Metzler v. Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka

• Decision Date: 26 September 2006
• Docket Number: No. 04-3412.,04-3412.
• Citation: 464 F.3d 1164
• Parties: Nancy METZLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF TOPEKA a/k/a FHL Bank Topeka, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

464 F.3d 1164

Nancy METZLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF TOPEKA a/k/a FHL Bank Topeka, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 04-3412.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

September 26, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Stephen D. Lanterman, Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe, L.L.C. (Alan V. Johnson, with him on the briefs), Topeka, KS, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Patricia E. Riley, Weathers & Riley, Topeka, KS, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before PORFILIO, EBEL, Circuit Judges, and HERRERA, District Judge.^*

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Nancy Metzler ("Metzler") was formerly an employee of Defendant-Appellee Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka a/k/a FHL Bank of Topeka ("FHLB"). FHLB terminated Metzler from her position as a Database and Systems Analyst in November 2002. Metzler then filed an action under the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-54 ("FMLA") against FHLB alleging: (1) interference with her FMLA-created rights in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1); and (2) retaliation for exercising her rights under the FMLA in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(2). The district court granted summary judgment for FHLB on both claims. Applying the appropriate summary judgment standard of review,¹ we AFFIRM.

BACKGROUND²

Although Metzler began her employment with FHLB on October 20, 1986, the real conflicts that form the basis of her complaint and this appeal began in September 2002 after the Information Technology ("IT") Department, with whom she had worked since 1986, reorganized and placed her under a new supervisor. Both before and after the reorganization, Metzler worked as a Database and Systems Analyst ("DBA"). The formal job description for this position remained unchanged throughout her employment: Metzler was responsible for maintaining FHLB's relation database operating system, called Microsoft Structured Query Language Server ("SQL Server"); installing updates and maintaining the databases, which included "data backups, fine tuning, creating indexes, and reviewing and implementing the designs of the bank's application developers"; and assisting programming staff in technical aspects of application selection, development, and support.

From June 2000 until Metzler's termination, Phil Andruss was the IT Director. Prior to the reorganization, Metzler worked in the Networks and Systems Group of the IT Department under two different immediate supervisors, both of whom lacked the experience needed properly to manage a DBA like Metzler: from 2000 until April 2002, Metzler's immediate supervisor was Steve Montgomery, the Network and Systems Manager; and from April 2002 until the reorganization, Kathleen Grote was Metzler's supervisor.

On September 16, 2002, the IT Department was reorganized. The reorganization created a new group within the IT Department called the Projects and Support Group. With this reorganization, among other things, the responsibilities for functions involving Data Transformation Services ("DTS") packages, which are standard SQL server tools that any experienced SQL Server administrator should know how to use, and documentation of DTSs and backup procedures moved from the programmers and developers to the new Projects and Support Group. Metzler had used DTS for limited purposes prior to the reorganization.

Chris Miller, who was familiar with SQL Server and the duties of a DBA and had previously performed DTS packages, became the head of the new Project and Support group. Although Miller had not previously acted as Metzler's immediate supervisor, Miller had managed projects in which Metzler participated. Over the years, Miller and Metzler had developed "professional differences of opinion" about the manner in which Metzler operated, or should have operated, her databases.

Three days before the reorganization, Andruss met individually with every IT Department employee who would be reporting to a new manager after the reorganization. During his meeting with Metzler, he informed her that she would be transferred to the new Projects and Support group and placed under Miller's supervision. Metzler responded that she would rather be fired.

Metzler missed work on the first day of the reorganization and worked only part of the next day before going home sick and visiting a doctor. The physician diagnosed Metzler with work-related stress, depression, anxiety, and related symptoms, and ordered her to stay off work for two weeks. On September 30, the physician ordered her to stay off work for one more week. On October 4, the physician issued Metzler a work release order permitting her to return to half-time work. Metzler returned to work on October 8, working four hours per day until FHLB terminated her employment on November 15. At some time prior to Metzler's return to work on October 8, Miller understood that Metzler planned to request retroactive FMLA leave for the time she had been absent. On October 17, Metzler submitted that request for FMLA leave retroactive to September 17, due to her serious health condition, and FHLB approved the leave on October 18. Metzler was therefore deemed to be on full-time FMLA leave from September 17 until her return to work on October 8, and then on reduced schedule leave upon her return to work.

Upon her return to work on October 8 through her termination, Metzler maintained the same job title, the description of her position remained unchanged, and she received the same pay and benefits that she received both prior to the reorganization and prior to her FMLA leave. However, as Andruss had informed Metzler on September 13, she was now part of the new Projects and Support group and under Miller's supervision. The duties and tasks assigned to Metzler in this new group required her to use more advanced features of certain tools than she had previously used.

The day after Metzler returned to work part-time, Miller and Michael Smith, an outside consultant with expertise as a DBA, met with Metzler. Miller and Smith testified that Metzler ignored Miller and avoided communicating with her during the meeting. Metzler acknowledges that it is possible she sat with her back to Miller throughout the meeting. That same day, Miller wrote a formal counseling document ("October 9 counseling document"), which reproved Metzler for being uncommunicative, rude behavior, and the unproductive use of her time, and required Metzler to correct these deficiencies. It also required Metzler to update Miller daily regarding her project status and imposed an October 17 deadline for a specific assignment. The October 9 counseling document concluded:

We need you and your background knowledge, but we cannot afford an employee that cannot work as part of the team and be productive. If these items do not dramatically improve within the next 2 weeks or other deadlines established, you will be counseled further, up to and including termination.

Miller gave the document to Metzler at the end of Metzler's work day on October 9. Miller testified that she issued the October 9 counseling document because she observed that Metzler's unproductive habits and attitude problems were recurring and she wanted Metzler to understand such problems were no longer acceptable.

Metzler signed the document, noted her disagreement, and later submitted a response to it. However, Metzler failed to provide Miller with the daily status reports required by the counseling document until October 15 because Metzler erroneously believed that Miller had access to Metzler's electronic payroll timesheets, which would have reflected the same information.

On October 23, Miller assigned Metzler the task of adjusting certain numbers in one of FHLB's databases with a deadline of the following day, believing the task should take approximately two hours. Metzler explained to Miller, in her report on October 25, that the task would actually take approximately four hours. Metzler completed the assignment seven days later, on October 30. Miller also assigned Metzler the task of reviewing documentation for a backup of a particular system, the network, and the hot site with deadlines of October 25, 28 and 29, respectively for each task. Metzler completed the assignments on November 1.

On October 29, Metzler met with Miller and Dina Cox, FHLB's Director of Human Resources, to discuss the October 9 counseling document. Metzler testified that she told Miller and Cox she thought she was being treated unfairly because of her FMLA leave. During that meeting, Metzler admitted that she missed some deadlines, but expressed her belief that many of these deadlines were unreasonably short. After revisions by Andruss and Cox, Miller completed a final version of a written response to Metzler's objections to the October 9 counseling document, which stated, among other things:

I strongly disagree with Nancy [Metzler]'s position that she should not have to perform like everyone else because she has been ill. Nancy & her Doctor decided the appropriate time she could come back to work and that she would be able to work 4 hours per day. The expectation is that she would work and be productive for those 4 hours each day. Nancy seems to think she should have a "transition period" of showing up for work but not having to really do anything.

On November 4, Miller assigned Metzler to write a series of six DTS packages to transfer data from one database to another. Miller estimated that the first package would require three hours and the other five would require two hours each—a total of 13 hours—and set the deadlines for these tasks as November 4, 5, 6, and 7. Before delivering these assignments to Metzler, Miller had her time estimations reviewed by Smith, the outside consultant with expertise as a DBS; Andruss, the IT Director; and Bill McSpadden, the bank's applications development manager, to ensure the amount of time given was reasonable. All three told Miller her time estimations were reasonable.

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