Lawson Sr. v. CSX Transportation Incorp.

• Decision Date: 26 March 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-1179,00-1179
• Parties: (7th Cir. 2001) JOHN LAWSON, SR., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CSX TRANSPORTATION, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 916

245 F.3d 916 (7th Cir. 2001)

JOHN LAWSON, SR., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CSX TRANSPORTATION, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 00-1179

In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Argued September 14, 2000

Decided March 26, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. No. 98 C 1182--Sarah Evans Barker, Judge.

Before CUDAHY, EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

John Lawson, Sr. filed a claim against CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSX") under the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA" or "the Act"). He alleged that CSX had discriminated against him because of a disability when it refused to hire him as a trainee for a train conductor position. The district court held that Mr. Lawson had presented insufficient evidence for a jury to find that his Type I insulin-dependent diabetes constituted a disability within ADA coverage, or that CSX refused to hire him because of his disability. Because we believe that the district court did not analyze properly whether Mr. Lawson is entitled to the protections of the Act and therefore failed to assess properly the evidence of record, we must reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I BACKGROUND

A. Facts

John Lawson, Sr. has had Type I insulin- dependent diabetes from infancy. According to the affidavit of his physician,¹ in order to manage his disease, Mr. Lawson must monitor carefully blood sugar levels and minimize fluctuations in his blood sugar. This monitoring requires "continued vigilance" and strict adherence to "a perpetual, multi-faceted and demanding treatment regime." R.58, Ex.1 at 4 para. 11. He must "inject insulin, follow a diet plan, exercise daily, and test his blood sugar several times a day." Id. para. 12. More precisely, Mr. Lawson typically tests his blood four to six times every day and administers three insulin injections. If a blood test indicates a drop in glucose levels, the district court explained that Mr. Lawson "must stop all other activities in which [he] may be engaged at the time and take in the kinds of food that will bring [his] sugar levels back to normal." R.60 at 8. Unless Mr. Lawson acts quickly to raise his blood sugar, "he will experience disabling episodes of dizziness, weakness, loss of mentation and concentration, and a deterioration of bodily functions." R.58, Ex.1 at 4 para. 14. Consequently, "Lawson cannot simply eat when and where he wants to, or exert himself without concern for the effect the exertion will have on his glucose levels." Id. para. 15. Unlike a person with normal metabolic function, Mr. Lawson "must always concern himself with the availability of food, the timing of when he eats, and the type and quantity of food he eats." Id. at 5 para. 15. According to Dr. Skierczynski, "Lawson's eating as a fundamental, major life activity is substantially limited" due to his diabetes. Id.

Throughout his life, Mr. Lawson has had great difficulty regulating his blood sugar levels. As a young person, he was "in and out of hospitals quite a bit" and had frequent insulin reactions that caused him to drop items, get "the shakes, headaches," and "occasionally . . . pass out." R.41, Ex.3 at 32. Despite the fact that Mr. Lawson has not sought hospitalization for his diabetes since 1983, he continues to experience "wildly fluctuating glucose levels with hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia" and had a "severe hypoglycemic reaction" in December 1995, when he became confused and briefly lost consciousness.² R.58, Ex.1 at 2 para. 6(e)-(f). Mr. Lawson's symptoms of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, include "slur[red] speech, profuse sweating, paleness, shaking, unsteady walk, and fruity odor breath." R.41, Ex.2 at 4 para. 25. Dr. Skierczynski concluded that "Lawson's inability to properly regulate his blood sugar levels will always put his life at risk no matter how vigilantly he monitors his condition." R.58, Ex.1 at 4 para. 13.

Mr. Lawson's diabetes also has precipitated a number of other serious ailments that limit him physically and complicate his treatment and prognosis regarding his diabetic condition.³ In 1995 and 1996, Mr. Lawson required multiple laser treatments in each eye for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a condition that affects the small blood vessels in the retina. He also sought medical advice in 1995 "for fading erectile ability, a problem commonly associated with diabetes," and "continues to suffer from impotence." Id. para. 6(i). Mr. Lawson periodically experiences symptoms of "limited joint mobility syndrome," a condition also associated with diabetes, which causes "swelling in [his] hands and wrists, and pain in [his] elbows, hips and feet." R.41, Ex.2 at 1 para. 4. Additionally, Mr. Lawson suffers from chronic "elevated A-1 C hemoglobin tests" and proteinuria, a condition involving an excess of protein in one's urine that "will likely progress over the years to renal failure." R.58, Ex.1 at 3 para. 6(k)-(l). Dr. Skierczynski predicts that, due to Mr. Lawson's fluctuating glucose levels and high hemoglobin test results, Mr. Lawson "has a high risk of aggravating his already existing medical problems and developing long term complications of retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and cardiopathy." Id. at 5 para. 16.

Mr. Lawson, since graduating from high school in 1984, has held a few jobs of relatively short duration. From 1984 through 1986, Mr. Lawson worked for a time in his parents' kennel business and also performed "a variety of 'odds and ends' work while looking for a permanent job." R.41, Ex.2 at 1 para. 6. Between 1985 and 1986, Mr. Lawson claims that he was employed with a small construction company but that he was forced to leave this job after a serious insulin reaction rendered him unable to work.⁴ In the period between 1986 through 1998, Mr. Lawson received Social Security Disability Insurance ("SSDI") benefits and worked briefly during two separate periods in temporary jobs, neither of which lasted more than four months.

In March 1997, Social Security personnel noted that Mr. Lawson's medical condition seemed to be improving and suggested to his caseworker at the Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Agency that Mr. Lawson might be physically able to find steady employment. Mr. Lawson indicated an interest in a conductor trainee program ("the program") offered at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College ("Cincinnati State") to train conductors for CSX, a railroad transportation company based in Jacksonville, Florida.⁵ In response to an inquiry from Mr. Lawson's caseworker regarding whether a diabetic could perform the conductor's job, Cincinnati State furnished a job description prepared by Laurie Ryan, a resource manager at CSX. The job description for the conductor trainee position lists four requirements:

[(1)] 1 or more years as a freight conductor . . . or [g]raduation from the 5 week conductor training program at . . . Cincinnati State . . . [(2)] [h]igh school diploma or GED [3] [g]ood physical condition, including vision, color vision, hearing, and the ability to lift 85 pounds [and (4)] 10th grade reading level[.]

R.41, Ex.6 at 3.

After undergoing a physical examination by his family physician, who pronounced him "in good general condition" and able to "do[ ] this [CSX conductor] job on a full time basis," R.41, Ex.6 at 4, Mr. Lawson also passed two written entrance exams required for admission into the program--a personality test and a mechanical aptitude test. As a result, on December 23, 1997, Mr. Lawson was admitted to the program at Cincinnati State.

Mr. Lawson began the five-week training program on January 20, 1998, in a class of 14 students. Mr. Lawson's classmates and instructors in the program were well aware of his diabetic condition. At times during the program, Mr. Lawson explained to them the symptoms of his condition and the methods by which it can be treated; at times Mr. Lawson even injected himself with insulin in class. Ultimately, Mr. Lawson completed the program with a running quiz average of 96.1% and an exam average of 94.5%, well above the 85% minimum average that CSX requires for consideration as a conductor trainee.

In February 1998, Mr. Lawson was interviewed by Ryan and by Jeanie Layne, who is also a human resource manager for CSX.⁶ There is a dispute regarding what Mr. Lawson told Ryan and Layne at the interview regarding his diabetes. Mr. Lawson claims that he explained that his "lack of employment experience was the result of [his] diabetic condition," that he "had been totally disabled for a number of years," and that he "was receiving social security disability benefits." Id., Ex.2 at 3 para.para. 16-17. Mr. Lawson also claims that he described to Ryan and Layne his efforts to educate his classmates in the program regarding the symptoms and treatment of hypoglycemia.⁷

Despite the fact that it hires approximately 98% of all successful program participants, and that it offered each of Mr. Lawson's classmates employment, CSX did not offer Mr. Lawson the job. Ryan testified that Mr. Lawson was not offered employment because of his very limited work history, which "was not solid or verifiable." Id., Ex.1 at 42. Although Ryan maintained that CSX prefers to hire candidates with a high school diploma and a solid, verifiable work history, she conceded that CSX sometimes makes "exception[s]" and hires conductor trainees who do not have such qualifications. Id. at 70.⁸ She also acknowledged that CSX had no written standards for evaluating applicants at the time of Mr. Lawson's interview and that this situation gave her a certain level of discretion in making job offers. She explained that, in her view, Mr. Lawson had not provided any additional information that would have justified making an "exception" to CSX's preference for a solid, verifiable work history.

Not long...