Simms v. Ne. Ill. Reg'l Commuter R.R.
| Decision Date | 28 February 2012 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 10 C 2795. |
| Citation | 860 F.Supp.2d 609 |
| Parties | Rodney SIMMS, Plaintiff, v. NORTHEAST ILLINOIS REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROAD, d/b/a Metra, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Matthias D. Gill, The Gill Law Firm, Ltd., Robert J. Drummond, Drummond Law Firm, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.
Jeffrey S. Fowler, Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Defendant.
Rodney Simms has sued his employer, Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad d/b/a Metra (Metra). He asserts claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Declaratory Judgment Act. Both parties have moved for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, the Court grants Metra's motion and denies Simms's motion.
Simms works for Metra as a coach cleaner and is a member of the Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division of the Transportation Communications International Union. He is covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Metra and the union.
Simms experiences edema in his legs that periodically requires him to take short amounts of time off from work, usually one to three days. On August 6, 2007, Metra allowed Simms to take intermittent leave under the FMLA as necessary when he was unable to work due to his edema. He took leave frequently; between August 6, 2007 and July 17, 2008, he missed forty-eight days of work. Metra has continuously renewed Simms's approval for intermittent leave to the present day. It is undisputed that Metra never denied Simms the FMLA leave he requested and that Metra always reinstated him after he returned from FMLA leave.
In October 2007, Simms began working the third shift at Metra's facility in Richton Park, Illinois. He was one of only two coach cleaners assigned to Richton Park on the third shift. The two were responsible for cleaning about sixty train cars every day. Simms took leave frequently because of his edema, and when he did so the remaining coach cleaner was unable to fully clean all of the cars. Specifically, when Simms was absent, the other coach cleaner was able to clean only the bottom level of the cars, leaving the top level uncleaned. Metra could have another employee fill Simms's shift only if it paid that employee overtime wages. Even then, Metra had trouble finding employees willing to cover Simms's shift. Between August 6, 2007 and July 17, 2008, Metra had replacement workers on only three of the forty-eight days Simms was absent.
On the Metra line on which Simms worked, no Metra facility had more than three or four coach cleaners working third shift. Consequently, none of the third shift locations had enough other coach cleaners to accommodate Simms's frequent absences. By contrast, Metra's 18th Street facility had between ten and fifteen coach cleaners working on the first shift. Some of the first shift workers were “floaters,” assigned to cover the work responsibilities of anyone who was absent. Metra therefore wished to have Simms work on the 18th Street day shift instead of on third shift at any of its facilities.
On May 12, 2008, Metra abolished Simms's third shift position at Richton Park. Under the terms of the CBA, Simms was allowed to “bump” other employees with less seniority by taking one of their positions as his own. He first attempted to bump another employee with a third shift position at a different Metra station. Metra then abolished that position. Simms next attempted to bid on his own third shift position at Richton Park, which had been reestablished. Metra instead awarded the Richton Park position to an employee with less seniority. Simms attempted to obtain two other third shift positions, but Metra denied his request each time. Finally, Metra informed Simms that he would not be allowed to take any third shift position because his frequent absences rendered him unqualified for those positions. On July 7, 2008, Simms took a first shift position at Metra's 18th Street station and currently works there. His rate of pay remained the same.
In June 2008, a union representative filed a grievance for Simms stating that he was not being allowed to exercise his seniority and bid on third shift positions. Richard Soukup, Metra's chief mechanical officer, responded in August 2008 and explained that Metra did not consider Simms qualified for the third shift because of his frequent absences. Pl. Ex. 4. Soukup also stated that FMLA regulations allowed Metra to temporarily transfer an employee who was using FMLA intermittent leave but that he could regain his third shift job if his FMLA leave situation changed. Simms did not pursue the grievance any further. Soukup testified at his deposition in this case that he thought that abolishing Simms's Richton Park position was the proper way under the CBA to accommodate Simms's intermittent FMLA leave and move him to another position. Pl. Ex. 5 at 81.
On a motion for summary judgment, the Court “view[s] the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw[s] all reasonable inferences in that party's favor.” Trinity Homes LLC v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 629 F.3d 653, 656 (7th Cir.2010). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In other words, a court may grant summary judgment “[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
Simms argues that Metra's termination of his Richton Park position and refusal to allow him to take any other third shift position violated the FMLA, Metra's FMLA policies, the CBA, and the Railway Labor Act (RLA), and he requests declaratory and injunctive relief as well as compensatory damages and attorney's fees. Specifically, he claims that Metra's actions amount to both FMLA interference and FMLA retaliation.
“To prevail on an FMLA interference claim ... the employee must establish that: (1) he was eligible for the FMLA's protections, (2) his employer was covered by the FMLA, (3) he was entitled to leave under the FMLA, (4) he provided sufficient notice of his intent to take leave, and (5) his employer denied him FMLA benefits to which he was entitled.” Burnett v. LFW Inc., 472 F.3d 471, 477 (7th Cir.2006). Simms concedes that he has always been allowed to take FMLA intermittent leave when he needed to do so. Accordingly, he cannot satisfy an element of an FMLA interference claim. Entry of summary judgment for Metra on this claim is therefore appropriate.
To prevail on his FMLA retaliation claim, Simms must show “(1) he engaged in a protected activity; (2) [Metra] took adverse employment action against him; and (3) there is a causal connection between [Simm's] protected activity and [Metra's] adverse employment action.” Cracco v. Vitran Express, Inc., 559 F.3d 625, 633 (7th Cir.2009). There is no dispute that Simms engaged in a protected activity—requesting leave under the FMLA—and that his FMLA intermittent leave caused Metra to abolish his third shift position and prevent him from working at any other third shift positions. Metra argues, however, that its action was specifically permitted by the FMLA.
The FMLA provides:
If an employee requests intermittent leave, ... the employer may require such employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position offered by the employer for which the employee is qualified and that—
(A) has equivalent pay and benefits; and
(B) better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular employment position of the employee.
29 U.S.C. § 2612(b)(2). Metra's written FMLA policy also states that, with regard to intermittent leave, it “reserves the right to transfer the employee temporarily to an available alternative position if such leave will cause undue hardship to the [Human Resources] Department and if the transfer does not conflict with rules stated in Collective Bargaining Agreements.” Pl. Ex. 2 at 3. Metra argues that its termination of Simms's position and its refusal to allow him to take any other third shift position amounted to a transfer permitted under the FMLA. It contends that the CBA did not include any explicit transfer provision but instead allowed for the elimination of a position followed by allowing the employee to bump into another position for which he was qualified.
In response to Metra's contention that its actions amounted to a permissible transfer under the FMLA, Simms makes two arguments. First, he contends that Metra did not transfer him. He notes that Metra admitted that its action was “not termed a ‘temporary transfer’ but instead was a bid-based reassignment.” Def. Resp. to Pl. Stat. of Undisputed Facts ¶ 15. When Simms filed a grievance with Metra, however, Soukup justified Metra's action under the FMLA by stating that “the FMLA regulations that allow Mr. Simms up to 12 weeks off on intermittent leave also allow [employers] to transfer the employee temporarily during the period the intermittent leave is required.” Pl. Ex. 4 at 3. Soukup also wrote that “if [Simms's] situation changes he is entitled to bid back on his 3rd shift position,” Id., indicating that Simms's assignment to the first shift need last only as long as he took intermittent FMLA leave. Simms has not presented any authority stating that actions like those Metra took do not constitutetemporary transfer within the meaning of the FMLA. The Court agrees with Metra and concludes that its elimination of Simms's position as a way of dealing with his intermittent leave was a transfer allowed under the FMLA.
Simms also contends that Metra's actions violated the FMLA because they violated the CBA and the RLA....
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