TOV.WrongfulTermination&Discrimination

Court upholds dismissal of ADA and gender disrimination claims.

The Sixth Circuit heard Alisha Regan's appeal of the dismissal of her lawsuit against her former employer Faurecia Automotive Seating, Inc.  The lower cour had found inadequate evidence of gender or disability disrcimination to allow the claim to go to a jury and summarily dismissed it.  Regan appealed, arguing that she had demonstrated a violation of the employer's duty to accommodate her disability. 

Regan suffers from narcolepsy and argued that the employer should accommodate her inability to commute a substantial distance in heavy traffic, for safety reasons.  The employer was making a change to start work one hour later in the morning, however, because the earlier starting time had proved unproductive because materials needed did not arrive from other departments at the earlier hour in the morning.  The Court ultimately concluded that if her condition constituted a "disability" under the ADA, her request exceeded the employer's duty to provide a "reasonable accommodation."

Retaliation against worker on Family Medical Leave is approved where employer's claim of suspected fraud is unrebutted.

Tom Seeger appealed the summary disposition of his Family Medical Leave Act claim.  He argued that Cincinnati Bell Telephone, CBT, wrongly retaliated against him for taking FMLA leave.    The employer fired him after other employees observed him at an Oktoberfest event while recovering from a herniated disc.  

Under the employer's plan, Seeger received continuation pay while while on FMLA leave. During the leave, Seeger accompanied his wife to a downtown Oktoberfest event that required him to walk approximately ten blocks.  He stayed for about 90 minutes and visited with several co-workers who disagreed with regard to whether he appeared to struggle walking.  Nevertheless, his supervisor terminated his employment after hearing of his appearance at the Oktoberfest event, deeming it inconsistent with his physical restrictions.  Despite a letter from Seeger's physician documenting his objectively-manifested injury and restrictions, CBT refused to reconsider its decision.

On appeal two judges of the Sixth Circuit upheld Seeger's termination, despite the fact that it amounted to retaliation against his for exercising his FMLA rights.  The majority concluded that the employer's "honest belief" that he was committing "disability fraud" eliminated any retaliation claim.  One judge dissented, arguing forcefully that the employer's "honest belief" could not justify its decision, particularly given the employer's failure to consult Seeger's physician before making its decision.

Doctor's employers found guilty of violation of FMLA and of underpaying him

MichaelM. Jadali, D.O., was employed by Michigan Neurology Associates, P.C., when in close succession he underwent an emergency appendectomy and his wife miscarried a baby.  Under his employment agreement with the 90 percent owner of the firm, Dr. Thomas Giancarlo, Jadali would have earned about $350,000.00 in the third year of his contract, however, the parties could not agree on terms for a subsequent year and Jadali was discharged.  Giancarlo then "adjusted" Jadali's third-year compensation to deduct his pension contribution of more than $10,000.00.  He also denied payment of Jadali's final months' receipts because they were paid to the firm after Jadali was no longer employed  by the firm.  In addition, he charged Jadali a penalty of $11,000.00 for missed productivity while Jadali missed work with the appendectomy and miscarriage.  Jadali filed suit and a jury found in his favor on all of these "deductions," awarding him a significant verdict.  Giancarlo appealed.

Federal Court upholds dismissal of claim raised by woman terminated on return from medical leave

Gwendolyn Donald was an Assistant Manager for Sybra, Inc., doing business as Arby's. In the previous two years, she had experienced serious health problems associated with ovarian cysts, renal stones and a gall bladder surgery.  She had missed a total of more than eight weeks' work.  In February of 2008, she had trouble with renal stones on her scheduled days off and informed her employer.  In the meantime, the employer had begun to investigate her, it claimed, because of a $4.00 or $5.00 discrepancy in her cash drawer; her supervisor testified that he suspected her of improperly discounting meals and pocketing the difference.  When Donald returned to work on the 29th of February, she was fired.

Supreme Court says church can fire teacher with theological duties, regardless of claimed disability discrimination

A case arising out of a Lutheran school in Redford, Michigan, has resulted in a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court with regard to the parameters of separation of church and state. Cheryl Perich taught at the Hosanna-Tabor Church school.  Her duties included 45 minutes of religion-related instruction per week.  

Perich claimed that the church violated federal law by discriminating against her medical disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  She filed an EEOC claim and followed-up with a lawsuit.  The school then fired her for resorting to the Courts to resolve her complaint.  Lower courts had ruled that the Church could be held accountable for a violation of federal law.  The Church appealed, seeking a ruling that under the "ministerial exception" to state and federal law, it had the unfettered right to fire anyone involved in teaching church doctrine, even if the employee's "ministerial" duties were relatively insignificant.

Appellate Court upholds dismissal of workers compensation retaliatory discharge claim.

Jamie Bush sued Peninsular Realty, claiming that the company fired her from her assisted-living employment after she sought medical treatment for an injury suffered at work.  In Michigan, the employer is required to pay certain minimal wage loss and medical benefits to an employee who suffers a work-related injury.  Under the same law, it is illegal to terminate or discipline an employee who initiates a workers comp claim.  Nevertheless, the Appellate panel upheld Bush's dismissal, relying in part on the fact that she was fired after seeking medical treatment, but BEFORE she actually filed a claim for workers compensation payment.

Woman's FMLA and PWDCRA claims are dismissed because she didn't prove employer's knowledge

Valeria Goshton sued Arva Overton, her supervisor, and Blue Cross-Blue Shield, claiming she was terminated, rather than accommodated, when she sought medical leave for a disability--in her case hypertension.  Overton filed an affidavit claiming that she was not aware that Goshton suffered from hypertension, and therefore could not have violated the State's version of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The Court agreed and dismissed the PWDCRA claim. 

The Court also dismissed the FMLA violation claim, finding that mere "temporal proximity" (i.e., she sought leave and was immediately dismissed) was inadequate to prove a retaliatory motive:  Goshton was required to proffer some other evidence to corroborate the Defendants' discriminatory or retaliatory motive.  Perhaps the Defendants put a memo in Goshton's file, confirming their illegal intent?  Or at least told a friendly co-worker of their violation of the law?  Barring evidence of--metaphorically speaking--blood on the defendants' hands, a plaintiff cannot meet the corroborative requirement tacked to the statute by the Engler Majority of Michigan's Supreme Court.

Disability claim denied: three IMEs establish continuing disability but none confirm permanent

Sandra Ann Monroe filed a disability claim in the circuit court after the State Employees Retirement Board denied her application for retirement disability benefits.  Monroe was a nurse at the Alger Maximum Correctional Facility in 2007 when she was suspended and then terminated for undisclosed reasons.  Soon after, she sought disability benefits based on a major depressive disorder.  Ultimately, the SERB sent her for three separate "independent" medical examinations by doctors of the board's choosing. All three physicians concluded she was disabled but offered hope that her disability "could" end within 4-12 months with proper treatment and therapy.  Because none of the physicians concluded that she was "permanently" disabled, the Court of Appeals upheld the Circuit Court's judgment that she was not entitled to disability benefits.

Supreme Court overturns decision dismissing woman's handicap discrimination claim

A disabled person, Shirley Vinson, sued her employer, ABN Amro, after it terminated her employment.  She alleged that the employer terminated her after eliminating its manual dialing service telephones and incorporated a new phone system with auto dialing that could not be accessed from outside the office. Vinson claimed that the employer made this change for the express purpose of eliminating her employment, since she typically accessed the phone system manually from home.  The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of Vinson's claim.  Judge Henry Saad and two others concluded that she had not established a prima facie case of discrimination.

Total disability finding is reversed where doctors disagree

Anthony Cleveland's disability claim was rejected by the State Employees' Retirement Board, but that decision was over-turned by the Circuit Court.  On appeal, the higher court reinstated the Board's decision, holding that the Circuit Court judge did not have the authority to over-turn the Board's analysis of the ten relevant physicians' decisions. The Court of Appeals held that the Circuit Court had wrongly concluded that the Board was arbitrary in its interpretation of the facts, and that it had abused its discretion in reviewing the Agency's decision.