Thomas v. Corwin
| Decision Date | 03 April 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-1496.,06-1496. |
| Citation | 483 F.3d 516 |
| Parties | Jan THOMAS, Appellant, v. Jim CORWIN, Chief of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department; Karl Zobrist, President, Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri; Javier M. Perrez, Vice President, Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri; Angela Wasson-Hunt, Treasurer, Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri; James Wilson, Member of the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri; Mayor Kay Barnes, Mayor and Member of the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Rebecca M. Randles, argued, Kansas City, MO, for appellant.
James C. Sullivan, argued, Kansas City, MO (William E. Quirk, and Julie A. Elston, on the brief), for appellees.
Before WOLLMAN, RILEY, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.
Jan Thomas (Thomas) appeals from the district court's1 grant of summary judgment on her claims of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213; age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634; gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000e-17; retaliation2 under the ADA and Title VII; and invasion of privacy under Missouri state law. Finding no error, we affirm.
Thomas began working for the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) in 1977. In 1989, she began working the evening shift in the Juvenile Unit as an investigative typist. Sergeant Janet Hargarten (Hargarten) became Thomas's direct supervisor in late 1996 or early 1997. In October 1999, Thomas transferred to another KCPD division to work the day shift, but within a few months Thomas requested return to her former evening shift position in the Juvenile Unit. Thomas's request was approved in early 2000. At the time of her request, Thomas recognized the Juvenile Unit had some workforce shortages.
When Thomas returned to the Juvenile Unit, Hargarten and Thomas reviewed the office procedures and vacation policy, which limited vacations to no more than sixteen consecutive days. However, on May 30, 2000, Thomas submitted a request to take twenty consecutive days of vacation in September 2000. Noting their earlier discussion regarding the vacation policy, Hargarten denied Thomas's request and asked her to resubmit it. Hargarten later approved Thomas's subsequent request of seventeen days' vacation.
On May 31, 2000, Thomas met with Hargarten to discuss the vacation issue, and Thomas expressed concerns regarding safety and security within the Juvenile Unit. During this meeting, Thomas informed Hargarten she felt she was treated differently than male employees, because men were allowed to carry guns and Thomas was not even allowed to use pepper spray. Thomas alleges Hargarten told her to think carefully about filing a grievance regarding her concerns.
On July 26, 2000, Thomas fell asleep at her desk while on duty. The following day, Hargarten asked Thomas to complete a Form 191 explanatory memorandum detailing the incident, but Hargarten did not formally discipline her.3 Thomas claims other Juvenile Unit employees, including younger male employees, fell asleep at their desks, but they were never required to fill out a Form 191.
A few weeks later on August 9, 2000, Thomas arrived thirty minutes late to a staff meeting. Hargarten again asked Thomas to complete a Form 191, but Hargarten did not discipline Thomas for her tardiness. At that time, Hargarten told Thomas that Detective Jackson Lyle (Lyle) had to complete a Form 191 for similar conduct the previous year. However, Thomas alleges Lyle later stated he did not have to fill out a Form 191. Hargarten testified Lyle, in fact, did complete a Form 191, but he simply did not remember doing so.
In January 2001, Thomas submitted a request for thirty-two consecutive vacation days. No other Juvenile Unit employee had ever been granted a similar request. Hargarten denied the request and asked Thomas to resubmit the request in accordance with the Juvenile Unit's vacation policy; Thomas did not do so. Thomas acknowledged she also received a memorandum prepared by Hargarten that sought to limit the length of vacations due to workforce shortages within the Juvenile Unit.
On February 20, 2001, Thomas met with Hargarten and Captain Byron Price (Price) to discuss her vacation request and the effects of extended vacations on the operation of the Juvenile Unit, a small division requiring twenty-four-hour staffing. During the meeting, Hargarten stated Thomas could be written up for insubordination for requesting thirty-two consecutive days of vacation. Hargarten also stated detectives in the Juvenile Unit had complained about Thomas's conduct, which included going into a back room to talk on the telephone, hiding her computer screen when others walked by, faxing information to her husband while at work, and coming to the Juvenile Unit on her days off.4 Hargarten then intimated Thomas's behavior could give rise to a hostile work environment claim by Thomas's co-workers and Thomas could be disciplined for her behavior. Finally, Hargarten again advised Thomas to be careful regarding the filing of a grievance with KCPD.
On April 23, 2001, Thomas received her employee evaluation for the period from May 5, 2000, to May 5, 2001. The evaluation, completed by Hargarten, discussed Thomas's professional manner in dealing with upset parents and her willingness to assist Juvenile Unit detectives with their workload, but the evaluation also noted some "unusual" behavior, such as falling asleep on duty and being late to a staff meeting. The evaluation noted the recommendation that Thomas seek medical advice regarding her alleged fatigue. Thomas signed the agreement, which gave her a "satisfactory" rating, the only alternative rating being "unsatisfactory." Employee evaluations do not become part of an employee's permanent personnel file.
On May 22, 2001, Thomas returned home from work and then went to the emergency room, believing she was having a heart attack. Thomas was advised she was experiencing an anxiety reaction. The next day, Thomas sought treatment from Dr. Bernard Judy (Dr. Judy), her primary care physician. Dr. Judy believed Thomas was experiencing "job-related stress," and referred her to Dr. Bernard Sullivan (Dr. Sullivan), a psychologist. Thomas called the Juvenile Unit and requested a sick day, stating she had been to the hospital the night before for stress and had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the following day. When Hargarten called Thomas later that evening and inquired about the cause of Thomas's stress, Thomas indicated she likely would return to work on May 24, 2001. Thomas did not come to work on this date.
On May 24, 2001, Dr. Sullivan diagnosed Thomas with stress and anxiety due to work-related pressures and excused Thomas from work through June 3, 2001. When Thomas informed Hargarten of this on May 25, 2001, Hargarten inquired about what work-related pressures Thomas had been experiencing. Thomas refused to explain the cause of her stress. Hargarten contacted Thomas at home on two other occasions to see how Thomas was feeling. A series of notes from Dr. Sullivan excused Thomas from work due to Thomas's work-related stress and anxiety, and extended Thomas's return to work from June 3 to June 10, and finally to June 17, 2001.
On June 13, 2001, Thomas called Hargarten, stating Dr. Sullivan cleared Thomas to return to work on June 18, 2001. Hargarten replied she was recommending Thomas's transfer to KCPD's sick leave pool5 and that Thomas undergo a fitness-for-duty (FFD) evaluation. KCPD policy provides a supervisor must submit a written request recommending a psychological or psychiatric examination to evaluate an employee's FFD if the employee exhibits symptoms of a psychological or psychiatric disorder that is believed to affect job performance. In a memo dated June 12, 2001, Hargarten recommended Thomas undergo an FFD due to (1) Thomas's absences from work, (2) Thomas's refusal to discuss her work-related stress, and (3) KCPD's potential liability if Thomas were allowed to return to work without an evaluation. On June 28, 2001, Thomas received a letter from Captain Philip Lawler (Lawler) of the Employee Benefits Unit stating that KCPD had placed her in the sick leave pool effective June 25, 2001.
In late June 2001, Barbara Stuart (Stuart), supervisor of KCPD's Human Resources Division Employee Benefits Unit, informed Thomas she had scheduled Thomas's psychological FFD evaluation for July 5, 2001; Thomas agreed to participate and understood KCPD would allow her to return to work if she completed the evaluation. Dr. George Harris (Dr. Harris), an independent licensed psychologist who spends about 80% of his professional time with clients from KCPD, performed Thomas's FFD evaluation. KCPD's usual practice is to inform the doctor performing an employee's FFD evaluation generally of the employee's problem or issue. KCPD sent Dr. Harris several items: a referral letter noting Thomas was scheduled for a psychological FFD evaluation; a copy of the letter sent to Thomas regarding her assignment to the sick leave pool; a copy of Hargarten's June 12, 2001, memo discussing Thomas's absences from work and recommending Thomas's transfer to the sick leave pool; an informational log detailing Thomas's stress-related leave from work; notes to KCPD from Dr. Sullivan excusing Thomas from work; and a chart listing Thomas's absences from work. Although KCPD did not provide Dr. Harris with any specific questions to direct to Thomas during the evaluation, Dr. Harris assumed, based on the referral letter and accompanying documents he received, that he was to determine whether any psychological problems interfered with...
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