Reyer v. Saint Francis Country House

• Decision Date: 20 March 2017
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION No. 15–1300
• Citation: 243 F.Supp.3d 573
• Parties: Jason REYER, Plaintiff, v. SAINT FRANCIS COUNTRY HOUSE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

243 F.Supp.3d 573

Jason REYER, Plaintiff,
v.
SAINT FRANCIS COUNTRY HOUSE, et al., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION No. 15–1300

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

Signed March 20, 2017

243 F.Supp.3d 577

Zachary J. Zahner, Mark T. Sottile, Richard Albanese, Ari Risson Karpf, Karpf, Karpf & Cerutti, P.C., Bensalem, PA, for Plaintiff.

Andrew S. Console, Frank R. Emmerich, Jr., Jacquelyn J. Ager, Nicholas M. Centrella, Conrad O'Brien, Philadelphia, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Goldberg, J.

Jason Reyer brings this employment discrimination action against Saint Francis Country House, 1412 Lansdowne Operating, LLC and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, his former employers, for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA").

According to Reyer who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"), emphysema, other respiratory conditions and related complications, Defendants failed to accommodate his disability, discriminated against him on the basis of his disability, interfered with his FMLA rights and ultimately, terminated his employment because he requested accommodations and took FMLA leave.

Reyer brings interference and retaliation claims under the FMLA as well as discrimination, failure to accommodate and retaliation claims under the ADA. Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all claims. As many genuine issues of material fact exist, Defendants' motion will be denied.

I. FACTUAL RECORD¹

Saint Francis Country House is a nursing care facility owned and operated by the Archdiocese at all times prior to Reyer's termination. The Archdiocese sold Saint Francis Country House to Center Management Group, LLC in November of 2014. As of the date of the sale, all existing employees were terminated. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 1, 4, 8.)

A. Reyer's Employment at St. Francis

St. Francis had three separate grades of Maintenance Workers: I, II, and III. Jason Reyer was hired by Saint Francis Country House in October 2004 as a Maintenance Worker II. On August 25, 2005, Reyer was promoted to a Maintenance Worker III position. Throughout his employment Reyer was supervised by a Plant Operations Manager, John Hedges. (Id. at ¶¶ 15, 22, 31.)

Under a heading titled "Purpose of Your Job Position," the description for the

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Maintenance Worker II and III position states:

The primary purpose of your job position is to perform the duties necessary to keep the structure of the facility in good repair. These duties include the repair and maintenance of machinery and medical equipment in accordance with diagrams, schedules, operation manuals and manufacturer's specifications, using power tools and precision measuring and testing instruments.

The job description also identified certain "physical and sensory requirements," including (i) "must be able to move intermittently throughout the work day;" (ii) "must be in good general health and demonstrate emotional stability;" and (iii) "must be able to lift in excess of 50 pounds, push, pull and move residents, equipment, supplies, etc., up to 200 pounds." (Defs.' Mot., Ex. 10.) Reyer signed and returned a form acknowledging that he received the job description for the Maintenance Worker position. (Id. )

When asked about the job duties of Maintenance Worker at St. Francis, Hedges explained that they "would oversee their units or the building and handle any issues that might arise, whether it be moving beds, unclogging sinks, toilets, light bulbs being out, any emergency repairs, walls needed repairing, if there was project work, fixing wheelchairs, painting. This list could possibly go on forever." Hedges also testified that lifting items in excess of fifty pounds was a "true assessment" of the Maintenance Worker position. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 31; Defs.' Mot. Ex. 5, Hedges Dep., 30:24–31:11, 83:17–83:23.)

If a Maintenance Worker was unable to come to work on a particular day, that work would be divided between the other maintenance workers on site that day. During the relevant time period, four or five Maintenance Workers were employed on-site. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 24, 33.)

B. St. Francis' Leave Policies and Notice of FMLA Rights

St. Francis' employee handbook states that "[u]pon request, an eligible employee may receive a maximum of twelve (12) weeks of family and medical leave in any twelve (12) month period." It further explains that if FMLA leave "was taken because of the employee's own illness, documentation from the employee's physician that the employee is able to return to work is required." It also states that "for the purpose of determining eligibility for family and medical leave, a ‘twelve (12) month period’ refers to the twelve months immediately preceding the start of the request leave. In no case will an employee receive family and medical leave for a period in excess of twelve (12) consecutive weeks." (Defs.' Mot., Ex. 1.)

St. Francis' employee handbook also informs employees that they may take up to a six month "medical" leave of absence. The handbook specifies that if a period of leave is "covered by the family and medical leave policy" then the six month leave of absence will "apply only to those periods beyond the twelve (12) weeks of the family leave policy." (Id. ) Reyer signed a form acknowledging receipt of the employee handbook on October 6, 2004. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 17.)

Upon his hire, Reyer also received a notification regarding workplace discrimination. In 2009 and 2010, Reyer received a form setting forth "Employee Rights and Responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act."² (Defs.' Statement of

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Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 16; Defs.' Mot., Ex. 9.)

C. Reyer's FMLA Leave

In 2011, Reyer began treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD") and emphysema with Dr. Thomas Prestel, a pulmonologist. Shortly thereafter, Reyer notified Saint Francis that he would be taking intermittent FMLA leave and provided a certification from his primary care physician. His request was approved and he took intermittent leave during the 2011 calendar year. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 36–37, 39; Defs.' Mot., Exs. 15, 16.)

In April of 2012, Reyer requested and received permission to take FMLA leave to care for his ailing father. In December of 2012, Reyer retroactively requested FMLA leave for a week long absence due to the fact that he had pneumonia. In support of his request, he submitted a certification from his primary care physician. His request was approved. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 41–44; Defs.' Mot., Ex. 17, 18.)

In January of 2013, Reyer submitted a third FMLA certification from a physician in support of his request for intermittent FMLA leave to deal with his COPD and emphysema. This request was also approved. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 47, 49; Defs.' Mot., Ex. 19.)

Unrelated to his COPD and emphysema, Reyer was absent from work for twenty one days in April and May of 2013 in connection with a hernia repair operation. Reyer did not submit FMLA paperwork for this absence and instead St. Francis allowed Reyer to take "personal time" and return to work after he had recovered. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 50–51.)

On August 13, 2013, Reyer emailed Cindy Kersey, the Director of Human Resources at St. Francis, asking "how many [FMLA days he had] already used and how many days are remaining." Kersey did not respond to this email until shortly after his termination. (Pl.'s Resp., Exs. J; Ex. A, Reyer Dep. 57:4–7.)

Reyer was then out of work again from August 15, 2013 to August 30, 2013 to undergo a bronchoscopy and further evaluation of his lungs. He returned to work for five days but then again was absent from September 20, 2013 to September, 25, 2013 in order to undergo a second bronchoscopy. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 53, 55–56.)

Reyer returned to work for several days but then requested and received approval for an "extended" leave beginning on September 30, 2013. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶¶ 56–57; Pl.'s Resp., Ex. B, Kersey Dep. 41:12–42:5.)

Following a conversation with Kersey, Reyer completed the "employee portion" of long-term disability paperwork. In that paperwork which he dated October 1, 2013, Reyer stated that September 28, 2013 was the date on which he became "totally disabled." On November 1, 2013, Dr. Prestel completed the "attending physician portion" of the paperwork and indicated that Reyer was unable to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. Under a space for "extent of disability," Dr. Prestel also wrote "last day able to work 9/29/13." Although

243 F.Supp.3d 580

Reyer returned the completed paperwork to Kersey, Reyer was "somewhat reluctant" about...