Sanchez v. American Popcorn Co., C04-4115-MWB.
| Decision Date | 14 September 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. C04-4115-MWB.,C04-4115-MWB. |
| Parties | Bernardina SANCHEZ, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN POPCORN CO., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Dennis M. McElwain, Smith & McElwain, Sioux City, IA, for Plaintiff.
Jeffrey L. Poulson, Thomas & Poulson Law Firm, P.C., Sioux City, IA, for Defendant.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND..............................988
A. Procedural Background................................ 988
B. Factual Background................................... 989
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS.......................................... 992
A. Standards For Summary Judgment....................... 992
B. Sanchez's Claim Under The FMLA....................... 994
1. Serious Medical Condition......................... 995
2. Request For FMLA Leave............................ 997
C. Sanchez's Disability Claims.......................... 997
1. Analysis.......................................... 998
2. Actual disability................................. 998
3. Perceived disability ..............................999
a. Prima facie case and causation..................999
b. American Popcorn's legitimate reason.......... 1001
c. Pretext....................................... 1001
D. Sanchez's State Common Law Claim.....................1002
III. CONCLUSION............................................. 1002
On November 22, 2004, Bernardina Sanchez filed a complaint in this court against her former employer, defendant American Popcorn Co. ("American Popcorn"), alleging five causes of action: claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., for failing to provide her with notice of her rights under the FMLA, for failing to provide her with leave under the FMLA, for failing to restore her to her prior position following leave and in discharging her in violation of the FMLA (Count I); a claim of disability discrimination based on an actual disability, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., (Count II); a claim of disability discrimination, again under the ADA, because she was regarded as disabled by American Popcorn (Count III); a similar disability discrimination claim, under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Iowa Code Ch. 216 et seq., based on American Popcorn's failure to accommodate Sanchez's disability (Count IV); and, a state common law claim for retaliatory discharge in violation of public policy.1 With respect to her state common law claim, plaintiff Sanchez asserts that she was fired in retaliation for seeking workers' compensation benefits. Defendant American Popcorn answered Sanchez's complaint on December 7, 2004, denying Sanchez's claims and asserting various defenses.
Defendant American Popcorn has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on all of Sanchez's claims. First, in its motion, defendant American Popcorn claims that Sanchez cannot establish a prima facie case under the FMLA because she did not suffer from a serious health condition. Defendant American Popcorn also asserts that Sanchez cannot establish a prima facie case under the FMLA because she did not request FMLA notice before being terminated. With respect to Sanchez's claims under the ADA and the ICRA, defendant American Popcorn asserts that Sanchez cannot establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination because she did not have an impairment that substantially limited one or more major life activities and she did not have a record of such an impairment.2 Defendant American Popcorn further contends that even if Sanchez is able to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination, it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating Sanchez's employment. Finally, defendant American Popcorn contends that if the court dismisses the claims found in Counts I through IV, the court should decline to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over Sanchez's Iowa state common law claim for retaliatory discharge in violation of public policy. Plaintiff Sanchez has filed a timely resistance to defendant American Popcorn's Motion For Summary Judgment.
The court held oral arguments on defendant American Popcorn's Motion For Summary Judgment on August 30, 2006. At the oral arguments, plaintiff Sanchez was represented by Dennis M. McElwain of Smith & McElwain, Sioux City, Iowa. Defendant American Popcorn was represented by. Jeffrey L. Poulson of Corbett, Anderson, Corbett, Poulson & Vellinga, L.L.P, Sioux City, Iowa. The court turns first to a discussion of the undisputed facts as shown by the record, then to the standards applicable to motions for summary judgment and, finally, to the legal analysis of the merits of defendant American Popcorn's Motion For Summary Judgment.
The summary judgment record reveals that the following facts are undisputed. Plaintiff Bernardina Sanchez was employed by American Popcorn from November 3, 1997 to October 29, 2003. During that time, she worked principally as a packer, placing bags of microwave popcorn into boxes and placing small boxes into larger boxes. Sanchez was suspended from September 30, 2003, through October 2, 2003, due to a verbal altercation with a co-worker. Sanchez was given written disciplinary warnings regarding unexcused absences and difficulties she had interacting with co-workers.
In early 2003, American Popcorn was involved in a production slowdown caused by the loss of a major customer. As a result of the production slowdown, the number of employees at American Popcorn was reduced from 195 to 164. On February 7, 2003, American Popcorn laid off one security officer because of the production slow down. This was followed, on February 13, 2003, by American Popcorn laying off all the employees on C-shift because of the production slow down. Plaintiff Sanchez was a B-shift employee.
Greg Hoffman, a vice president at American Popcorn who is responsible for and has authority over all human resources issues with the company, testified in his deposition that he knew that employees had to be let go and that Sanchez was at the top of the list due to performance and cooperativeness issues.
Sanchez suffered a work injury on October 14, 2003, when a packaging machine malfunctioned, which required Sanchez to move boxes of product from pallets onto a production table for approximately two hours. She reported her injury to her supervisor on October 15, 2003. Sanchez worked October 14, 2003 through October 17, 2003, Tuesday through Friday, and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 20, 2003 through October 22, 2003. On Wednesday, October 22, 2003, Sanchez was referred to Dr. Van Balen, the company doctor. Dr. Van Balen diagnosed Sanchez as having a shoulder strain injury and directed that she take Ibuprofen for her injury. Dr. Van Balen cleared Sanchez to return to work so long as the use of her hands, pushing, pulling and overhead lifting was limited.
American Popcorn contends that upon returning to work, Sanchez was placed in the position of assistant machine operator, a position which allowed her to work in a seated position while only using one hand. American Popcorn further contends that Sanchez worked in this position on October 22, 2003 and October 24, 2003. Sanchez disputes these contentions, asserting that she continued to work her regular position as a packer. On October 24, 2003 and October 27, 2003, Sanchez did not report for work. Sanchez contends that she was told by Rosa Bailey, the human resources director at American Popcorn, not to come to work. Rosa Bailey denies that she told Sanchez that she was not to report for work. Rosa Bailey was in charge of monitoring attendance and disciplinary issues. Bailey is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish, and routinely translated when employees were not proficient in English. Bailey has been the Human Resources Director at American Popcorn since January 17, 2000.
On October 23, 2003, Greg Hoffman received a telephone call from Dr. Van Balen. Hoffman asserts that he was told by Dr. Van Balen that Sanchez's injury would not require any significant follow-up, that at most, Sanchez's injury was a muscle strain and that the level of injury that Sanchez was describing to Dr. Van Balen was not consistent with what he was observing, and that Sanchez was misrepresenting her injury.
American Popcorn's management was under pressure to further reduce its number of employees. On October 23, 2003, a decision was made by Hoffman to terminate Sanchez's employment with American Popcorn. On this date, Hoffman informed Bailey of his decision to terminate Sanchez's employment with American Popcorn. Hoffman alleges that he made the decision based on both a need to reduce employees and Sanchez's overall employment history. On October 28, 2003, Sanchez was called into the main office of American Popcorn and was told by Hoffman and Bailey that her employment was being terminated.
Following her termination, Sanchez received further treatment from Dr. Van Balen, which included a regiment of physical therapy and change in her medication. Sanchez received no less than nine physical therapy sessions during November 2003. In January 2004, Sanchez was examined by Dr. Brice W. Keppen, who administered injections for Sanchez's left shoulder and prescribed Bextra for Sanchez.3 Since the termination of her employment at American Popcorn, Sanchez has worked for Quality Hotel, Roland Construction and Rudy Salem, all on a full-time basis.
While she was an employee at American Popcorn, Sanchez never provided any proof of any medical condition other than her shoulder injury on October 22, 2003, which...
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