Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:94-cv-2847-RLV.

• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia
• Writing for the Court: VINING
• Citation: Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 921 F.Supp. 767 (N.D. Ga. 1996)
• Decision Date: 07 February 1996
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 1:94-cv-2847-RLV.
• Parties: Marianne RICH, Plaintiff, v. DELTA AIR LINES, INC., Defendant.

921 F. Supp. 767

Marianne RICH, Plaintiff, v. DELTA AIR LINES, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 1:94-cv-2847-RLV.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

February 7, 1996.

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Archer D. Smith, III, Fred P. Anthony, Harmon, Smith, Bridges & Wilbanks, Atlanta, GA, for plaintiff.

Hunter R. Hughes, III, Jessica Joan-Marie Hagen, Rogers & Hardin, Atlanta, GA, Andrew J. Fisher, Delta Air Lines, Inc. Law Department, Atlanta, GA, for defendant.

ORDER

VINING, Chief Judge.

The plaintiff filed the instant action, alleging that the defendant suspended and terminated her in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"). This matter is currently before the court on the defendant's motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, this court GRANTS the defendant's motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The plaintiff, Marianne Rich, was hired by the defendant, Delta Air Lines, Inc., as a domestic flight attendant in June 1987. For each flight on her schedule, the plaintiff was required to report to the airport before the scheduled departure time. This is generally referred to as one's "sign-in" or "report time." Depending upon the particular flight, the plaintiff was required to sign-in either sixty or ninety minutes prior to departure time. The time that a plane stops at the gate at the destination airport is referred to as the "block-in" time.

After working an assigned flight, the plaintiff would either remain at the airport to work another flight or be "released" from duty. Subsequent to working an assigned flight and after the plane had "blocked-in," the plaintiff would occasionally perform some brief duties, such as saying good-bye to and thanking passengers as they deplaned. According to the plaintiff, when she did have to perform these deplaning duties, she would spend approximately twenty to thirty minutes engaged in such activities. She also asserts that on at least five occasions she was required to stay on board her last flight of the day, after it had blocked-in, to be "debriefed" by the flight crew. In addition, the plaintiff and the defendant's other flight attendants were also required by the defendant to attend jet recurrent training on an annual basis.

The duty hours of flight attendants are comprised of those hours between their "sign-in" at the beginning of the day through the time that their last flight blocks-in. The defendant maintains written hours of service records for each flight attendant which identify the number of hours worked by a flight attendant, commencing when the flight attendant first "signs-in" until the time of arrival of her last flight of the day. The defendant does not, however, maintain records of the time between a flight attendant's last "block-in" time and his or her release time. Consequently, the time that the plaintiff and other flight attendants spent assisting in deplaning activities after their last flight, engaged in flight crew "debriefing" sessions, and in jet recurrent training is not officially recorded by the defendant.

During the plaintiff's employment tenure with the defendant, she was absent from work on a number of occasions. The plaintiff was absent from work for a significant number of days from 1988 to 1991 due to various work-related injuries. Neither the plaintiff nor the defendant asserts that these absences have any relevance to this action. However, from August 1993 until April 1994, the plaintiff missed quite a few more days from work. She asserts that these absences were due to serious medical illnesses, inter alia, a chronic respiratory tract infection, inflammation of the gums, and pelvic endometriosis and dysplasia of the cervix, all of which she contends are covered and protected by the FMLA. On April 23, 1994, the plaintiff was suspended without pay by the defendant upon the written recommendation of her immediate supervisor, Jackie Owens, for her excessive absenteeism and for allegedly falsifying a doctor's certificate to explain one of her absences. She was subsequently terminated by the defendant on May 20, 1994, for these same reasons. The plaintiff contends that the absences upon which the defendant based its suspension and termination decisions qualify under the FMLA as acceptable leave time. Accordingly, she asserts that the defendant unlawfully interfered with her protected rights to take FMLA leave by suspending and terminating her.

II. LEGAL DISCUSSION

A. The Legal Standard

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes summary judgment when all "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." The party seeking summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating that no dispute as to any material fact exists. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 156, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Bingham, Ltd. v. United States, 724 F.2d 921, 924 (11th Cir.1984). The moving party's burden is discharged merely by "`showing' — that is, pointing out to the District Court — that there is an absence of evidence to support an essential element of the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining whether the moving party has met this burden, the district court must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Bradbury v. Wainwright, 718 F.2d 1538, 1543 (11th Cir.1983). Once the moving party has adequately supported its motion, the nonmovant then has the burden of showing that summary judgment is improper by coming forward with specific facts showing a genuine dispute. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, it is not the court's function to decide genuine issues of material fact but to decide only whether there is such an issue to be tried. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The applicable substantive law will identify those facts that are material. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. Facts that in good faith are disputed, but which do not resolve or affect the outcome of the case, will not preclude the entry of summary judgment as those facts are not material. Id.

Genuine disputes are those by which the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant. Id. In order for factual issues to be "genuine" they must have a real basis in the record. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. When the record as a whole could not lead a "rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Id. (citations omitted).

B. The FMLA Claim

The plaintiff contends that she was entitled under the FMLA to unpaid leave for all of the absences that formed the basis of the defendant's decisions to suspend and terminate her. The defendant asserts that the plaintiff is not an eligible employee under the FMLA and is therefore not entitled to any benefits thereunder. The defendant further contends that even if the plaintiff is an eligible employee under the FMLA, the absences which formed the basis of its decision to terminate her were not caused by a "serious health condition" as that term is defined by the FMLA. Because this court finds that the plaintiff is not an eligible employee under the FMLA, the court grants the defendant's motion for summary judgment.

The FMLA provides that, under certain circumstances, an employer must allow an eligible employee to take up to twelve work weeks of leave during any twelve-month period because of a serious health condition that prevents the employee from performing the functions of her position. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)(D). A covered employer, like the defendant, cannot "interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or attempt to exercise any right provided" by the FMLA. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1). An eligible employee is one who has worked for a covered employer for at least twelve months, has worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous twelve months, and has been employed at a worksite where there are least fifty or more employees within a seventy-five mile radius. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A); 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(B)(ii). An employee must satisfy each of these criteria independently to be eligible for FMLA leave. 29 C.F.R. § 825.110. Thus, an employee who has less than 1,250 hours of service in the previous twelve-month period is not entitled to the protections of the FMLA and may not maintain an action under the Act. Id.

To determine if an employee has the requisite 1,250 hours of service with her employer, the FMLA expressly directs courts to examine the principles for calculating hours of service that have been established under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). 29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(C); 29 C.F.R. § 825.110(c). While the FLSA itself does not explicitly set out the manner in which hours worked should be computed, the Supreme Court has enunciated a test that courts should use in making such a determination. The Court has stated that the test for determining if an employee's time constitutes working time is whether the "time is spent predominantly for the employer's benefit or for the employee's." Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 137, 65 S.Ct. 161, 163, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944); Armour & Co. v. Wantock, 323 U.S. 126, 133, 65 S.Ct. 165, 168, 89 L.Ed. 118 (1944). That test requires consideration of the agreement the parties, the nature and extent of the restrictions, the relationship between services rendered and on-call time, and all surrounding circumstances. Skidmore, 323...