Reed v. Lear Corp.

• Decision Date: 12 February 2009
• Docket Number: No. 08-1498.,08-1498.
• Citation: 556 F.3d 674
• Parties: Michael Ray REED, Appellant, v. LEAR CORPORATION, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

556 F.3d 674

Michael Ray REED, Appellant, v. LEAR CORPORATION, Appellee.

No. 08-1498.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: September 26, 2008.

Filed: February 12, 2009.

Kathryn Elizabeth Denner, argued, St. Louis, MO, for Appellant.

Joan Zimmerman Cohen, argued, Daniel K. O'Toole, Jennifer L. Arendes, on the brief, St. Louis, MO, for Appellees.

Before BYE, BEAM, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

On January 5, 2006, Michael Reed sued his former employer, the Lear Corporation ("Lear"), under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). See 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. He alleged that Lear violated the FMLA when it fired him for absences he incurred in reliance on Lear's representation to him that he was on provisional FMLA leave. On January 31, 2008, the district court¹ granted Lear's motion for summary judgment. Reed appealed. We affirm.

I.

In August 1997, Reed began working at Lear's plant in Bridgeton, Missouri, which supplies car and truck seats to Chrysler. Reed worked on an assembly line as a rear seat assembler. His job involved heavy lifting and significant bending and twisting, and over time he developed back problems. In 2003, Reed began seeing a chiropractor, Dr. Colaneri, as a result of his back's deteriorating condition. Dr. Colaneri diagnosed Reed with arthritis, a bulging disc, and a lesion on his spine. The record indicates that Reed was frequently absent from work during this period.

In August 2003, Lear implemented a new attendance policy in response to an ongoing absenteeism problem at its Bridgeton plant. Approximately 20 to 40 percent of the plant's employees were absent on a daily basis. Under the old policy, Lear would excuse absences if the employee provided a timely doctor's note. The new policy was a "no fault" point system, under which each day of absence would be penalized three points regardless of the reason for the absence. If an employee missed up to three consecutive days due to illness and substantiated the illness with a doctor's note, Lear would record the absences as a single incident and assess only three points. Accumulating 24 points in any 12-month period would result in the employee's termination. The new attendance policy excepted vacation days and FMLA-qualifying leave from the point system.

Reed entered the new system with eight points assessed against him as a result of being subject to disciplinary sanctions under the old system. After the implementation of the new system on August 1, 2003, Reed's absences continued. On September 3, 2003, Lear notified Reed in writing that he was at risk of termination due to excessive absences. After this first warning, Reed continued to miss work. Lear warned him again on October 15, 2003, that he was close to exceeding the 24-point threshold. At this point, he had accumulated 21 points.

Around the time of this second warning in October 2003, Reed visited the company nurse. The nurse suggested that he apply for FMLA leave and directed him to the Human Resources Department to obtain the paperwork. The packet of paperwork contained information on how to fill out the necessary forms and directed employees to call the Bridgeton plant's Human Resource Specialist, Scott Patsaros, if they had any questions about their request for FMLA leave. Information in the packet stated that incomplete forms would not be reviewed and that an employee must provide a medical certification from a licensed health care provider attesting that the employee is unable to work due to illness or injury. It also stated that any time an employee took off before official approval for FMLA leave would not be protected if the request for leave was ultimately denied.

After picking up the FMLA packet on October 15, 2003, Reed continued to miss work. Reed submitted his request for FMLA leave, along with a medical certification form filled out by Dr. Colaneri, on October 21, 2003. He sought FMLA protection for future absences as well as his absences incurred after October 1, 2003. On the form, Dr. Colaneri indicated that Reed was "not presently incapacitated" and that it was not necessary for Reed to work less than a full schedule. At his deposition, Dr. Colaneri acknowledged that, at the time he completed the forms, he believed that Reed could perform the essential functions of the job.

On November 4, 2003, Reed was given a letter from Patsaros denying his request for FMLA leave and explaining that his request had been denied because Dr. Colaneri had not indicated that his condition necessitated time off from work. Lear's Human Resources Manager, Ron Conrad, also notified Reed that he was being terminated due to excessive absences. However, Lear rescinded Reed's termination on November 6, 2003, as a result of a plant-wide rollback of attendance points. Lear reinstated him on November 10, 2003, with 15 attendance points assessed against him.

On the day of his reinstatement, Reed resubmitted his FMLA request with a second medical certification form filled out by Dr. Colaneri. This second form also failed to contain a certification that Reed could not work due to his back problems. On the form, Dr. Colaneri stated that he could not determine the full extent of Reed's problems until after Reed's scheduled visit to a neurosurgeon on November 26, 2003.

On November 26, the day of his scheduled visit with the neurosurgeon, Reed received a second letter from Scott Patsaros rejecting his November 10, 2003 FMLA request. The letter stated, in pertinent part:

Under the Act, once an event takes place that the employee believes may fall under the [FMLA], the employee has 2-days² to inform their employer that it may be FMLA qualified and acquire the necessary paperwork. The Company cannot at this time recognize that any such event has happened within a 2-day window prior to the receipt of the paperwork, therefore, the Company is not obligated to honor the certification. The Certification makes note that an upcoming doctor's appointment will take place (Nov 26, 2003) that may make known the full impact of your condition. With the above situations in mind, once you know the impact of your condition, any possible time away from work, and the reasons for the time away from work, the Company will acknowledge a certification that was acquired within the 2-day window as noted above.

The letter goes on to state:

Any time off you declare as Family Medical Leave prior to notification by the Company of "provisional" FMLA or an "official" approval will not necessarily be protected under the Act. You must meet the stipulation above before any consideration for Family Medical Leave will be given.

Reed took this letter to his union steward, Nick Badolato, because he was confused as to its meaning. Reed then went with Badolato to the Human Resources department to ask about the meaning of the letter. They found several people in a meeting in a conference room, and Badola to entered the room to ask about the letter. Reed stayed outside the room with the door open. He claims that although he did not observe the conversation, he overheard someone in the room tell Badolato that his request had not been denied and that he was on provisional FMLA leave.

According to Reed, the person who made this statement was Joel Kato. Kato was not responsible for handling individual requests for FMLA leave, but handled the implementation of the company-wide FMLA program. During the relevant time period, Scott Patsaros was responsible for handling individual FMLA requests at Lear's Bridgeton plant. At his deposition, Reed stated that he was told by his union representative that he was going to see Kato and that he recognized Kato's voice while listening outside the conference room. However, in his affidavit he avers that he "later learned his name was Joel Kato and that he was an HR manager for Lear." Reed did not contact Patsaros about the meaning of the letter. He submitted no affidavit or deposition of Badolato to the district court. Kato stated during his deposition that he did not recall the conversation with Badolato.

Reed missed work on December 5, 6, and 12, 2003. These absences increased his attendance points to 24, and Lear terminated him on January 7, 2004. He never submitted any details about his visit with the neurosurgeon on November 26, 2003.

On January 5, 2006, Reed filed a lawsuit, alleging that Lear should be estopped from denying that his absences were protected under the FMLA by virtue of the statements Reed overheard Kato make to Badolato during their conversation about the second letter. Reed did not contend that Lear improperly denied him leave for which he was eligible. Reed also alleged that Lear violated the FMLA when it refused to designate retroactively his December absences as vacation days. On January 31, 2008, the district court granted Lear's motion for summary judgment. The district court found that: 1) there was no genuine issue of material fact as to Reed's equitable estoppel claim, 2) the lawsuit was barred by the FMLA's two-year statute of limitations, and 3) Lear did not violate the FMLA by refusing to designate retroactively Reed's December absences as vacation leave.

II.

"We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, while granting [Reed], the non-movant, the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the evidence without resort to speculation." Sindecuse v. Katsaros, 541 F.3d 801, 803 (8th Cir. 2008). "Summary judgment is appropriate where the record shows that no genuine issue as to any material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Davidson & Assocs. v. Jung, 422 F.3d 630, 638 (8th Cir.2005). To overcome a motion for summary judgment, "[a] plaintiff may not merely point to unsupported self-serving allegations, but must substantiate allegations with sufficient probative evidence that would permit a finding in the plaintiff's favor." Id.

Under the...