restrictions."[2] Id. at 158. After hearing from human resources, Dr. Abdalla emailed Ms. Larson. She wrote:
Ms. Larson did not respond to Dr. Abdalla's e-mail. Nor did CWU receive any communication from Ms. Larson's doctor excusing Ms. Larson's absence. Over the course of the next month, human resources forwarded paperwork to Ms. Larson to determine whether her absence from work was related to her shoulder injury. Ms. Larson did not provide documentation. On December 9, 2015, CWU notified Ms. Larson that her family medical leave designation had been rescinded due to lack of medical documentation. That same day, Ms. Larson provided a doctor's note, stating she was able to work under the accommodations previously provided. The note did not explain why Ms. Larson had been absent for a month. Ms. Larson returned to work on December 11.
Once back at work, Ms. Larson was asked why she had been absent for the last month. She stated she was simply following Dr. Abdalla's November 9 e-mail. She did not claim her absence was due to a medical necessity. She instead maintained Dr. Abdalla had prohibited her from coming to work until she procured a new doctor's note releasing her to do so.
CWU sent Ms. Larson a second predisciplinary letter based on her unauthorized absence from November 10 through December 10. Another predisciplinary meeting was scheduled for January 8, 2016.
At the predisciplinary meeting, Ms. Larson stated she did not contact Dr. Abdalla prior to her absence because she was exhausted and she assumed Dr. Abdalla knew she would be absent due to the contents of Dr. Abdalla's November 9 e-mail. Ms. Larson stated she tried to schedule an appointment with her doctor in order to get a note clearing her for work, but she was unable to get on the doctor's schedule. CWU gave Ms. Larson until the close of business on January 12 to provide written documentation in support of her position. She did not do so.
On January 14, 2016, CWU issued Ms. Larson a letter of termination. The letter stated she was terminated for unauthorized absences and failure to follow directives to report her absences. CWU's decision took into account Ms. Larson's "employment history and [her] prior warnings." Id. at 241. After reviewing Ms. Larson's "performance over the last year [which] indicate[] a pattern of poor work performance, poor communication skills, and an unwillingness to take responsibility for [her] actions or follow specific directives," CWU determined discharge was the most appropriate discipline. Id.
Ms Larson sued CWU for unlawful discharge. She claimed the university violated the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654; 29 C.F.R. pt. 825 and discriminated against her based upon her shoulder injury in violation of Washington's Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), chapter 49.60 RCW. Both parties moved for summary judgment. On the day of the summary judgment hearing, Ms. Larson moved to amend her complaint to add a cause of action under Washington's Family Leave Act (WFLA), chapter 49.78 RCW. The trial court noted the WFLA claim was the "same as the one [FMLA] that's already alleged." Report of Proceedings (May 17, 2019) at 18. At this hearing, the trial court heard but did not make a ruling on...
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