Opinion ID: 2972557
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Cantrell was employed as a technician at an automobile manufacturing plant operated by Nissan in Smyrna, Tennessee from March 15, 1992 until December 6, 2002. Two trends in her tenyear career at Nissan are particularly relevant here: her recurrent medical problems and Nissan’s comprehensive accommodation of them; and her repeated disciplinary problems, which Nissan tolerated for years until finally terminating her employment only two months after she filed an EEOC complaint against the company. 1. Cantrell’s medical problems and Nissan’s attempts to accommodate them In 1993, Cantrell’s family physician diagnosed her with depression and being subject to panic attacks, and prescribed medication to treat these problems. Cantrell has taken medication and received counseling since that time. In 1994, Cantrell was hospitalized as a result of her depression for approximately two weeks. She has not been hospitalized for depression since. Cantrell avoids crowds, but she is able to drive, attend church regularly, and take care of household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Cantrell also suffers from a sleep disorder which causes her to either sleep too much or too little. In 2002, she was permitted a one-month leave of absence in order to participate in a sleep study. As will be explained in greater detail below, Cantrell had many interpersonal problems with her co-workers, some of which became so troubling to her that in late 1998, both her personal psychologist and a Nissan doctor imposed restrictions which barred her from working with several individuals. Nissan accommodated these restrictions by assigning Cantrell only to work groups where she would not be required to come into contact with those individuals. 2 No. 04-5583 On June 18, 1999, Cantrell began a leave of absence due to a non-work related knee injury. She remained on leave until December 10, 1999. When Cantrell returned, her physician placed limitations on her ability to squat, crouch, and step up and down. Nissan identified a job rotation within her work group that satisfied those restrictions. In October 23, 2001, Cantrell advised Nissan that additional restrictions regarding her knee had been imposed. Nissan contends that there was only one work group where Cantrell could work within these restrictions. Cantrell disputes this, but agrees that she could not work in the group identified by Nissan because it included one of the individuals with whom Cantrell was restricted from working. She was therefore put on a leave of absence. In February 2002, Cantrell’s doctor submitted new restrictions, which Nissan determined could be accommodated in Cantrell’s current assignment, and she returned to work. In April 2002, it was Cantrell’s turn, under Nissan’s seniority system, to rotate into the “Sealer, System 2” unit. Every other technician in her group had previously rotated into Sealer. Previously, Cantrell had avoided rotations into Sealer because of the restrictions concerning with whom she could work. Co-workers regarded this as unfair because Sealer is perceived to be a difficult job. On June 1, 2002, Cantrell advised company managers that Dr. Williams had approved her to work in Sealer, and that she was willing to try to work in Sealer. Nissan medical staff evaluated her restrictions and her willingness to try to work in Sealer, and agreed to permit the transfer on a temporary basis. Cantrell then began working in Sealer. In an effort to provide a more relaxed and familiar workstation, her manager, Andy Travis (“Travis”), arranged for another technician to work in Sealer across the line from Cantrell. Travis escorted Cantrell to her assigned job, and watched her perform the job for several minutes. He assured her that he would check on 3 No. 04-5583 her periodically, and asked if she was okay before leaving, to which she responded affirmatively. However, shortly after Travis left, Cantrell began to experience another panic attack as a result of being in close proximity fo her former work group, although she did not see any of the employees from whom she had been restricted. Following this incident, Nissan made no further attempt to have Cantrell work in Sealer, System 2. Following a disciplinary problem, Cantrell was transferred to a new work group on July 31, 2002. Cantrell’s new group, Sealer, System 1, did not include any of the technicians from whom she was restricted, and was in an entirely different location. However, Cantrell did not report to her new assignment, but instead went on another leave of absence. Cantrell claimed that she had begun to experience another panic attack and could not work because two individuals from whom she was restricted were working in the plant where her new assignment was located. Cantrell returned to work on November 13, 2002. On November 18, 2002, Cantrell was asked if she would participate in Nissan’s vehicle evaluation program, where employees look over cars as if they were at a dealership, by checking over the finish of the car, the lights, the radio, and other functions, and then test-driving the car on a track. Cantrell agreed, but suffered another panic attack after viewing the video shown to employees participating in the program. Cantrell was referred to Nissan’s medical clinic and then sent home. She was released to return to work on November 22, 2002. 2. Cantrell’s disciplinary problems and Nissan’s handling of them Cantrell’s behavior caused numerous problems and resulted in many complaints from other employees during the course of her employment. The first such problem appears to have arisen 4 No. 04-5583 thirteen months after she began working at Nissan, when she was cited for inappropriate workplace behavior for making unwelcome physical contact with a coworker on two separate occasions. In February 1995, co-worker Angela Link complained to the paint plant’s Human Resources Department that Cantrell was engaging in inappropriate physical contact and intimidating her coworkers for an extended period of time. The next month, Cantrell’s then-area manager, Russell Rigsby, reported that Cantrell had confided to him that she planned to murder someone, and had told him “I’m so mad I could kill someone. I could understand how someone could come into a place like this and kill people,” and said “I’m going to beat the shit out of Angela [Link] after her baby is born.” Nissan then placed Cantrell on medical leave until she could demonstrate that she was not a threat. Nissan authorized Cantrell to return to work on June 1, 1995. In August and September 1995, Cantrell was counseled by several Nissan managers about her “finger pointing, accusations, and intimidation.” The next July, Ron Taylor, who was Cantrell’s area manager at the time, reported that she was making sexual comments to him at work and in phone calls to his home. In October 1996, Patrick Link, Angela Link’s husband, complained to Nissan that Cantrell was threatening him and others at work, and had confronted him in the parking lot. On October 25, 1996, Jim Bowles (“Bowles”), section manager for the paint plant, recommended that Cantrell be reassigned to another work group to give her a “fresh start.” Management agreed and moved her to a new work group. Nissan does not normally transfer an employee to give them “a fresh start,” but the company believed this move would be a positive development for Cantrell, especially as her new work group was regarded as a more desirable assignment than her old one. 5 No. 04-5583 In November 1996, coworker Sam Garrison reported that Cantrell intimidated, harassed, and stared at him. In January 1997, coworker Jimmy Waisanen reported two incidents of harassing behavior by Cantrell, one toward him and another in which Cantrell called his wife. On June 20, 2002, Cantrell was involved in a confrontation with a coworker. The next day, another coworker telephoned Nissan to complain about conditions in Cantrell’s work group and named Cantrell the “head leader” of the problems. After those incidents, an investigation into Cantrell’s work group (consisting of interviews of each of the members of the group) disclosed interpersonal problems. Cantrell agrees that the investigation revealed that some of the technicians perceived Cantrell to be one of the causes of those problems, but disputes that she was, in fact, a cause of problems in her work group. In response to a question about whether they had ever observed intimidation by any of the technicians in the work group, seven of seventeen interviewees named Cantrell. In response to a question about what “would most help your workgroup to become more of a team,” eight suggested “moving” or “doing something about” Cantrell. On July 18, 2002, Cantrell was involved in another incident in which she became “argumentative” with a yet another coworker. Nissan management considered terminating Cantrell, but decided against it. Instead, on July 31, 2002, Cantrell received a written reminder regarding her “inappropriate behavior.” The written reminder also informed her that she would be transferred to a new work group effective immediately, and was warned that any further inappropriate behavior at any time could result in further corrective action including termination of her employment. Bowles testified that in his experience at Nissan, such a second “fresh start” was unprecedented. 6 No. 04-5583 As noted above, Cantrell did not report to her new assignment, but instead went on another leave of absence. While on leave, Cantrell filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. That charge was dismissed on October 30, 2002. Cantrell returned to work on November 13, 2002. She met with Bowles and Terry Parks (“Parks”), the Paint Operations Section manager. They informed her she was being given a second fresh start and that any further inappropriate behavior would result in her termination. Parks testified that his impressions of Cantrell at the meeting were that “she handled herself well. She was a pleasant person.” During her first days back, Parks would check in with Cantrell regularly to make sure things were going smoothly. In his view, Cantrell “seemed to be very pleasant, very happy where she was working, did not really have problems, was adapting well.” Her area manager told Parks that Cantrell was doing fine. On November 25, 2002, the week after Cantrell suffered a panic attack upon viewing the training video for the vehicle evaluation program, Bowles prepared a memorandum recommending Cantrell’s termination. The memo outlined Cantrell’s “history of gross misconduct.” Bowles regarded the driving program incident as another in a long list of occasions where Cantrell appeared to be “trying to pick her jobs,” and constituted yet more “inappropriate behavior.” Nissan management approved the termination, and at a meeting on December 6, 2002, Cantrell was informed that she was being terminated because of a history of gross misconduct. Cantrell unsuccessfully appealed her termination through Nissan’s peer review process.