Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-15-02105/USCOURTS-ca8-15-02105-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Kathy Kelleher
Appellant
Wal-Mart Stores
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit

___________________________

No. 15-2105

___________________________

Kathy Kelleher

lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee

____________

Appeal from United States District Court 

for the Northern District of Iowa - Dubuque

____________

 Submitted: November 5, 2015

 Filed: March 31, 2016

____________

Before SMITH, COLLOTON, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.

____________

KELLY, Circuit Judge.

Kathy Kelleher filed this action in the Iowa District Court in and for Dubuque

County on December 31, 2013, alleging disability discrimination, failure to continue

to accommodate, retaliation, and harassment. Wal-Mart later removed the case to the

Appellate Case: 15-2105 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/31/2016 Entry ID: 4383714 
United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The district court

1

granted summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart on all claims. We have jurisdiction

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and, finding no error, we affirm.

I. Background

Kathy Kelleher began working for Wal-Mart in 1995 as a truck unloader for

the Dubuque Wal-Mart store. After approximately two years, she switched positions

to stocker, working the overnight third shift. Wal-Mart’s job description for the

stocker position states, among a list of requirements, that “mov[ing] up and down a

ladder” is a physical activity “necessary to perform one or more essential functions”

of the position. All stockers are subject to assignment in different areas of the store

and move from department to department. 

In 1997, Kelleher was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She verbally

reported to her work supervisors that her physician had imposed a work restriction

of no ladder use. It is undisputed that from 1997 through 2011, Wal-Mart

accommodated Kelleher’s verbal request. Kelleher also submitted a series of other

similar requests throughout that time period. In 2006, Kelleher submitted a formal

Request for Accommodation (RFA) to take extra time during her shift to take her

medication. Wal-Mart granted the request.

In 2009, Kelleher submitted an RFA seeking an extra fifteen-minute break. 

Wal-Mart’s policy at that time required Kelleher’s store to send the RFA to the local

Market Human Resources Manager (MHRM) for a decision. The MHRM

recommended that the store deny Kelleher’s request for lack of proper medical

The Honorable Jon S. Scoles, Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the

1

United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, to whom the case was

submitted by consent of the parties under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). 

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documentation. The MHRM also noted that because Kelleher’s physician indicated

that she could not work on ladders, reassignment to a different position not requiring

ladder use was recommended. Despite the MHRM’s recommendation, store

management continued to accommodate Kelleher by allowing her to remain a stocker

and not use ladders. The store also allowed her the extra fifteen-minute break. 

In January 2011, Kelleher requested and was granted FMLA leave for an

appendectomy. Kelleher’s physician provided her a return-to-work note listing a 10-

pound weight lifting restriction, no pulling of pallets, no climbing of ladders, and no

overhead lifting. The note also states that “[t]hese are permanent/medical

restrictions.” Since “mov[ing], lift[ing], [and] carry[ing] . . . merchandise and

supplies weighing less than or equal to 50 pounds without assistance,” and “pulling”

were also necessary physical activities of the stocker position, the Personnel

Coordinator at Kelleher’s store informed Kelleher that she would be unable to return

to her position as a stocker with those permanent work restrictions. In response,

Kelleher contacted her physician, requesting a change to the restrictions. Kelleher’s

physician agreed to provide her with a new note, requiring only that she not climb

ladders and not work in extreme hot or cold conditions. Management then allowed

Kelleher to return to her stocker position without requiring her to use a ladder. 

In June 2011, Kelleher submitted another RFA, seeking a second extra 15-

minute break. The store preliminarily granted her request. Wal-Mart’s procedure for

determining appropriate employee accommodations, however, was centralized in

2010, so this time Kelleher’s store was required to submit the RFA to corporate

headquarters. A doctor’s certification from Kelleher’s physician accompanied her

RFA, which stated that Kelleher’s major life activities were affected as follows: she

(1) could stand for 45 minutes before needing a 3-minute break; (2) could not lift over

10 pounds; (3) could not lift overhead; (4) could not walk over 300 feet; (5) could not

climb ladders; and (6) could not work in temperature extremes. It is unclear from the

record whether the restrictions identified were relevant to the request for a second

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extra 15-minute break, but it is undisputed that Kelleher did not ask her physician to

modify the note to lift any of the additional restrictions.

After Kelleher’s June 2011 RFA, her shift manager began assigning her to

stock the cereal aisle, whereas previously she had been regularly assigned to stock the

domestics and small furniture departments. Kelleher found the top shelves of the

cereal aisle difficult to stock without a ladder. Kelleher’s manager stated in her

deposition that Kelleher was asked to stock the grocery sections of the store because

Wal-Mart did not “have [the] staffing” that they used to, and “the priority for the

night is always the consumables.”

It was not until October 2011 that Accommodations Services Center manager

Kirk Hancock, at Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters, reviewed Kelleher’s June 2011

RFA and determined that the restrictions from her physician did not allow her to

perform the essential functions of her job as a stocker. Hancock sent a letter to

Kelleher’s store on October 31, explaining his determination and indicating that

Kelleher should be placed on unpaid personal leave for up to 90 days while Wal-Mart

tried to find a suitable reassignment meeting her work restrictions. It seems that no

one received the letter, as Kelleher continued to work as a stocker. On January 21,

2012, Hancock sent another letter stating that Wal-Mart was unable to find a suitable

open position for Kelleher. He indicated thatshe could take FMLA or personal leave

and apply for open positions within her work restrictions. 

2

Kelleher asserts that Hancock’s conclusion was based on erroneous

2

restrictionsfrom her doctor, because no other limitationsshould have been presented

to him besides the revised restrictions from February 2011 of no ladder use and no

working in extreme hot or cold conditions. However, our conclusion is unaffected

by whether Hancock relied on the restrictions of no ladder use and no hot and cold

temperatures, or a longer list of restrictions, because we base our analysis solely on

Kelleher’s shorter list, which she does not dispute. Moreover, Kelleher’s store

management focused solely on Kelleher’s restriction of no ladder use, and ignored the

overhead lifting and 10 pound weight-lifting restrictions, restrictions Hancock also

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After he received Hancock’s second letter, Robert Wallace Harding, Kelleher’s

store manager, instructed Jeri Barnhart, the store’s personnel manager, “to go through

the job codes and see what would fall in place for [Kelleher] so we don’t have to

terminate her. We need to find something that will work for her.” Barnhart and

Harding determined that the position of overnight cashier would work best.

 

Kelleher first heard about the search for a new position for her when she was

called in to discuss the overnight cashier position. When Harding and Barnhart told

her they could not “find another job for [her] at [that] point,” Kelleher says she felt

pressured to accept the new position. 

Wal-Mart’s description for “cashier” does not include ladder use as an

“essential function” or “physical activity,” and the position is less physically

strenuous than stocking. The overnight cashier position also included a $.20/hour 3

raise fromKelleher’s stocker position. The overnight cashier duties were very similar

to the stocking duties Kelleher had performed for fourteen years, but with some

additional responsibilities associated with staffing the customer check-out lane. 

Generally, however, an overnight cashier performs more stocking than cashiering. 

During the overnight third shift, the Customer Service Manager stays at the front of

identified as reasons necessitating Kelleher’s reassignment. Had management

focused on the longer list of restrictions, Kelleher would have been precluded from

the overnight cashier position as well. See infra n. 3. 

The physical activities “necessary to performone or more essential functions” 3

of the overnight cashier position include the ability to: (1) visually verify information

(often in small print); (2) visually locate merchandise and other objects; (3) read

information (often in small print); (4) reach overhead and below the knees, including

bending, twisting, pulling, and stooping; (5) move, lift, carry, and place merchandise

and supplies weighing less than or equal to 25 lbs without assistance; (6) grasp, turn,

and manipulate objects of varying size and weight, requiring fine motor skills and

hand-eye coordination; and (7) communicate effectively in person or by using

telecommunications equipment. 

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the store all night cashiering, and only calls an additional cashier (an overnight

cashier like Kelleher) to help if the store becomes busy. Otherwise, overnight

cashiers stock the store. 

Kelleher expressed fear that the new cashier position would be more difficult

for her because of her speech and eyesight, and she was nervous that customers would

make comments about her. She produced no medical evidence, however, that she

could not perform the duties of her new position. After becoming a cashier, Kelleher

continued to perform stocking duties within her restriction of no ladder use. 

Moreover, during the pendency of litigation, Wal-Mart allowed Kelleher to refrain

from cashiering while continuing to stock.

Kelleher alleges that a change in her performance reviews indicated retaliatory

treatment. She received “exceeds expectations” ratings and accompanying pay raises

for her performance reviews from 1998 through 2010. On August 4, 2011, after she

had submitted her RFA on June 15, 2011, she received a lower “solid performer”

rating and a lesser pay raise. She received a $.40 pay raise rather than a $.50 pay

raise. Kelleher’s annual “solid performer” rating continued through 2014. 

Kelleher also alleges that after she submitted her accommodation request in

June 2011, store management began harassing her by forcing her to work alone,

giving her assignments that were difficult, rolling their eyes at her and acting

exasperated when she walked by, ostracizing her, holding her to a higher standard

than other employees, and by giving her twice the workload of other employees. She

alleged that management also asked her about the status of completion of her work

more often than they asked other employees.

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II. Discussion

We review the district court’s grant ofsummary judgment de novo, viewing the

facts in the light most favorable to Kelleher, the non-moving party. Robinson v. Am.

Red Cross, 753 F.3d 749, 754 (8th Cir. 2014). 

A. Disability Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate

4

Kelleher asserts a failure-to-accommodate claim under the Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA). The ADA prohibits

employers from discriminating “against a qualified individual on the basis of

disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or

discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms,

conditions, and privileges of employment.” 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). This includes “not

making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of

an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee.” 

Id. at § 12112(b)(5)(A). 

To support her failure to accommodate claim, Kelleher “must establish both a

prima facie case of discrimination based on her disability and a failure to

accommodate it.” Schaffhauser v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 794 F.3d 899, 905 (8th

Cir. 2015). In order for Kelleher to establish a prima facie case of discrimination

based on disability, she must show (1) a qualifying disability; (2) qualifications to

perform the essential functions of her position with or without reasonable

accommodation; and (3) an adverse employment action due to her disability. Norman

Kelleher included her disability discrimination claim and her “failure to 4

continue to accommodate” claimas Counts 1 and 2, respectively, in her first amended

complaint, but the district court addressed those claims as a single failure to

accommodate claim. On appeal, Kelleher also treats them as a single claim, and we

will do the same.

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v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 606 F.3d 455, 459 (8th Cir. 2010) (citing Finan v. Good Earth

Tools, Inc., 565 F.3d 1076, 1079 (8th Cir. 2009)). 

5

Both parties agree that Kelleher is disabled within the meaning of the ADA.

The parties dispute whether Kelleher was qualified for her position, but we need not

resolve this disagreement, because we conclude that the third element of the prima

facie case—whether Kelleher suffered an adverse employment action—is dispositive.

We agree with the district court that Kelleher did not experience an adverse

employment action because accepting the cashier position did not “material[ly]

change” the “terms or conditions of [her] employment.” Fenney v. Dakota, Minn. &

E. R.R. Co., 327 F.3d 707, 716 (8th Cir. 2003). An “increased workload that

materially changes an employee’s duties can constitute an adverse employment

action.” Sellers v. Deere & Co., 791 F.3d 938, 944 (8th Cir. 2015). But here,

Kelleher has conceded that the overnight cashier position isless physically strenuous

than stocking, and her acceptance of that position was accompanied by a $.20/hour

raise. 

A transfer to a new position may be considered an adverse employment action

if the plaintiff cannot perform the responsibilities of the new position due to

disability. Here, however, Kelleher has failed to offer evidence that she is unable to

perform the job of overnight cashier. Kelleher believes she was forced into a new

position that she did not want and that she felt would humiliate her. She also asserts

that the overnight cashier position included new responsibilities that she felt she

could not do. But, as the district court noted, her reasons for her concerns are vague,

unsupported by any medical evidence, and ultimately insufficient to establish her

claim. While “[t]o be ‘adverse’ the action need not always involve termination or

The same analysis applies for disability discrimination claims brought under

5

Iowa law. See Christensen v. Titan Distrib., Inc., 481 F.3d 1085, 1093 n.3 (8th Cir.

2007). It is therefore unnecessary to discuss separately the parallel claim under the

Iowa Civil Rights Act. 

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even a decrease in benefits or pay . . . not everything that makes an employee

unhappy is an actionable adverse action.” Sellers, 791 F.3d at 941 (quoting Fenney,

327 F.3d at 717). Kelleher may have been apprehensive about taking on the

responsibilities of a new position. But there is no evidence that she was actually

subject to harassment or comments by customers as a cashier; that there was any

particular job responsibility she wasmedicallyunable to perform; orthatmanagement

ever determined she was unable to fulfill her new responsibilities. 

Instead, Kelleher was transferred from her stocker position to an overnight

cashier position with almost identical skill requirements, minus ladder use and with

the addition of some interaction with customers. We conclude that this change did

not amount to an adverse employment action, because “minor changes in duties or

working conditions, even unpalatable or unwelcome ones, which cause no materially

significant disadvantage, do not rise to the level of an adverse employment action.” 

Jackman v. Fifth Jud. Dist. Dep’t of Corr. Servs., 728 F.3d 800, 804 (8th Cir. 2013). 

Because Kelleher failed to show she suffered an underlying adverse

employment action, she has not made out a prima facie case of discrimination, and

she cannot prove her claim that Wal-Mart failed to accommodate her disability.

6

To the extent Kelleher argues that Wal-Mart should have engaged in the

6

interactive process with regard to her new position, we note that she never formally

requested an accommodation after beginning the cashier job. The interactive process

“must be initiated by the disabled employee, who must alert [her] employer to the

need for an accommodation and provide relevant details of [her] disability.” 

Schaffhauser, 794 F.3d at 906 (citing EEOC v. Convergys Customer Mgmt. Grp., 491

F.3d 790, 795 (8th Cir. 2007)). Kelleher did not initiate that process here. 

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B. Retaliation

Because Kelleher has not provided any direct evidence of retaliation, the

familiarthree-step burden-shifting analysis fromMcDonnell Douglas applies. Hutton

v. Maynard, 812 F.3d 679, 684 (8th Cir. 2016) (citation omitted); see also Estate of

Harris v. Papa John’s Pizza, 679 N.W.2d 673, 678 (Iowa 2004) (ICRA test). 

To proceed under the indirect method of proof, Kelleher must initially show

that she engaged in statutorily protected conduct, that she suffered an adverse

employment action, and that a causal connection exists between the two. Hill, 737

F.3d at 1218. It is undisputed that Kelleher engaged in a statutorily protected activity. 

The district court ruled, however, that Kelleher had failed to show that her transfer

constituted an adverse employment action, and that it necessarily followed that

Kelleher could not show a causal connection between the protected activity and an

adverse employment action. 

An adverse employment action in the retaliation context issimilar to an adverse

action under the discrimination standard, and “[t]ermination, reduction in pay or

benefits, and changes in employment that significantly affect an employee’s future

career prospects meet this standard, but minor changes in working conditions that

merely inconvenience an employee or alter an employee’s work responsibilities do

not.” Spears v. Mo. Dept. of Corr. & Human Res., 210 F.3d 850, 853 (8th Cir. 2000)

(citations omitted). As we have concluded, the transfer to the overnight cashier

position was not an adverse employment action. But, in support of her retaliation

claim, Kelleher also asserts that after she requested the June RFA, her performance

ratings were lowered from “exceeds expectations” to “solid performer.” Based on 7

In addition, while Kelleher argues that the change to a cashier position could

7

affect her future career prospects because she “was forced to move from a position

she performed successfully to a position she told Wal-Mart she could not perform

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the change in her performance ratings, Kelleher received a $.40 increase in pay rather

than a $.50 increase in pay.

With regard to her performance reviews, “[a] poor performance rating does not

in itself constitute an adverse employment action because it has no tangible effect

upon the recipient’s employment,” but it is actionable if the “employer subsequently

uses the evaluation as a basis to detrimentally alter the terms or conditions of the

recipient’s employment.” Id. at 854. A decrease in a pay raise based solely on a

performance review is a “reduction in pay or benefits” that may amount to a material

change in an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, or an adverse

employment action, at the prima facie stage. Id. at 853. This is true regardless of the

dollar amount of the reduction. But even assuming Kelleher has met her burden to

prove a prima facie case of retaliation, including the causal connection, she must also

discredit Wal-Mart’s asserted non-retaliatory reasons for her review and show that

the circumstances permit drawing a reasonable inference that the real reason for her

termination was retaliation. Logan v. Liberty Healthcare Corp., 416 F.3d 877, 880

(8th Cir. 2005) (“If the prima facie case is met, the burden first shifts to the defendant

to produce ‘a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for the action it took against the

plaintiff,’” and then to the plaintiff to show the defendant’s reason was pretextual and

creates a reasonable inference of retaliation.). Evidence of pretext and retaliation “is

viewed in light of the employer’s justification.” Id. at 881 (quoting Smith v. Allen

Health Sys., 302 F.3d 827, 834 (8th Cir. 2002). 

Wal-Mart asserts that Kelleher’s decrease in ratings was a result of timeliness

issues that were not resolved, and further provides evidence that the manager who

gave Kelleher the reduced rating was not aware that Kelleher had submitted an RFA. 

successfully,” she offers nothing more in support of this assertion. She does not

identify the potential career prospects or explain how any such prospects might be

affected by the transfer.

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Kelleher does not contest that Wal-Mart has produced a legitimate, non-retaliatory

reason for her reviews. Instead, she addresses whether Wal-Mart’s reason was

pretextual, noting what she considersto be suspicioustiming between her request for

an accommodation and her first “solid performer” review. Temporal proximity alone

is insufficient to show that an employer’s proffered reason for action was a pretext

for discrimination. Gibson v. Geithner, 776 F.3d 536, 541 (8th Cir. 2015). Since

Kelleher does not offer proof beyond timing, she has failed to establish pretext. 

Moreover, other evidence in the record—which Kelleher does not dispute—showed

that management at Kelleher’s store wanted to keep her employed and tried to find

a suitable position for her. With temporal proximity alone to support her argument

for pretext, Kelleher has failed to create a genuine issue for trial on her retaliation

claim. 

C. Harassment or Hostile Work Environment

In order to establish a claim of harassment or hostile work environment, a

plaintiff must show: “(1) the plaintiff belongs to a protected group; (2) the plaintiff

was subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) a causal nexus exists between the

harassment and the plaintiff’s protected group status; and (4) the harassment affected

a term, condition, or privilege of employment.” Gordon v. Shafer Contracting Co.,

469 F.3d 1191, 1194–95 (8th Cir. 2006); see also Farmland Foods, Inc. v. Dubuque

Human Rights Comm’n, 672 N.W.2d 733, 744 (Iowa 2003).

It is clear that Kelleher belongs to a protected group due to her disability. But

the harassment standards are “demanding.” Arraleh v. Cty. of Ramsey, 461 F.3d 967,

979 (8th Cir. 2006). “[S]imple teasing, offhand comments, and isolated incidents

(unless extremely serious) will not amount to discriminatory changes in the terms and

conditions of employment.” Id. (quotation omitted). “To survive summary judgment,

a plaintiff must present evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that

the harassment was sufficiently ‘severe or pervasive’ to affect a term, condition, or

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privilege ofthe plaintiff’s employment.” Powell v. Yellow Book USA, Inc., 445 F.3d

1074, 1077 (8th Cir. 2006) (quoting Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21

(1993)). “[A]nti-discrimination laws do not create a general civility code.” Ryan v.

Capital Contractors, Inc., 679 F.3d 772, 779 (8th Cir. 2012) (quoting Scusa v. Nestle

U.S.A. Co., 181 F.3d 958, 966 (8th Cir. 1999)). 

Kelleher herself statesthatmanagement was “abusive with a lot of people,” and

she does not identify any discriminatory statements made to her. “[R]andom‘looks’”

and eye rolls in Kelleher’s direction may be unpleasant to tolerate but, without more,

they are not sufficiently severe to affect the terms, conditions, or privileges of

Kelleher’s employment. They do not, therefore, rise to the level of harassment. 

Moreover, Kelleher failsto successfully establish thatshe faced a hostile work

environment. 

A hostile work environment exists when the workplace is permeated

with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult, that issufficiently

severe or pervasive to alter the condition of the victim’s employment

and create an abusive working environment. Relevant factors for

determining whether conduct risesto the level of harassment include the

frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is

physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and

whether it unreasonably interfered with an employee’s work

performance. 

Pye v. Nu Aire, Inc., 641 F.3d 1011, 1018 (8th Cir. 2011) (internal quotations and

citations omitted). While Kelleher alleges that she was held to a higher standard and

assigned more difficult tasks, “[e]vidence, not contentions, avoids summary

judgment.” Reasonover v. St. Louis Cty., Mo., 447 F.3d 569, 578 (8th Cir. 2006). 

Kelleher offers no examples or evidence of an increased workload beyond stating that

she had four pallets to stock one night. Any looks or misconduct were minor, not

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physically threatening, and did not interfere with her work performance. Therefore,

Kelleher has failed to establish that she faced a hostile work environment. 

III. Conclusion

We affirm the judgment of the district court. 

______________________________

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