Reese v. BARTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS

Decision Date03 March 2010
Docket NumberNo. CIV. S-08-1703 FCD GGH.,CIV. S-08-1703 FCD GGH.
PartiesSusan REESE, Plaintiff, v. BARTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of California

Catherine M. Corfee, Corfee Stone and Associates, Carmichael, CA, for Plaintiff.

Kathleen Mary Abdallah, Thomas O. Perry, Matthew S. Reynolds, Kroloff, Belcher, Smart, Perry & Christopherson, Stockton, CA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

FRANK C. DAMRELL, JR., District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendant Barton Healthcare Systems' ("defendant" or "Barton") motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff Susan Reese ("plaintiff" or "Reese") opposes the motion. For the reasons set forth below,1 defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED.

BACKGROUND2

Plaintiff Reese began working at defendant Barton in 1997 as a lab assistant. (UF ¶ 1.) She subsequently became a cardiac sonographer ("echo technician"). (UF ¶ 1.) As an echo technician, plaintiff's job required her to press a transducer into the skin of a prone patient with one hand and operate a computer keypad connected to a machine recording the exam with the other hand (an "echo exam"). (UF ¶ 2.)

Reese claims that years of work as an echo technician and a re-injury in 2007 while performing an echo exam resulted in pain in her shoulders, wrist, head, hand, elbow, and neck, which was exacerbated in May 2007. (UF ¶ 3; DF ¶ 3.) This pain hampered plaintiff's ability to perform her job, which plaintiff's doctor believes aggravated her injury. (DF ¶ 6.) Specifically, plaintiff experiences pain when she lifts her arm out laterally and holds it, the position required when holding a scanner against a patient. (DF ¶¶ 8-9.) This pain also occurs when plaintiff engages in any activity that requires her to lift her arm and apply pressure, including washing her hair, carrying groceries, riding a bike, practicing yoga, kayaking, and water skiing. (DF ¶ 10.) The pain causes her to suffer significant sleep problems on a constant basis, resulting in mental and physical fatigue and irritability. (DF ¶ 118.) Plaintiff takes medications, but they have not been effective in giving her a restful night's sleep. (DF ¶ 119.)3 Plaintiff's doctor considers Reese disabled. (DF ¶ 5.) In May 2007, plaintiff requested an accommodation for her injury from Barton. (UF ¶ 15.)

During Reese's tenure at Barton, echo technicians were expected to be able to complete a full exam within an hour and be able to perform one exam per hour per day as needed. (UF ¶ 8.) From January 2008 through her termination in April 3, 2008, plaintiff's injury prevented her from performing more than five echo exams per day.4 (UF ¶ 7.) Plaintiff's immediate supervisor, Michael Cullen ("Cullen"), and the Vice President of Human Resources, Leanne Kankel ("Kankel"), testified that the hospital could accommodate the restriction. (DF ¶ 16.) However, defendant's other supervisor, Tim Gilliam ("Gilliam"), became angry with plaintiff when she refused to do a sixth exam in a day. (Decl. of Susan Reese ("Reese Decl."), filed Jan. 29, 2010, ¶ 5.) He began to harass plaintiff, schedule more than six exams in a day, press plaintiff to perform one more exam a day, and force plaintiff to tell staff that they needed to reschedule patients. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that when she corrected the scheduling, staff would report this to Gilliam or Cullen, stating that plaintiff was demanding, inflexible, and had a bad attitude. (Id. ¶ 9.) Plaintiff testified that she felt she was being pressured and shamed into performing more echo exams. (DF ¶ 91.)

In 2007, Barton received complaints about delays in getting echo exams completed. (UF ¶ 10.)5 In the first quarter of 2008, Barton hired an additional echo technician and began scheduling plaintiff to work some of her shifts on weekends. (UF ¶ 11.) Specifically, on January 25, 2008, Gilliam went into plaintiff's office, unannounced, and informed her that her schedule was being changed, her hours reduced, and she would have to work weekends. (Dep. of Susan Reese ("Reese Dep.") at 142:20-23.) Plaintiff contends that Gilliam scheduled her to work weekends, knowing that she taught dance on weekends to supplement her income. (Reese Decl. ¶ 5.) The new technician was going to take over plaintiff's hours and work full time, and plaintiff's hours were reduced to part-time, decreasing her income by 25%. (UF ¶ 11; Reese Decl. ¶ 5.) Plaintiff objected to the decrease in hours and changes to the schedule in writing. (DF ¶ 99.) Gilliam informed plaintiff that she could have her schedule and hours back once she no longer needed an accommodation for her injury. (DF ¶ 38.)

During her tenure at Barton, plaintiff received praise from doctors, patients, and staff. (DF ¶ 2.) However, she also received performance evaluations reflecting that she had room for improvement regarding her attitude with employees from different departments. (See ¶ 13.) Specifically, a performance evaluation from April 2005 provided, in relevant part, that plaintiff's "attitude with employees from other departments needs a lot of work. Susan was warned multiple times this last year concerning her attitude." (Ex. F. to Decl. of Leanne Kankel ("Kankel Decl."), filed Oct. 9, 2009, at 6.) Her performance evaluation from May 2006 provided:

Susan is a very tenacious and schedule driven employee . . . . Tenacity, though an admirable trait, can be perceived by others as inflexible, having an attitude and as being unreasonable at times. During this next year, I would like to see Susan work on having more patience and being a little more flexible with other departments in the hospital. This will help eliminate the perception that she has a bad attitude.

(Ex. G to Kankel Decl. at 6.)

In September 2007, plaintiff was issued a written warning for an interaction with a patient. (Ex. H to Kankel Decl.) The Disciplinary Action Notice provided that plaintiff made a face and told a patient, who opened the exam room door when Reese was eating lunch, that she would have to wait ten minutes; the patient started to cry. (Id.) Kankel neither investigated the matter nor asked plaintiff for her side of the story. (DF ¶ 67.) Plaintiff also disputed this action in writing. (DF ¶ 69.) Gilliam recommended that Reese participate in "Guest Services Academy," a class offered by The Barton University. (Ex. H. to Kankel Decl.) The September 2007 incident as well as plaintiff's attendance in "Guest Services Academy" is documented in her final, December 2007 performance evaluation. (Ex. I to Kankel Decl.) The evaluation also noted that plaintiff had done a good job going to her supervisors when she found herself upset or "having feelings of intolerance towards co-workers throughout the hospital." (Id.)

On Friday, January 25, 2008, after Gilliam informed plaintiff of the changes to her schedule, plaintiff was sick and had to go home immediately. (Reese Dep. at 145-46; DF ¶ 60.) There were two patients scheduled for echo exams later that afternoon. (Ex. J to Kankel Decl.) Plaintiff did not reschedule the echo exams for the two patients. (Ex. J to Kankel Decl.)

On January 28, 2008, Gilliam and Kankel met with plaintiff. (Reese Dep. at 146-47.) Gilliam suspended plaintiff for three days for "patient abandonment" arising from plaintiff leaving without rescheduling the patient exams on the previous Friday. (Ex. J to Kankel Decl.) Neither Gilliam nor Kankel sought plaintiff's side of the story. (DF ¶ 52.) Kankel did not investigate the matter. (DF ¶ 53.)

At the same January 28, 2008 meeting, defendant contends that Kankel, Gilliam, and plaintiff engaged in the interactive process and discussed various methods for reasonably accommodating plaintiff's injury. (See UF ¶ 18.) Plaintiff contends that this meeting was not undertaken in good faith. At the meeting, Kankel asked plaintiff, in regards to her limitation of five echo exams per day, "What happens if you do six? Why can't you do more?" (DF ¶ 92.) In the Disciplinary Action Notice issued that day, Gilliam also stated that plaintiff had a "very strict interpretation of her work restrictions." (Ex. J to Kankel Decl.) Plaintiff attempted to complain to Vice President of Operations, Kathy Cocking ("Cocking"), but she was summarily dismissed and told by Cocking that she did not want to get in the middle of the situation. (DF ¶ 93.) Plaintiff objected to the suspension in writing. (DF ¶ 102.)

Subsequently, on April 3, 2008, plaintiff was terminated. (Ex. L to Kankel Decl.) Cocking and Gilliam made the decision to terminate plaintiff's employment. (DF ¶ 83.) Plaintiff was given a Disciplinary Action Notice, providing that her termination was effective immediately, and plaintiff was escorted off the property by Cullen. (DF ¶ 85.) The Disciplinary Action Notice provided that plaintiff was terminated for "continued behavior that is disrespectful to coworkers," failure to support or train new trainees, and considering her own needs before the patients' and department's needs. (Ex. L to Kankel Decl.) The Disciplinary Action Notice also referenced previous warnings in performance appraisals, verbal coaching and counseling, and the written warning in September 2007. (Id.) Plaintiff contends that she was never told to train the trainees, and plaintiff's supervisor, Cullen, admitted that he tried not to schedule plaintiff to work at the same time as the trainees. (DF ¶¶ 72, 74.)

When plaintiff applied for a job with a prospective employer, she communicated the reasons for termination set forth in her Disciplinary Action Notice. (DF ¶ 103.) Specifically, plaintiff checked the box indicating that she had "been fired, asked to resign, or been subject to disciplinary action" and provided that "employer states `continued behavior that is disrespectful to coworkers.'" (Ex. 18 to Reese Decl.) Plaintiff did not receive the job. (DF ¶ 113.)

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