Opinion ID: 30201
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: ADA Employment Discrimination Claim

Text: This being a case brought under the Americans With Disabilities Act where only circumstantial evidence is offered to show the alleged unlawful discrimination, we apply the McDonnell Douglas, Title VII burden-shifting analysis. Under this framework, a plaintiff must first make a prima facie showing of discrimination by establishing that: (1) He is disabled or is regarded as disabled; (2) he is qualified for the job; (3) he was subjected to an adverse employment action on account of his disability; and (4) he was replaced by or treated less favorably than non-disabled employees. Once the plaintiff makes his prima facie showing, the burden then shifts to the defendant-employer to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action. Once the employer articulates such a reason, the burden then shifts back upon the plaintiff to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the articulated reason was merely a pretext for unlawful discrimination. McInnis v. Alamo Community College Dist., 207 F.3d 276, 279–80 (5th Cir. 2000) (citations and footnotes omitted). Considering here only the third element of her prima facie case, we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment to defendant Singing River on this claim. Because Gowesky failed — critically — to demonstrate that she suffered a disability-based adverse employment action, it is unnecessary to discuss the other elements. Gowesky alleges that Singing River failed to offer her an interim contract for the period between the expiration of her contract on August 28 and the transfer of the 13 emergency room staffing to ERG. This deed did not constitute an adverse employment action. Singing River demonstrated to the district court that its decision not to extend Gowesky an interim contract on October 1, 1999 was a product, not of any alleged discrimination, but, rather, of her repeated failures to return to work. On at least two occasions, Weldon placed Gowesky on the emergency room work schedule (with start dates, respectively, of June 1 and then August 1), only to receive last-minute telephone calls (May 31) or attorney-drafted correspondence (July 29) indicating that she would not, in fact, abide by her previous commitments. In light of the fact — uncontroverted by Gowesky — that all emergency room employees at work on October 1 received interim contracts, her assertions of discrimination wither away. Singing River asserted, without dispute by Gowesky, that if she had ever again appeared for work, she, too, would have received a contract.