Yontz v. Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc.
| Decision Date | 10 October 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:13-cv-066 |
| Parties | Jeffrey S. Yontz, Plaintiff, v. Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
ENTRY AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT DOLE FRESH VEGETABLES, INC.'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT. DOC. 44.
Pending before the Court is Defendant Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment. Doc. 44. Therein, Dole requests that the Court grant summary judgment on Plaintiff Jeffrey S. Yontz's claims for interference with rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2611et seq., retaliation for exercising these rights spoliation of evidence. Because Yontz is able to present evidence which, if believed by a jury, would satisfy his burden on every element of every claim, the motion will be denied in its entirety. The Court's description of the background facts will include Yontz's employment as well as facts relevant to Dole's knowledge of possible litigation, as this is relevant to Yontz's claim for spoliation of evidence.
Defendant Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. employed Plaintiff Jeffrey S. Yontz as a Package Machine Operator from March 2005 until June 24, 2011. When Dole hired Yontz in March 2005,Yontz completed a "Pre-Employment Commitment Form," a Dole document which allows employees to notify the employer when they are first hired of commitments for which they might not yet have earned accrued paid time off. Doc. 44-2, at 3, Ex. B. Yontz told Dole about his "yearly" vacation plans at a time-share in Florida. Doc. 61-7, Ex. 7. Yontz has testified that he stays with his family at his parents' time share in Sanibel Island, Florida, the same two weeks (19th week and 20th week of the year) in May every year. Ex. D. During his first year of employment, Yontz requested three and half weeks off for various vacations, one of which was his time share in Florida. Doc. 44-3, Ex. C.
In 2006, Yontz was off for two weeks of unpaid leave. In 2007, Yontz requested paid time off (or Flexible Time Off) for the entire two weeks of his time share. However, prior to him leaving, Dole determined that he did not have enough accrued Flexible Time Off for the entire timeshare period so he was granted an unpaid Leave of Absence for three days of the two-week time period. Doc. 44-5, Ex. E.
In April 2008, Yontz again requested a Leave of Absence for the entire two-week period of his Florida timeshare. Doc. 44-6, Ex. F. His supervisor denied this request. Id. Dole's Human Resources Department states that it does not inform employees whether leave requests are approved or denied, it is the employee's responsibility to follow up on requests for time off. Doc. 44-7, Ex. G. Despite the fact that the leave was denied, Yontz proceeded to take the entire two weeks off for his timeshare without his supervisor's approval. Dole suspended Yontz for five days. Doc. 44-8, Ex. H. In October 2008, Dole suspended Yontz for insubordination. Doc. 44-9, Ex. I.
At the end of March 2009, Yontz initially requested a leave of absence for five days of his timeshare vacation and requested Flexible Time Off for the rest. The request was initially deniedby one of his supervisors. Ex. J. Yontz subsequently completed another leave of absence form for only four days, which was approved by another supervisor. Ex. K.
In February 2010, Yontz again requested an unpaid leave of absence for the entire two weeks of his Florida timeshare. Ex. L. The denial was personally given to Yontz by Jim Graham, HR Manager, with a notation by Graham that "vacation is not a subject for a Leave of Absence." Id. Following this attempt, Yontz acknowledged that he was aware that his practice of trying to take any unpaid leave of absence to stay at his Florida timeshare would no longer be approved or tolerated by the Company. Ex. M.
Yontz and his wife, Kelley, had learned that they were expecting their second child. Yontz sought and completed the appropriate FMLA forms to take leave for the birth. Doc. 61-14, Ex. 14. Kelley's OB/GYN completed the appropriate certification, estimating Yontz would need eight weeks of leave, beginning March 26, 2010. Id.
Dole's HR Coordinator and FMLA administrator, Yasminka Landaburu, was suspicious about the eight weeks designated by Kelley's physician. Landaburu Depo., 11-12; 38. Landaburu contacted the physician, who confirmed that eight weeks was correct and appropriate. Landaburu Depo., 38 ( ); Ex. 15 (). Dole approved Yontz's request for FMLA leave on March 14, 2010.
The Yontzs' daughter Lacey was born on March 24, 2010, with Down syndrome. Yontz Depo., 24; Ex. 18.
In the meantime, unbeknown to Yontz, Dole's management chain continued to discuss their apparent dissatisfaction and suspicion of the timing of Yontz' FMLA leave for the birth of his daughter. Ex. 19. Two weeks after Dole approved his leave, and less than a week after Lacey was born, they held a conference call. Human Resources Coordinator and FMLA Administrator Yasminka Landaburu, Dole's Vice President of Labor Relations in California Danny Urbano, and Dole's in-house counsel David Buffington, also in California, discussed Yontz's FMLA leave. Landaburu noted:
3/30/10 Meeting with Danny Urbano and David Buffington. Because Jeff Yontz' wife had a baby nothing can be done, but Jim [Graham] will give Jeff a warning upon return that will state that if EE [employee] is here next spring 2011 (when his timeshare comes up) he will not be automatically allow [sic] unless he has accrued enough vacation time and has been approved by Supervisor/Manager and that if he requested FMLA during that period it would be heavily scrutinize[d].
Ex. 19. Graham recalled in an email to Urbano and Landaburu the following year that they "warned [Yontz] last year about abusing the policy when he takes his annual vacation to [F]lorida." Ex. 20. Graham referred to Yontz as "our 'pro[b]lem child' /Prima donna PMO." Id.
On May 28, 2010, when Yontz's eight weeks of FMLA leave ended, he submitted an additional FMLA request for intermittent FMLA leave to care for Lacey. Ex. 18. Lacey's physician completed the required medical certification. Id. He estimated that Yontz would need approximately 2-5 days per month to care for Lacey in a variety of ways, including routine evaluations, follow-up with various physicians, including a number of specialists, as well as "episodic flare-ups periodically preventing the patient from participating in normal daily activities," caused by her Down Syndrome. Doc. 61-18, Ex. 18, at 4. Landaburu sent Yontz aletter confirming his remaining FMLA time on June 18, 2010. Ex. 21. She also asked for a medical re-certification. Id.
The next year, despite the prior years' admonitions, Yontz requested Flexible Time Off only for a portion of his annual two-week timeshare during May 2011. Ex. O; Exs. 22-24. He requested May 7, May 11-14, and May 18 off. Id. On May 6, 2011, Yontz called in and took the day off, earning one attendance point under Dole's attendance policy. Pl. Ex. 25. At this point, he had a previous absence from April 23, 2011, for a total of two points. Id. Although the two-week Florida timeshare ran from Saturday, May 7, 2011 to Saturday, May 21, 2011, Yontz only requested Flexible Time Off (which was approved by his supervisor in advance) for the period ending May 18, 2011. Exs. D and O.
The evening of Tuesday, May 17, 2011, as the Yontz family was preparing to leave Florida and make the drive home, one-year old Lacey got sick. Yontz Depo., 74. Because of her Down syndrome, Lacey was born with a short-bridged nose. Yontz Depo., 58-60. The short bridge causes mucous to run down her throat, rather than out her nose, ultimately making her throw up. Yontz Depo., 58-60. On this occasion, the Yontzs believed additional mucous was caused by Lacey's teething. Yontz Depo., 58-59.
Lacey vomited repeatedly. Believing they understood the cause of Lacey's symptoms, the Yontzs did not take Lacey to the doctor. Yontz Depo., 58-60. Facing a 17-19 hour drive with a vomiting one-year old child with Down syndrome, the Yontzs decided it would be better for Lacey to postpone their drive home. Yontz Depo., 58-63. Yontz called Dole, notifying them that he was utilizing his intermittent FMLA for May 19, 2011.
When the situation with Lacey did not improve the following two days (May 20 and 21), Yontz again called Dole and used his FMLA leave. Yontz Depo., 58-63. When Lacey improved,the Yontz family trekked back to Ohio on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Yontz Depo., 92. Monday, May 23, 2011 was Yontz's day off, but on call. Yontz Depo., 89-90. That day, Lacey needed Yontz at home, as her normal caregiver had a medical issue. Yontz Depo., 89-90. Although he was never called in, Yontz called again on May 23, to let Dole know he would need to use FMLA that day if called:
When I came back, I had an issue with a babysitter, and the only reason there was an issue with the babysitter is because that's my day off and I wasn't scheduled to work, and I called the company ahead of time saying, hey, just in case you call me to work on my day off, I'm telling you, I can't come in. I left that on the voice message.
Yontz Depo., 89-90. Dole disputes that Yontz was not called in to work. Doc. 59. 77-79, Bravo Depo., 75-77, PageID # 5754 - 5756 (testifying that she scheduled Yontz for mandatory overtime, but kept all records by memory). Cf. Doc. 44-17, 2-3, Ex. Q; see also Exs. D & O.
Dole initially approved Yontz's requested FMLA leave for May 19, 20, 21, and 23. Termination Notice, Ex. 26 (). Then, consistent with the admonition to Yontz, on May 25, 2011, James Graham had Human Resources Coordinator Yasminka Landaburu request documentation from an ...
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