Thomas v. Pearle VisionInc.
| Decision Date | 30 May 2001 |
| Docket Number | PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,No. 00-3681,DEFENDANT-APPELLEE,00-3681 |
| Citation | 251 F.3d 1132 |
| Parties | (7th Cir. 2001) TINA R. THOMAS, O.D.,, v. PEARLE VISION, INC., |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. No. 97-1441--Joe B. McDade, Chief Judge.
Before Coffey, Rovner, and Diane P. Wood, Circuit Judges.
When Pearle Vision, Inc. ("Pearle") refused to restore Dr. Tina Thomas to the optometrist position in its Peoria, Illinois, store after a medical leave related to the birth of her child, she sued Pearle, alleging that Pearle had breached her employment contract. Thomas claimed that Pearle's 1997 Summary Plan Description of employee benefits incorporated into her contract the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. sec. 2601, et seq. Thomas also claimed Pearle violated the FMLA by failing to provide her with written notice that it considered her a highly compensated employee and that it intended to deny her job restoration upon the completion of her leave. The district court granted summary judgment to her employer, Pearle, holding that the "Problem Resolution" clause within the manual afforded Dr. Thomas an exclusive remedy for Pearle's failure to comply with the FMLA and therefore, Dr. Thomas's failure to comply with that clause defeated her claim. Dr. Thomas appeals.
Dr. Thomas began working at Pearle in September 1994 as a full-time doctor in its Peoria, Illinois store. Pearle employed only 12 employees at the Peoria store and less than 50 employees within 75 miles of the Peoria store. In 1996, however, Pearle distributed to all of its employees a 1997 Summary Plan Description of Employee Benefits ("1997 SPD"). In a section entitled, "The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993," Pearle stated in the 1997 SPD that "all employees with one year of service who worked 1,250 hours with Pearle in the 12 months immediately prior to requesting leave" were eligible for leave under the FMLA. The 1997 SPD repeated this eligibility description clause later, stating "[i]f you have worked for Pearle for at least one year, and have worked 1,250 hours or more during the 12 month period prior to requesting leave, you are eligible for Family and Medical leave." The handbook further contained instructions on how to request leave, which required employees requesting leave to notify a supervisor at least 30 days in advance and complete the necessary FMLA forms. Additionally, the 1997 SPD contained a section entitled, "Problem Resolution." In that section, Pearle advised its employees that:
It is the policy of the organization not to discharge or discriminate against any employee exercising his or her rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. If you think you have been treated unfairly, please contact the Vice President of Human Resources. The decision of the Vice President of Human Resources will be final and binding.
In September 1996 while expecting the birth of her first child, Dr. Thomas read over the potential benefits listed in the 1997 SPD to determine which one's she might be eligible for, paying particular attention to potential benefits pursuant to the FMLA. Around February of 1997, Dr. Thomas notified her manager of her pregnancy and requested maternity leave under the FMLA. Dr. Thomas's manager fur nished her with an FMLA checklist and other forms that had to be completed pursuant to the FMLA. On the FMLA request form, Dr. Thomas noted that she sought only eight weeks of leave (though the FMLA and Pearle's plan allowed for up to twelve weeks of leave). Further, on the form for physician certification, which she completed before the birth of her child, Dr. Thomas and her physician answered in the affirmative that she was 1) able to perform work of any kind, and 2) able to perform the functions of her position.
Shortly after completing the forms, Dr. Thomas expressed a concern to Pearle regional manager, Cheryl Melquist, dealing with her eligibility because of the section in the 1997 SPD labeled "Job Restoration." In that section, Pearle noted that "[c]ertain highly compensated salaried employees are eligible for leave, but are not guaranteed restoration to their position if they choose to take leave."1 Melquist advised Dr. Thomas that Pearle "would do everything [it] could to help, to get fill-in doctors for [her]" and that "as long as [it could] find fill-in help, [Thomas] would havenothing to worry about." Melquist also told Thomas to call Pearle's human resources manager, Tim Hying, if she had any questions. Admittedly, both Melquist and Hying also told Thomas that there may not be a position for her when she returned, seemingly contradicting her earlier statement that Thomas had nothing to worry about. But neither Melquist nor Hying ever sent Thomas written notice to that effect or indicated definitively that she would not be offered job restoration upon completion of her leave.
Shortly before Thomas's leave commenced, Pearle hired several doctors to serve part-time (both to cover Thomas's absences before the delivery, and her leave after delivery). On April 24, Dr. Don Nelson told Thomas that he was going to fill in for her while she was on leave. Thomas's manager, Traci Soots, confirmed that Dr. Nelson was temporary help. Thomas commenced her leave on April 29, several weeks earlier than she expected, because of a back problem asso ciated with her pregnancy. The next day, Thomas sent a letter via facsimile to Melquist, informing her that she still planned to take pregnancy leave and inquiring about what was planned for the future regarding her position and about Dr. Nelson's status. On May 5, 1997, Melquist phoned Thomas and explained that Dr. Nelson was temporary help. But the following day, Hying instructed Melquist to hire a full-time regular employee doctor, and Dr. Nelson was hired shortly thereafter. Pearle did not notify Dr. Thomas at this time of its decision to hire Dr. Nelson full-time. In fact, Pearle never did notify Dr. Thomas in writing that they were unable to continue using temporary help to fill her position during her absence or much less that she would be denied job restoration upon her return from pregnancy leave.
Instead, sometime around July 1997 Dr. Thomas learned that Pearle had hired a full-time replacement for her when she noticed that her name was not on her office door. On July 24, 1997, regional manager Kurt Schaefer (who had recently replaced Melquist) informed Dr. Thomas (still, not in writing, but via a message left on her home telephone's answering machine) that Pearle had hired Dr. Nelson as a full-time doctor and that there were currently no part-time or full-time positions available in the region. Schaefer did not explain that restoring Dr. Thomas to her position (or a similar one) would result in substantial and grievous economic injury to Pearle (thus necessitating the hire of Dr. Nelson). Dr. Thomas then commenced suit against Pearle for breach of contract, alleging that Pearle incorporated the FMLA into her contract through the 1997 SPD. Dr. Thomas further claimed that Pearle breached the contract when it failed to comply with the provision of the FMLA that an employer give highly compensated employees written notice at the time leave was requested that it intended to deny job restoration on the completion of leave. See 29 C.F.R. sec. 825.219.
Pearle moved for summary judgment, arguing that the 1997 SPD did not create an enforceable contract granting Dr. Thomas any rights under the FMLA, and in the alternative, that Dr. Thomas breached the contract by failing to take advantage of the "Problem Resolution" clause in the 1997 SPD. The trial court rejected defendant's first argument, holding that the 1997 SPD met the requirements of Duldulao v. Saint Mary of Nazareth Hosp. Ctr., 505 N.E.2d 314, 317-18 (Ill. 1987), and created an enforceable contract that gave Dr. Thomas the benefits of the FMLA. Nonetheless, the district court granted summary judgment to Pearle, holding that Dr. Thomas had not complied with the "Problem Resolution" procedure and therefore her breach of contract defeated her claim.
Dr. Thomas filed a motion to reconsider the judgment and also for leave to supplement the record (to show that she had complied with the clause). In her motion, Dr. Thomas argued that Pearle had breached the contract first, and therefore her breach was immaterial. The court granted Dr. Thomas's motion and vacated its initial order. The court further declared Dr. Thomas's motion to supplement the record as moot. After the district court vacated the judgment, Pearle filed a motion to reconsider, arguing that the court's holding rendered the "Problem Resolution" clause meaningless. The court agreed and again granted summary judgment to Pearle. The court reasoned that, although the 1997 SPD granted Dr. Thomas rights under the FMLA, it also limited those rights through the Problem Resolution clause, which operated as an exclusive remedy for violations of FMLA benefits given to Dr. Thomas by the 1997 SPD. Dr. Thomas appeals, arguing that the Problem Resolution clause is ambiguous in that it can reasonably be interpreted as either permissible or mandatory and in that it does not apply to her as published.
Two issues present themselves in Dr. Thomas's appeal. Initially, we must determine whether the 1997 SPD created an enforceable contract that granted Dr. Thomas the benefits of the FMLA. Next, if we determine that the 1997 SPD did create an enforceable contract, we must determine whether the Problem Resolution clause was ambiguous.
We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment. Kuchenruether v. City of Milwaukee, 221 F.3d 967, 972 (7th Cir. 2000). Summary judgment is proper if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the moving ...
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