Thompson v. Kanabec Cnty.

Decision Date05 May 2020
Docket NumberNo. 19-1456, No. 19-1988,19-1456
Citation958 F.3d 698
Parties Wendy THOMPSON Plaintiff - Appellant v. KANABEC COUNTY; Mille Lacs County Defendants - Appellees Wendy Thompson Plaintiff - Appellant v. Kanabec County; Mille Lacs County Defendants - Appellees
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Bonnie M. Smith, of Minneapolis, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Adrianna Haugen Shannon, of Minneapolis, MN., Bonnie M. Smith, of Minneapolis, MN.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of appellee Kanabec County was Cally R. Kjellberg-Nelson, of Saint Cloud, MN. Counsel who presented argument on behalf of appellee Mille Lacs County was Kendra Elizabeth Olson, of Fergus Falls, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief of Kanabec County; Dyan J Ebert, of Saint Cloud, MN., Cally R. Kjellberg-Nelson, of Saint Cloud, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief of Mille Lacs County; Kendra Elizabeth Olson, of Fergus Falls, MN., Kristi Ann Hastings, of Fergus Falls, MN.

Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.

ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

Wendy Thompson sued her former employer, Kanabec County, for allegedly interfering with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. , and then allegedly retaliating against her for asserting those rights. Thompson also alleged multiple state law claims against Kanabec County and Mille Lacs County. The district court1 granted summary judgment in favor of Kanabec County on Thompson's FMLA claim, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Thompson's state law claims, and taxed costs in favor of Kanabec County. We affirm.

I. Background

In reviewing the district court's grant of summary judgment, we describe the facts in the light most favorable to Thompson.2 Thompson resides in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. She is a licensed registered nurse who began her employment in October 1991 in neighboring Kanabec County, Minnesota. She was the Director of Public Health for twenty-five years and also the Health and Human Services Director for the last ten years. As the Health and Human Services Director, Thompson reported directly to the Kanabec County Board ("Board"). Any decision about her employment required a majority vote of the five person Board. The County Coordinator, Patrick Christopherson ("Christopherson"), managed the day-to-day personnel operations of Kanabec County. He reported directly to the Board. Although Christopherson advised the Board on personnel issues, he lacked termination authority.

Thompson is the mother of eight children. In "mid-2016," Thompson's oldest daughter, who had moved out of the house and was estranged from the family, allegedly told Thompson that she had been sexually abused at least eight years earlier by her father, Thompson's husband. The daughter later reported the alleged abuse to authorities. On September 28, 2016, Thompson's husband was arrested and charged in Mille Lacs County with kidnapping and multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct. Mille Lacs County opened a child-protection investigation of both Thompson and her husband. As to Thompson, the investigation pertained to "threatened sexual abuse"3 of the minor children that were still residing with her.

Upon the advice of outside counsel, Thompson was placed on paid administrative leave until "the investigation into [her] alleged misconduct [was] concluded." Thompson was required to turn in her cell phone and iPad and told that "No Public Health or Family Services should be provided by [Thompson] to any Kanabec County citizens or staff until further notice from the County Board."

On October 21, 2016, Kanabec County's outside counsel interviewed Thompson as part of the County's internal investigation. Topics included Thompson's husband's previous marriage, his criminal history, allegations about her husband's pending criminal complaint, allegations made during a closed 2001 Mille Lacs County investigation, and information about what she witnessed or knew about any abuse of her children. Outside counsel prepared a report memorializing the discussion as well as her findings.

During a closed meeting on November 2, 2016, outside counsel provided the Board with their findings and recommended that the Board terminate Thompson. Counsel also advised the Board that the options it had before it included demotion, retirement, resignation, or delay the decision. The Board chose to delay its decision pending a determination in the child-protection investigation. Christopherson notified Thompson that outside counsel had recommended termination, "but if the child protection investigation concluded in her favor, the Board would probably reinstate her." Christopherson told Thompson that because of Thompson's request to postpone the Board's decision, Thompson's paid administrative leave status was changed to paid time off ("PTO"). Thompson denied that she made a continuance request.

On November 18, 2016, Thompson learned that she needed surgery. She notified Christopherson on November 21, 2016, that she was under a physician's care and required surgery "in the near future." The next day, Mille Lacs County issued its determination, finding maltreatment against Thompson for "threatened sexual abuse" of her two minor children.

The determination concluded that Thompson, as a mandatory reporter, had an obligation to report her daughter's allegations of sexual abuse to authorities. Thompson received the determination notice on November 25, 2016, and she made a timely request for reconsideration.

On December 7, 2016, Thompson notified Christopherson of the maltreatment determination and her request for reconsideration. That evening, Christopherson called Thompson to advise her that the Board scheduled a special session on December 16, 2016, to discuss the maltreatment determination. Christopherson told Thompson that the Board would allow her to resign in lieu of termination. Thompson responded that she did not know what she had done to be terminated. She informed Christopherson that she had surgery scheduled for December 12, and that her doctor had recommended four weeks of leave.

On the morning of December 9, 2016, Thompson provided to Christopherson a copy of the maltreatment determination along with her request for reconsideration. Thompson requested an opportunity to speak to the Board about "her side of the story." The Board cancelled the special session due to Thompson's upcoming surgery and her request for FMLA. In an email to Kanabec County's outside counsel, Christopherson accused Thompson of "playing games" and expressed confidence that the Board would grant him the authority to execute a "resignation/termination" resolution that he had previously asked counsel to draft.

On December 16, 2016, Mille Lacs County denied Thompson's request for reconsideration of the maltreatment determination.4 On December 19, 2016, a police officer served Thompson with notice that the Board would address her employment status during a closed meeting on December 21, 2016. The notice stated that Thompson's request for FMLA did not change the fact that the Board had been considering termination since October. It further stated that if the Board decided not to terminate her employment or postponed making a decision, Thompson's FMLA paperwork would be processed.

On December 20, 2016, Thompson emailed Christopherson, requesting that the meeting be postponed. Thompson expressed concern about interference with her FMLA, and alleged that Kanabec County was discriminating against her because of her marital status and possibly her religion. She also emailed and hand-delivered a similar letter to the Board. The Board declined to postpone a decision on Thompson's employment status.

After denying the continuance request, Kanabec County's outside counsel spoke with Thompson's attorney on the telephone. That evening, Thompson's attorney sent an email to Kanabec County's outside counsel thanking her for the call "in which [they] discussed the County's intent to proceed with terminating [Thompson's] employment." Thompson's attorney stated that she had relayed the suggestion of resignation in lieu of termination to Thompson and that Thompson was "retiring from her position at Kanabec County, effective immediately." The County's outside counsel responded with a request that Thompson submit a resignation letter for the Board to accept. That night, at around 8:00 p.m., Thompson emailed Christopherson a statement that she was retiring from her position, effective January 10, 2017. The Board accepted Thompson's resignation during its meeting on December 21, 2016.

Thompson alleged in her complaint that Kanabec County interfered with her exercise of rights protected by the FMLA, and then retaliated against her for asserting those rights. She also alleged state law claims for marital discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, a violation of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, and wage payment violations against Kanabec County, as well as aiding and abetting marital discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, a violation of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, and tortious interference with a contract against Mille Lacs County. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

The district court noted that while it appeared Thompson was not "treated with the dignity or respect to which she was entitled as a long-time public servant, or as a human being," she failed to establish that Kanabec County had interfered with her FMLA rights or retaliated against her for exercising those rights. The court dismissed the federal claim with prejudice, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims, and dismissed the state law claims without prejudice. The court also awarded costs to Kanabec County, as the prevailing par...

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