Sharpe v. Mci Telecommunications Corp.

• Decision Date: 25 August 1998
• Docket Number: No. 5:97-CV-580-BO(3).,5:97-CV-580-BO(3).
• Citation: 19 F.Supp.2d 483
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
• Parties: Susan SHARPE, Plaintiff, v. MCI TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION, Defendant.

19 F.Supp.2d 483

Susan SHARPE, Plaintiff, v. MCI TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION, Defendant.

No. 5:97-CV-580-BO(3).

United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Western Division.

August 25, 1998.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John R. Rittelmeyer, Hartzell & Whiteman, Raleigh, NC, for Plaintiff.

Frank E. Emory, Jr., Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte, NC, for Defendant.

ORDER

TERRENCE WILLIAM BOYLE, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, and on Defendant's motion to strike Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. The underlying action arises from Plaintiff's resignation from her job with Defendant and charges that Defendant violated the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA" or the "Act"), 29 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq., constructively discharged her in violation of North Carolina public policy, and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq, by reducing her sick leave for partial day absences and failing to maintain a "bona fide" sick leave policy. Upon consideration of the parties' arguments, and for the reasons discussed below, the Court will deny Defendant's Motion to Strike and grant in part Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Susan Sharpe ("Sharpe") was employed by Defendant MCI Telecommunications Corporation ("MCI") beginning May 2, 1994. Sharpe worked as a Program Manager for MCI's Global Systems Support Customer Group beginning May 13, 1996, supporting its Customer Service Organization ("CSO") at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Her job was to help internal MCI organizations obtain, install, and implement new capital projects. In February of 1996 Sharpe required surgery and missed three weeks of work. Sharpe Aff. ¶ 6. Shortly after Sharpe began her new position with the CSO, Sharpe's mother was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Sharpe was absent from work on five separate occasions, beginning on May 22, to transport her mother to appointments with physicians. Deposition Exhibit ("Dep.Ex.") 12. On June 12, 1996, Sharpe began to experience chest pains, and she was diagnosed as suffering from costochondritis. Bryan Dep. at 36. Sharpe was intermittently absent from work until her return on June 24. Sharpe's absences prior to her July FMLA leave totaled more than 36 days in 1996, or more than 26 percent of the total business days in 1996. Dubberley Aff. ¶ 9.

Upon her full-time return to work at the end of June Sharpe's senior manager Dave Rossi ("Rossi") was apparently concerned about Sharpe's prior absences. Rossi informed Sharpe that she would have to report to Jo Ann Dubberley ("Dubberley"), her new direct supervisor. Sharpe Dep., Vol. II at 76. Sharpe informed Dubberley that Sharpe would not be able to work long overtime hours and would have to continue taking her mother to physicians' appointments. Dubberley Dep., Vol. II at 32-34. Dubberley told Sharpe that she could miss time as needed as long as she completed her assigned work. Dep. Exs. 18, 27. Sharpe's mother became extremely ill on July 10, 1996, and was admitted to the hospital. In a phone call to Dubberley on July 12, Sharpe was informed that she had no sick leave remaining; Sharpe requested an unpaid leave of indefinite duration because her mother was not expected to recover. Sharpe Aff. ¶ 23. Sharpe's mother died on July 16, 1996.

On the Monday following her mother's death, Sharpe spoke with Dubberley and Bob Carlson ("Carlson"), of MCI's Human Resources Department. Carlson demanded documentation from Sharpe's physician, Dr. Bryan, regarding Sharpe's continued absence from work. After her mother's death, Sharpe received a "prescription" from Dr. Bryan recommending that she take two weeks leave to recover from the stress of her mother's death. Bryan Dep. at 10-11. When MCI contacted Dr. Bryan and asked him to complete a certification form for medical leave he confirmed his recommendation that she take time off from work, but did not indicate that she met the criteria for medical leave under the FMLA. Id. at 11-12; Bryan Dep. Ex. 3.

Upon Sharpe's return from leave on August 12, Dubberley assigned her data entry tasks to perform. Sharpe Aff. ¶ 29. All of Sharpe's work-related files and e-mail messages had been removed from her assigned computer, and her word processing software would not operate at all. Id. ¶ 27. Sharpe was relieved of responsibility for the largest program she had previously managed, the "800 Group," in part because of her "being out of the office so much." Dubberley Dep., Vol. II at 18. On August 20 Sharpe was called into a performance assessment meeting with Rossi and Dubberley. Rossi reviewed concerns expressed to Sharpe two months earlier: (i) that she needed to be more diligent and responsive in completing her tasks; (ii) that she needed to provide doctor's notes for medically-related absences; and (iii) that she needed to disclose her whereabouts during the work day so she could be reached when needed. Her supervisors generally reminded her that she could not do her job if she did not attend work. Sharpe Dep., Vol. I at 76. Sharpe charges MCI with taking adverse action against her after her leave by placing her on a "performance plan" at the August 20 meeting. Also during this meeting Sharpe reminded her two managers that she had scheduled an appointment with a surgeon for August 24. Sharpe Aff. ¶ 37. Rossi informed Sharpe that if she left the building during working hours she would be fired. Id. Sharpe then told Rossi that she was resigning. Id. ¶ 38.

Sharpe filed a Complaint in Wake County Superior Court, and MCI removed the action to this Court on July 25, 1997. Sharpe filed an Amended Complaint on April 22, 1998. MCI filed the instant motion for summary judgment on April 30, 1998, the last day for the filing of dispositive motions under this Court's scheduling Order. Sharpe filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on May 20, 1998, along with memoranda in support of her motion for summary judgment and in opposition to MCI's motion for summary judgment. MCI filed a motion to strike Sharpe's summary judgment motion on May 28, 1998.

ANALYSIS

MCI's Motion to Strike

MCI moves pursuant to Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to strike Sharpe's cross-motion for summary judgment as untimely filed. By its terms Rule 12(f) only applies to pleadings. Pleadings are defined in Rule 7 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as including complaints, answers, replies to counterclaims, answers to cross-claims, third-party complaints, and third party answers. Because MCI has not filed a proper motion to strike under Rule 12(f), the Court must interpret MCI's motion as a response to Sharpe's motion which challenges the motion on procedural grounds. Because the Court would be empowered to grant summary judgment sua sponte to a nonmoving party, even in the absence of a cross motion, see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 326, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), it would be imprudent to delay the disposition of this action simply because Sharpe filed her cross-motion in an untimely fashion. The Court will therefore deny the motion MCI has styled a Motion to Strike and consider Sharpe's cross-motion for summary judgment.

The Parties' Cross-motions for Summary Judgment

A motion for summary judgment cannot be granted unless there are no genuine issues of material fact for trial. Federal. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265. The movant must demonstrate the lack of a genuine issue of fact for trial and, if that burden is met, the party opposing the motion must "go beyond the pleadings" and come forward with evidence of a genuine factual dispute. Id., at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The Court must view the facts and the inferences drawn from the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

I. Sharpe's FMLA Claim

Under the FMLA, an "eligible employee" of a covered "employer"¹ is allowed up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for medical reasons attributable to the employee's serious health condition, for the birth or adoption of a child, or for reasons relating to the care of a parent, spouse, or child suffering from a serious health condition. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1). Employees who take leave pursuant to the FMLA are generally entitled to return to the same or equivalent position with the same benefits as they had prior to taking the leave. 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a)(1). The federal regulations enacted pursuant to the FMLA provide "employers cannot use the taking of FMLA leave as a negative factor in employment actions, such as hiring, promotions, or disciplinary actions; nor can FMLA leave be counted under `no fault' attendance policies." 29 C.F.R. § 825.220(c).

When circumstances which warrant application of the FMLA are communicated to the employer, the employer is under a duty to notify the employee of her rights under the Act. Specifically, an employer notified of an employee's need for FMLA-covered leave must provide specific notice, including informing the employee: "(i) that the leave will be counted against the employee's annual FMLA leave entitlement; (ii) any requirements for the employee to furnish medical certification of a serious health condition and the consequences of failing to do so; ... (vii) the employee's right to restoration to the same or an equivalent job upon return from leave." 29 C.F.R. § 825.301(b)(1).

While the Fourth Circuit has never "specifically addressed the elements of a prima facie case of retaliation under the FMLA," Cline v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 294, 301 (1998), it has indicated that the general three-part analysis used for retaliation cases under Title VII would be the appropriate framework for evaluating an FMLA claim,² id. Under that analysis, the plaintiff must show that she engaged...