[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

________________________

No. 18-14664

Non-Argument Calendar

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D.C. Docket No. 5:17-cv-00477-JSM-PRL

THOMAS O’STEEN MONROE, 

 Plaintiff-Appellant,

 versus

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, 

 Defendant-Appellee.

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Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Florida

________________________

(November 15, 2019)

Before WILSON, GRANT, and HULL, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

This is an employment dispute. Thomas Monroe is a former correctional 

officer with the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) who was diagnosed 

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with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He requested an indefinite leave of 

absence due to his PTSD, and, shortly thereafter, the FDOC terminated his 

employment. Monroe then filed this action, asserting claims of disability 

discrimination and retaliation, in violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), 

Fla. Stat. §§ 760.10(1)(a), (7). The district court granted summary judgment in 

favor of the FDOC on all of Monroe’s claims. 

On appeal, Monroe argues that the court erred when it granted summary 

judgment on his disability discrimination claim because he established a prima 

facie case of discrimination. He also argues that the court disregarded Young v. 

United Parcel Serv., Inc., 575 U.S. ___, 135 S. Ct. 1338 (2015), by failing to 

properly consider whether the FDOC accommodated other employees’ requests for 

indefinite leave. As to his retaliation claim, Monroe contends that the court erred 

when it concluded that he could not have had an objectively reasonable belief that 

his request for indefinite leave was a statutorily protected activity. We conclude 

that the district court did not err and therefore affirm.1 

1 We dispense at the outset with Monroe’s argument that the district court failed to construe as a 

“qualification standard,” and thus failed to analyze under Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Echazabal, 536 

U.S. 73 (2002), the FDOC’s requirement that his leave request specify a return date. As Chevron 

explains, asserting that a requirement is a qualification standard is an employer’s affirmative 

defense, not an employee’s. And the FDOC did not raise this defense in its motion for summary 

judgment. See id. at 78. 

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I.

We first address Monroe’s argument that the district court erroneously 

concluded that he failed to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination. 

We review orders granting summary judgment de novo, viewing all evidence and 

drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Vessels v. 

Atlanta Indep. Sch. Sys., 408 F.3d 763, 767 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam). 

Summary judgment is appropriate when the record shows that there is no genuine 

issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of 

law. Id. We “may affirm the judgment of the district court on any ground 

supported by the record, regardless of whether that ground was relied upon or even 

considered by the district court.” Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley, 694 F.3d 1294, 

1309 (11th Cir. 2012). 

The FCRA prohibits employers from discharging or otherwise 

discriminating against any individual “because of such individual’s . . . handicap.” 

Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1)(a). Disability discrimination claims brought under the FCRA 

are analyzed under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) framework. 

Greenberg v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., 498 F.3d 1258, 1263–64 (2007) 

(per curiam). The ADA likewise prohibits employment discrimination “against a 

qualified individual on the basis of disability.” 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). 

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Courts apply a burden-shifting analysis to ADA claims. Holly v. Clairson 

Indus., LLC, 492 F.3d 1247, 1255 (11th Cir. 2007). Under this framework, a 

plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination by 

showing that “(1) he [was] disabled; (2) he [was] a qualified individual; and (3) he 

was subjected to unlawful discrimination because of his disability.” Holly, 492 

F.3d at 1255–56. If an employee makes this showing, the employer must articulate

“a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the challenged action.” Wascura v. 

City of S. Miami, 257 F.3d 1238, 1242 (11th Cir. 2001). Once an employer 

articulates such a reason, the employee must present evidence showing that the 

employer’s proffered reason was pretextual. See id. at 1243. 

A “qualified individual” is defined under the ADA as “an individual who, 

with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of 

the employment position that such individual holds or desires.” 42 U.S.C. 

§ 12111(8). “Thus, if [the plaintiff] is unable to perform an essential function of 

his . . . job, even with an accommodation, he is, by definition, not a ‘qualified 

individual’ and, therefore, not covered under the ADA.” Davis v. Fla. Power & 

Light Co., 205 F.3d 1301, 1305 (11th Cir. 2000).

An employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate a disabled individual is 

discrimination under the ADA. Holly, 492 F.3d at 1262; 42 U.S.C.

§ 12112(b)(5)(A). In establishing a prima facie case of discrimination, the plaintiff 

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bears the burden both to identify an accommodation and to show that it is 

reasonable. See Willis v. Conopco, Inc., 108 F.3d 282, 284–86 (11th Cir. 1997)

(per curiam). Reasonable accommodations may include: “job restructuring, parttime or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or 

modification of equipment or devices, . . . and other similar accommodations for 

individuals with disabilities.” 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B). However, because the 

ADA covers people who can perform their essential job functions in the present or 

immediate future, requests for indefinite leave so an employee can work “at some 

uncertain point in the future” are inherently unreasonable. See Wood v. Green, 323 

F.3d 1309, 1314 (11th Cir. 2003). This is true even if the employer previously 

granted periods of indefinite leave because “prior accommodations do not make an 

accommodation reasonable.” Id. 

Here, the district court correctly granted the FDOC’s summary judgment 

motion on Monroe’s discrimination claim. Monroe’s doctor’s note indicated that 

he could not work at the time he was fired, and Monroe admitted that he could not 

perform his job duties at that time. Additionally, Monroe’s doctor did not give, 

and could not have given, a date when Monroe could return to work. Our case law 

is clear that indefinite leave is not a reasonable accommodation and that it was 

Monroe’s duty to identify such an accommodation. Wood, 323 F.3d at 1314; 

Willis, 108 F.3d at 284–86. Thus, because the record indicates that Monroe could 

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not perform his job duties with or without a reasonable accommodation, Monroe 

was not a qualified individual under the ADA. Davis, 205 F.3d at 1305. 

Therefore, he failed to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination. 

Accordingly, we affirm the grant of summary judgment for this claim.2

 

II.

Next, we consider Monroe’s argument that the district court’s grant of 

summary judgment was contrary to Young. In Young, the Supreme Court 

determined that, in a claim under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), an 

employer’s apparently legitimate reasons for failing to accommodate a pregnant 

employee could be rebutted by showing that the employer accommodated a large 

percentage of nonpregnant workers but did not accommodate a large percentage of 

pregnant workers. 135 S. Ct. at 1353–55. The Court noted that this approach was 

“consistent with [its] longstanding rule that a plaintiff can use circumstantial proof 

to rebut an employer’s apparently legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for 

treating individuals within a protected class differently than those outside the 

2 We have considered Monroe’s arguments that he was discriminated against under 

“mixed-motives,” “convincing mosaic,” and disparate treatment theories and note that, to the 

extent these theories apply to FCRA disability discrimination claims, they fail for the same 

reason. The same is true for Monroe’s argument that the FDOC failed to engage in an interactive 

dialogue with him. See Frazier-White v. Gee, 818 F.3d 1249, 1257–58 (11th Cir. 2016) (holding 

that where an employee failed to identify a reasonable accommodation, there was “no basis for 

imposing liability on [the defendant] for failing to engage in an interactive process” (internal 

quotation mark omitted)). 

 

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protected class.” Id. at 1355. Subsequently, we determined that “[t]he rationale 

and holding in Young [were] based on, and therefore limited to, the language in a 

specific provision of the PDA” and, thus, were not automatically transferable 

outside of that context. EEOC v. Catastrophe Mgmt. Sols., 852 F.3d 1018, 1025 

(11th Cir. 2016). 

Monroe’s claims were brought under the FCRA and analyzed under the 

ADA. But Young applies to the PDA and did not create any special considerations 

for ADA claims. We note that, even if it Young does apply, Monroe did not 

provide any evidence showing that he was treated differently than other employees 

who took leave, as he did not show how long they were out, whether they were out 

for medical reasons, or whether they had PTSD or depression. Accordingly, the 

district court’s decision was not contrary to Young. 

III.

Finally, we address whether the district court erred by granting summary 

judgment in favor of the FDOC on Monroe’s retaliation claim. The FCRA 

provides that an employer cannot “discriminate against any person because that 

person has opposed” an unlawful employment practice or made a charge under the 

FCRA. Fla. Stat. § 760.10(7). As with disability discrimination claims, retaliation 

claims brought under the FCRA are analyzed under the ADA framework. 

Frazier-White, 818 F.3d at 1258. The ADA, in turn, provides that “[n]o person 

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shall discriminate against any individual because such individual has opposed any 

act or practice made unlawful by [the ADA] or because such individual made a 

charge . . . under [the ADA].” 42 U.S.C. § 12203(a). 

The burden-shifting analysis applicable to ADA discrimination claims is 

applicable to ADA retaliation claims. See Batson v. Salvation Army, 897 F.3d 

1320, 1328–29 (11th Cir. 2018). To establish a prima facie case of retaliation 

under the ADA, the plaintiff must show, among other things, that he engaged in a 

statutorily protected expression. Id. at 1329. The employee must have had a good 

faith, reasonable belief that the activity was protected by the statute. Standard v. 

A.B.E.L. Servs., Inc., 161 F.3d 1318, 1328 (11th Cir. 1998). As with 

discrimination claims, once the prima facie case is established, and the defendant 

produces a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for an action, the plaintiff must 

show that the defendant’s proffered reason was pretextual. Batson, 897 F.3d at 

1329.

Here, Monroe’s only purported protected activity was his request for 

indefinite leave. Because our caselaw was and is clear that a request for indefinite 

leave is not a reasonable accommodation, Monroe could not have had a good faith, 

reasonable belief that he was engaging in protected activity. See Wood, 323 F.3d 

at 1314; Standard, 161 F.3d at 1328. Additionally, Monroe did not present any 

evidence showing that the FDOC’s proffered reason for terminating him—that he 

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was unable to perform his assigned duties—was pretextual. Batson, 897 F.3d 

at 1329. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment on 

Monroe’s retaliation claim.

AFFIRMED.

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