Myers v. Tursso Co., Inc.
| Citation | 496 F.Supp.2d 986 |
| Decision Date | 13 July 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. C 07-3016-MWB.,C 07-3016-MWB. |
| Parties | Jason MYERS, Plaintiff, v. TURSSO COMPANY, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Blake Parker, Blake, Parker Law Office, Fort Dodge, IA, for Plaintiff.
Stuart J. Cochrane, Johnson, Erb, Bice, Kramer, Good & Mulholland, PC, Fort Dodge, IA, for Defendant.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Factual Background
B. Procedural Background
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
A. Summary Judgment Standards
B. Applicability Of Equitable Estoppel To FMLA Requirements ........
C. Elements Of Equitable Estoppel ..................................
1. Misrepresentation ...........................................
a. Arguments of the parties ................................
b. Analysis ................................................
2. Reliance ....................................................
a. Arguments of the parties .................................
b. Analysis .................................................
III. CONCLUSION .........................................................
Unusual as it is in an employment discrimination case, this matter comes before the court on the plaintiff employee's motion for partial summary judgment. The employee's motion is to "test" whether or not he can pursue a claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654, even though he admits that the defendant employer has insufficient employees at his worksite to be subject to the requirements of the FMLA. The plaintiff asserts that his FMLA claim is still viable, because the employer should be equitably estopped to assert that it was not covered by the FMLA based on representations in an employee handbook and a notice of FMLA rights posted on the employee notices bulletin board. The employee asserts that these representations led employees to believe that the employer was covered by the FMLA. The Employer disputes that it represented that it was covered by the FMLA, but that, in any event, the plaintiff employee did not rely on any such representations when he took leave for an unexpected health problem.
The facts relevant to the present motion for partial summary judgment are relatively straight forward and mostly undisputed:1
Plaintiff Jason Myers was a long-time, full-time employee of defendant Tursso Company, Inc., (Tursso), a commercial printer incorporated and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. For a majority of his career with Tursso, Myers worked as a press operator at Tursso's smaller plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Tursso's main plant is in St. Paul. It is undisputed that Tursso does not employ at least 50 employees at its Fort Dodge location or within 75 miles of that location, but that it does employ more than 50 employees at its St. Paul location.
Tursso provides employees at both of its plants with copies of a handbook entitled "Personnel Policies of Tursso Companies, Inc." (Personnel Policies Handbook). Plaintiffs Appendix at 1-21. The Personnel Policies Handbook begins with a message from the CEO, Dennis J. Tursso, which states, in part, as follows:
Our handbook has been assembled to provide you with pertinent company information regarding rules, policies and benefits. It is important that everyone take the time to read and familiarize themselves with the information contained within this handbook.
Plaintiffs Appendix at 1. Although Tursso points out that the Personnel Policies Handbook was prepared in Minnesota, Tursso admits that the Personnel Policies Handbook was disseminated by Tursso to its employees in both St. Paul and Fort Dodge. Nothing in the Personnel Policies Handbook differentiates between employees at Tursso's St. Paul and Fort Dodge plants.
Three pages of the Personnel Policies Handbook are devoted to "Leave of Absence — FMLA." Plaintiffs Appendix at 11-13. This section states, "Tursso Companies' FMLA policy complies with [the FMLA]." Plaintiffs Appendix at 11. Among other requirements, it also states "Employees eligible for this [FMLA] leave are those who have been employed by the company for at least 12 months [and] have worked at least 1250 hours during the previous 12 month period." Plaintiffs Appendix at 11. This section of the Personnel Polices Handbook does not mention the employee numerosity requirement for an employer to be covered by the FMLA or any other disclaimer of coverage of certain employees at one or the other of Tursso's facilities.
The section of the Personnel Policies Handbook regarding FMLA leave also requires notification by an employee to the company of an employee's desire to take FMLA leave and medical certification for such leave, as follows:
Notification
Any employee, who seeks to take such leave, must provide the company with at least 30 days advance notice where the need for the leave is foreseeable. If notice is not provided, and the need for the leave was foreseeable, leave may be delayed up to 30 days. Where unforeseen events occur that require leave under this policy, employees must give notice as soon as practicable. (See Human Resources for request forms.)
Upon receipt and review of employee's request, a "Response to Employee Request for FMLA" form will be presented to requesting employee advising eligibility status.
The company requires a medical certification from a health care provider to support a leave request to care for an employee's seriously ill family member (spouse, child or parent), or due to a serious health condition, which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's job. This medical certification must be provided to the company within 15 calendar days after request for leave, unless the need for leave is unforeseen. Leave may be refused until such certification is provided. Under some circumstances, the company may request additional medical certification, at the company's expense, to verify the need for the leave. If the opinions of the first and second health care provider differ, the company may require a third opinion, at the company's expense, from a health care provider mutually agreed upon by employer and employee. If adequate medical certification is not provided, leave may be denied. (See Human Resources for Certification forms.)
Plaintiffs Appendix at 11-12. After describing benefits under the FMLA and other requirements for FMLA leave, the FMLA leave section of the Personnel Policies Handbook concludes with the statement, "Should you have any questions regarding your rights under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or this policy and its application to you, please see Human Resources Manager or immediate supervisor." Plaintiffs Appendix at 12-13. The parties do not dispute that Myers had notice of Tursso's FMLA leave policies from the Personnel Policies Handbook. They also do not dispute that he did not make any inquiries about Tursso's FMLA leave policy.
In addition to the explanation of Tursso's FMLA leave policy in the Personnel Policies Handbook, Tursso placed a poster captioned "Your Rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993" on the employee notices bulletin board in the employees' break room at the Fort Dodge plant. Plaintiffs Appendix at 23-24. Tursso points out that, along with a description of the FMLA, this poster specifically states the employee numerosity requirement for an employer to be covered by the FMLA, as follows:
FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protective leave to "eligible" employees for certain family and medical reasons. Employees are eligible if they have worked for their employer for at least 1 year, and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if there are at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
Plaintiffs Appendix at 24 (emphasis added). Tursso contends that this FMLA rights poster is the "standard" United States Department of Labor notice. The parties do not dispute that Myers had notice of this poster.
It is undisputed that Tursso grants employees leave in accordance with the FMLA at its St. Paul location, but Tursso maintains that it does not consider itself a covered employer required to comply with the FMLA at its Fort Dodge location. Nothing in the record indicates that Tursso communicated to employees at its Fort Dodge location that their benefits were any different from those provided to employees at Tursso's St. Paul location, however, let alone that employees at the Fort Dodge location were not eligible for FMLA leave, despite the reference to FMLA leave in the Personnel Policies Handbook and the poster concerning FMLA rights on the employee notices bulletin board.
The parties agree that Myers was absent from work in late 2006, because he was suffering from meningitis, although they dispute whether his absence began in mid-November or mid-December.2 They agree that, if he had been eligible for FMLA leave, he would not have exhausted that leave by the time that he attempted to return to work on January 8, 2007. When Myers attempted to return to work, he presented a slip from his doctor stating that he could return to work for half days to start. Myers asserts that it was anticipated that he would be ready to work full time in about a week. Instead of allowing Myers to return to work, however, Tursso discharged him on January 8, 2007, owing to his extensive absences.
It is undisputed that Myers did not ask anyone at Tursso about his eligibility for FMLA leave, did not provide Tursso with any notification that he sought to take FMLA leave, did not request...
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