Weidner v. Unity Health Plans Ins. Corp.

• Decision Date: 06 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 08-cv-404-slc.,08-cv-404-slc.
• Citation: 606 F.Supp.2d 949
• Parties: Deanna WEIDNER, Plaintiff, v. UNITY HEALTH PLANS INSURANCE CORPORATION, a Wisconsin Corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Wisconsin

606 F.Supp.2d 949

Deanna WEIDNER, Plaintiff, v. UNITY HEALTH PLANS INSURANCE CORPORATION, a Wisconsin Corporation, Defendant.

No. 08-cv-404-slc.

United States District Court, W.D. Wisconsin.

April 6, 2009.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

A. Steven Porter, Attorney A. Steven Porter, Madison, WI, for Plaintiff.

Amy O. Bruchs, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Madison, WI, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

STEPHEN L. CROCKER, United States Magistrate Judge.

In this civil action for declaratory, monetary and injunctive relief, plaintiff Deanna Weidner contends that her former employer, defendant Unity Health Plans Insurance Corporation, violated her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2611-2654, when it refused to reinstate her to her former position or its equivalent when she returned from a five-and-a-half month medical leave of absence in March 2007. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367. The parties have consented to my jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1).

Defendant has moved for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff was neither entitled to nor eligible for FMLA protection at the time of the adverse job action. In addition, it seeks summary judgment on its counterclaim to recover $2,900.49 in gross wages that it mistakenly paid plaintiff in 2006 for hours that she did not work.

I am denying defendant's motion with respect to plaintiff's FMLA claim. First, on these facts, defendant is incorrect to contend that plaintiff was not entitled to FMLA leave in 2007 because she had used 12 weeks of FMLA leave in 2006. Second, there is a genuine (and unestopped) factual dispute whether plaintiff performed enough service hours to meet the Act's minimum hours-of-service requirement. A jury will have to sort out the parties' competing assertions on this point.

Finally, I am granting defendant's motion with respect to its counterclaim for unjust enrichment, but only in part. Plaintiff need not reimburse defendant for FICA deductions or monies paid for plaintiff's share of employment benefits.

From the parties' proposed findings of fact and the pleadings, I find the following facts to be undisputed for purposes of deciding the motion for summary judgment:

FACTS

Plaintiff Deanna Weidner is an adult who resides in Sauk City, Wisconsin. Defendant Unity Health Plans Insurance Corporation is a health maintenance organization incorporated in Wisconsin with principal offices located in Sauk City.

Plaintiff was employed by defendant from 1995 to March 19, 2007. Beginning in June 2006, she held the title of Health Care Quality Specialist, which was a salaried position. Because plaintiff was paid a salary, neither her time sheets nor defendant's payroll records recorded the number of hours she worked; they only recorded deductions such as paid time off and holiday pay. According to those records, plaintiff worked 1,128 hours in 2006.

Under Unity's family leave policy, an employee who has been employed by Unity for at least 52 consecutive weeks and who has worked at least 1,000 hours prior to the leave is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave per calendar year. On September 21, 2006, plaintiff requested leave from work for medical reasons related to her pregnancy and the expected birth of her child, which was to occur around December 6, 2006. Plaintiff estimated that she would be off work for approximately five and a half months, beginning October 2, 2006.

Unity's Human Resources Director, Karen Bender, met with plaintiff in September to discuss plaintiff's leave request. Bender informed plaintiff that of the 12 workweeks of leave to which she was entitled annually under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), she had only six weeks remaining in 2006 because she had used 30.5 days of FMLA leave earlier in the year. This meant that plaintiff's remaining FMLA leave would expire on November 10, 2006. Bender told plaintiff, however, that she could apply for short-term disability and, assuming she was still medically disabled in 2007, could reapply for FMLA leave in 2007. On plaintiff's leave application form, Bender wrote: "New eligibility [for FMLA] starts in 2007." Although Bender could not guarantee that plaintiff could have her job back when she returned from leave, she told plaintiff that defendant would provide her with comparable work.

Plaintiff commenced her leave on October 2, 2006. Her child was born on November 30, 2006. Plaintiff continued on pregnancy leave upon the recommendation of her physician. Unity hired a temporary employee to fill plaintiff's position while she was on leave.

On December 28, 2006, Bender sent a letter to plaintiff captioned "FMLA Eligibility." Bender wrote, in part:

I wanted to follow-up with you on some of the things we discussed prior to your departure. As you know, you used six weeks of your 2006 FMLA entitlement prior to your maternity leave due to complications with your pregnancy. Therefore, you were entitled to another 6 weeks of FMLA leave in 2006. Since your most recent absence began on October 2, 2006, your final six weeks of FMLA eligibility ended on November 10. I had informed you of this at our meeting and via the Request Form

I advised you that if you wanted FMLA in 2007, you would have to re-apply for it. Since you are continuing to collect [short term disability], I assume that you are going to want to continue on FMLA. Therefore, I am enclosing FMLA paperwork so that you can re-certify in order to continue to remain off of work. Please have your doctor complete this paperwork and return it to us within 15 days of your receipt of this letter.

In the first week of January 2007, plaintiff delivered an application for FMLA leave to Unity's Human Resources office. Presumably this request was granted because neither party has presented evidence that it was denied. On January 12, 2007, plaintiff, Bender and Unity's Director of Operations, Debra Schiffman, conferred by telephone and agreed that plaintiff would return to work from her leave on an 80 percent, part-time, salaried basis. In a January 19, 2007 letter memorializing the discussion, Bender stated that "at this time, we plan to put you into the Healthcare Quality Specialist position." Plaintiff's anticipated return-to-work date was February 23, 2007.

On February 8, 2007, plaintiff provided Bender with a form completed by her physician, releasing plaintiff from work for four weeks or until she was reevaluated on March 1, 2007 for sacroiliac pain. Plaintiff requested FMLA recertification forms from Bender, but Bender told plaintiff that the work release form would be effective for FMLA leave recertification purposes.

On February 12, 2007, Bender telephoned plaintiff to inform her that defendant was rescinding its January 19, 2007 letter agreement because of "staffing changes." However, defendant did not immediately fill plaintiff's job with a permanent replacement.

On March 1, 2007, plaintiff faxed a new work release form completed by her physician, recommending that she undergo a treatment procedure on March 14 that would prevent her from returning to work until March 19, 2007. On March 5, defendant decided to give plaintiff's job to the temporary employee who was filling it.

On March 13, 2007, Bender left a voice message on plaintiff's telephone stating that two positions would be available to her upon her return to work on March 19. Bender considered plaintiff to have been on FMLA leave from January 2007 until March 19, 2007. The pay rates for these position were below plaintiff's former salary. Plaintiff reported for work on March 19. Bender told plaintiff that the only positions defendant had available were the two positions she had described in her voice message. Plaintiff packed her belongings and left the workplace.

OPINION

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, courts must construe all facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). However, in order to avoid summary judgment, the non-moving party must supply sufficient evidence for each essential element of its case to allow a reasonable jury to render a verdict in his favor. Kampmier v. Emeritus Corp., 472 F.3d 930, 936 (7th Cir.2007); Sanchez v. Henderson, 188 F.3d 740, 743 (7th Cir. 1999). The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute is insufficient to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment. Liu v. T & H Machine, Inc., 191 F.3d 790, 796 (7th Cir.1999).

II. The Family and Medical Leave Act

Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 to balance "the demands of the workplace with the needs of families," among other purposes. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(b). The Act is complemented by a host of administrative regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to Congress's directive. 29 U.S.C. § 2654 (directing Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations "necessary to carry out" the Act). Under the FMLA, covered employers¹ must guarantee up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in "any 12-month period" for eligible employees who are providing care for a newly born or adopted child or for a family member who has a serious health condition or because the employee has a serious health condition that disables her from performing the functions of her job. 29 U.S.C. § 2612.

An eligible employee is one who has been employed by the employer from whom leave is requested for at least 12 months and has worked at least 1,250 hours for that employer during the 12-month period preceding the leave. § 2611(2)(A). When an...