Opinion ID: 676497
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Proof of Handicap

Text: 17 Whether one is a handicapped person under the Act necessitates a two-pronged inquiry. It must first be determined whether a plaintiff has a physical or mental impairment. If so, it must then be decided whether such impairment substantially limits one or more of that person's major life activities. The term individual with handicaps is defined in the Act as any person who (i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 706(8)(B) (1988), subsequently amended by Pub.L. No. 102-569, Sec. 102(f)(2) (1992) and Pub L. No. 103-73, Sec. 103(2)(B) (1993). 18 1. Physical Impairment. The regulations promulgated under the Act shed further light on the meaning of physical impairment and major life activity. In School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273, 279, 107 S.Ct. 1123, 11, 94 L.Ed.2d 307 (1987), the Supreme Court said [i]n determining whether a particular individual is handicapped as defined by the Act, the regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services are of significant assistance ... [and] provide 'an important source of guidance on the meaning of Sec. 504 [of the Act].'  The regulations define physical or mental impairment as any physiological disorder or condition ... affecting [the] ... respiratory [system]. 45 C.F.R. Sec. 84.3(j)(2)(i)(A) (1989); see also 28 C.F.R. Sec. 41.31(b)(1)(i) (1989) (same). Major life activities include functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. 45 C.F.R. Sec. 84.3(j)(2)(ii) (1989); see also 28 C.F.R. Sec. 41.31(b)(2) (1989) (same). Because the Act is a remedial statute, it and the regulations promulgated under it are to be construed broadly. See Gilbert v. Frank, 949 F.2d 637, 641 (2d Cir.1991). 19 Heilweil insists she meets both prongs of the inquiry. She certainly satisfies the first prong. Plaintiff has suffered from asthma since 1987, before she began working at Mount Sinai. Asthma is a physiological disorder or condition that affects the respiratory system. Under the statute and applicable regulations, Heilweil suffers from a physical impairment. See 29 U.S.C. Sec. 706(8)(B); 45 C.F.R. Sec. 84.3(j)(2)(i)(A); 28 C.F.R. Sec. 41.31(b)(1)(i). 20 2. Major Life Activity. It is on the second prong--whether plaintiff's physical condition affected a major life activity at the time the hospital discharged her--where her case founders. Under the regulations the ability to breathe and work are major life activities. See 45 C.F.R. Sec. 84.3(j)(2)(ii); 28 C.F.R. Sec. 41.31(b)(2). We consider first whether plaintiff's ability to breathe was significantly affected by her asthmatic condition. 21 Heilweil contends her asthma significantly affected her day-to-day functioning. Yet in a June 12, 1989 conversation with Director of Human Resources Kruger, she stated that because she had not been in the blood bank for several months she felt fine, now. Additionally, in plaintiff's deposition of July 12, 1990--almost a year after her discharge--she testified that her current respiratory condition did not limit her ability to exercise and that she had been swimming because she had a limited amount of time each day to exercise and swimming was a good overall workout. See Byrne v. Board of Educ., 979 F.2d 560, 565 (7th Cir.1992) (in a respiratory impairment case, evidence person participated in recreational activities undermines finding that person is handicapped under Act). Thus, it appears that at the time Mount Sinai terminated plaintiff and throughout the following year Heilweil's ability to breathe restricted her only in a limited way, and did not bar her from exercising. 22 We pass now to whether plaintiff's physical impairment substantially limited her ability to work. In this analysis the kinds of jobs from which the impaired individual is disqualified must be carefully considered. An impairment that disqualifies a person from only a narrow range of jobs is not considered a substantially limiting one. See Jasany v. United States Postal Serv., 755 F.2d 1244, 1249, n. 3 (6th Cir.1985). 23 Plaintiff maintains she began to experience respiratory difficulties as soon as she began working at Mount Sinai, but reported that her physician thought these problems were related to allergic reactions to her house cats and that treatment somewhat alleviated her allergic reaction. Further, as discussed above, she told the Director of Human Resources that she felt fine after not having been in the blood bank for several months, implying that the blood bank was causing the respiratory problem. And, as plaintiff averred in her complaint, her health improved rapidly once she stopped physically going into the Blood Bank. 24 It is quite apparent that the peculiar fumes within the blood bank exacerbated plaintiff's asthma, not the general environment of the hospital. Heilweil declares that it is not just the blood bank that made her asthmatic condition worse, but rather her disability made it impossible to work in any poorly-ventilated place--including Mount Sinai's blood bank. No medical proof substantiates this assertion. And, to defeat a motion for summary judgment a plaintiff cannot rely on conjecture or surmise, Bryant v. Maffucci, 923 F.2d 979, 982 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 152, 116 L.Ed.2d 117 (1991), and must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts, Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Mount Sinai proved through plaintiff's own statements and those of her doctor that it was the conditions in the blood bank that worsened her asthmatic symptoms, leaving no genuine issue of material fact as to what caused her respiratory problems at her place of employment. 25 In Daley v. Koch, 892 F.2d 212, 215 (2d Cir.1989), we stated the obvious fact that a person found unsuitable for a particular position has not thereby demonstrated an impairment substantially limiting such person's major life activity of working. In fact, every circuit to visit this issue has so ruled. See Gupton v. Virginia, 14 F.3d 203, 205 (4th Cir.1994) (for plaintiff to show allergy to tobacco smoke substantially limited ability to work, she had to show allergy foreclosed employment opportunities in her field), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 59, --- L.Ed.2d ---- (1994); Cook v. Rhode Island, 10 F.3d 17, 25 (1st Cir.1993) (jury could find employer regarded plaintiff's condition as substantially limiting her ability to work because her condition foreclosed a wide range of employment options within the health care field); Byrne, 979 F.2d at 565 (a person's inability to perform a specific job for a specific employer does not substantially limit a person's ability to work); Welsh v. City of Tulsa, 977 F.2d 1415, 1419 (10th Cir.1992) ([A]n impairment that an employer perceives as limiting an individual's ability to perform only one job is not a handicap under the Act.); Maulding v. Sullivan, 961 F.2d 694, 698 (8th Cir.1992) (plaintiff was not handicapped under the Act because sensitivity to chemicals prevented her from working only in lab and did not substantially limit employment opportunities as a whole), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1255, 122 L.Ed.2d 653 (1993); Forrisi v. Bowen, 794 F.2d 931, 935 (4th Cir.1986) (substantial limitation on person's ability to work occurs when impairment forecloses generally the type of employment involved). 26 Here plaintiff was medically restricted from working in only one place in the hospital--the blood bank. With respect to plaintiff's other employment opportunities, she stated at her deposition that Seligman had told her he would help her find another position, whether at Mount Sinai or somewhere else. From this, it appears plaintiff was willing--were such available--to accept another position at Mount Sinai. Further, when Seligman attempted to contact Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to see if a position was available for her there, Heilweil discouraged him because she thought her chances for employment there would be better if she made the initial contact. Plaintiff did contact Memorial Sloan-Kettering, apparently thinking this would be a viable employment alternative. Nothing suggests plaintiff's education and previous job experiences would hinder her ability to find a suitable position in the general field of administration. Heilweil is a college graduate with a master's degree in business administration, who since taking her degree has always been gainfully employed. 27 Heilweil was not therefore a handicapped person under the Act when she was discharged. Because her asthmatic condition did not substantially limit a major life activity--either her ability to breathe or work--defendant's motion for summary judgment was properly granted.