Opinion ID: 793424
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Disability Harassment

Text: 13 The district court instructed the jury that, to succeed on a claim of disability harassment, Quiles had to prove that he was (1) disabled, (2) that he was subjected to a hostile environment, and (3) that the hostility was directed at him because of his disability. 1 The Postmaster General has not challenged this instruction either below or on appeal; therefore, it provides the standard against which we measure the sufficiency of the evidence. See Rodriguez-Torres v. Caribbean Forms Mfr., 399 F.3d 52, 58 (1st Cir.2005). 14 In its post-trial ruling, the district court rejected Quiles' disability-harassment claim because Quiles had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to ground a finding that he was disabled. The Postmaster General defends the district court's ruling by arguing that Quiles not only failed to establish he was disabled, but also that he failed to introduce sufficient evidence of either a hostile environment or discriminatory animus on the part of his harassers. See McMillan v. Mass. Soc. for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 140 F.3d 288, 298 n. 3 (1st Cir.1998) (stating that the court of appeals may affirm a judgment as a matter of law on any ground supported by the record). We begin by considering whether the evidence was sufficient for the jury to conclude that Quiles was disabled. 15 An individual is disabled if he (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) has a record of such impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. See Calero-Cerezo, 355 F.3d at 20. Quiles contends that the evidence was adequate for the jury to find him disabled under any of these three recognized liability theories. We proceed directly to the third category. 16 Quiles argues that the Postal Service regarded him as disabled because his supervisors perceived his mental impairment as substantially limiting his ability to engage in the major life activity of working. 2 The Postmaster General responds that Quiles failed to show, as he must, that his supervisors perceived him as unable to work in a broad class of jobs. See Sullivan v. Neiman Marcus, Group Inc., 358 F.3d 110, 117 (1st Cir.2004). The district court accepted the Postmaster General's reasoning, see Dist. Ct. Op. at 10, but we disagree. 17 The purpose of protecting those who are regarded as disabled from discrimination is to prohibit employers from relying on stereotypic assumptions not truly indicative of individual ability. See Sutton, 527 U.S. at 489, 119 S.Ct. 2139; see also Sch. Bd. of Nassau Cty. v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273, 284, 107 S.Ct. 1123, 94 L.Ed.2d 307 (1987) (By amending [the Rehabilitation Act] to include those . . . who are regarded as impaired . . . Congress acknowledged that society's accumulated myths and fears about disability . . . are as handicapping as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairment.). One way for an employee to prove that his employer regarded him as disabled is to demonstrate that the employer mistakenly believed that an actual, nonlimiting impairment substantially limited one or more major life activities. See Sutton, 527 U.S. at 489, 119 S.Ct. 2139; Bailey v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 306 F.3d 1162, 1169 (1st Cir.2002). 18 There was evidence that Quiles' supervisors believed, without foundation, that his mental impairment made him a potential safety risk to his coworkers. Lopez stated on several occasions that, because Quiles was under psychiatric treatment, he was a risk to the security . . . of the Post Office. 3 Alston stated on several occasions that Quiles was a risk to the floor because [he] was under psychiatric treatment. Similarly, Vazquez called Quiles crazy five, six, seven times a day and told him that he should not be working at the post office. 19 These comments indicate that Quiles' supervisors perceived him to be potentially violent because of his mental impairment. The belief that the mentally ill are disproportionately dangerous is precisely the type of discriminatory myth that the Rehabilitation Act and ADA were intended to confront. See Michael Perlin, The ADA & Persons with Mental Disabilities: Can Sanist Attitudes Be Undone?, 8 J.L. & Health 15, 27 (1994) (A series of behavioral myths has emerged suggesting that persons with mental disabilities are . . . disproportionately dangerous. . . .). In enacting the ADA, Congress established a defense to liability if the employee is a direct threat to the safety of others. 42 U.S.C. § 12113(b); Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Echazabal, 536 U.S. 73, 78, 122 S.Ct. 2045, 153 L.Ed.2d 82 (2002). But the accompanying legislative history emphasizes that [t]he determination that an individual with a [mental] disability will pose a safety threat to others must be made on a case-by-case basis and must not be based on generalizations, misperceptions, ignorances, irrational fears, patronizing attitudes, or pernicious mythologies. H. Rep. No. 101-485(II), 101st Cong., 2d Sess. (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 303, 338; see also Albertson's, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, 569, 119 S.Ct. 2162, 144 L.Ed.2d 518 (1999). 20 The supervisors' remarks also suggest a shared belief that Quiles was substantially limited in the major life activity of working because of his impairment. If Quiles' disability truly made him a safety risk to coworkers it would preclude him from holding most jobs in our economy. 4 See Doebele v. Sprint/United Management Co., 342 F.3d 1117, 1132-35 (10th Cir.2003) (concluding that a jury could find that employer erroneously regarded its employee as substantially limited in the major life activity of working where the employer erroneously believed that the employee's depression made her a danger to her coworkers). The evidence therefore was sufficient for the jury to conclude that the Postal Service regarded Quiles as disabled because his superiors erroneously believed that he was unable to perform a broad class of jobs due to his mental impairment. 21 We turn next to the Postmaster General's first alternative argument for affirmance: Quiles failed to adduce sufficient evidence that he was forced to endure a hostile work environment. The Postmaster General acknowledges that Quiles was subject to daily ridicule about his mental impairment. He contends, however, that this sort of conduct is common in blue-collar workplaces such as a post office, and that conduct of this sort, while inappropriate, does not constitute a hostile work environment. 22 To establish a hostile work environment, Quiles had to show that his workplace [was] permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that [was] sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of . . . [his] employment and create an abusive working environment. Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993); Mannie, 394 F.3d at 982 (applying severe and pervasive standard in disability harassment case under the Rehabilitation Act). Among the factors relevant to this inquiry are the severity of the conduct, its frequency, and whether it unreasonably interfered with the victim's work performance. See Harris, 510 U.S. at 23, 114 S.Ct. 367. 23 There was testimony that Quiles was subject to such constant ridicule about his mental impairment that it required him to be hospitalized and eventually to withdraw from the workforce. This evidence was, in our view, sufficient for a reasonable jury to find a hostile work environment. See, e.g., Arrieta-Colon, 434 F.3d at 88 (affirming disability harassment verdict where the evidence showed that the plaintiff was subject to constant mockery due to his disability); Marrero v. Goya of P.R., Inc., 304 F.3d 7, 19 (1st Cir.2002) (similar); see also O'Rourke v. Providence, 235 F.3d 713, 735 (1st Cir.2001) (rejecting blue collar workplace argument similar to the Postmaster General's). 24 Finally, we consider the Postmaster General's other alternate ground for affirmance: the hostile conduct at issue was not directed at Quiles because of his disability. In presenting this argument, the Postmaster General highlights the fact that Vazquez harassed Quiles before she knew of his impairment. 25 The Supreme Court has emphasized that the federal employment discrimination laws do not establish a general civility code for the workplace. Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 81, 118 S.Ct. 998, 140 L.Ed.2d 201 (1998). Rather, an employee claiming harassment must demonstrate that the hostile conduct was directed at him because of a characteristic protected by a federal anti-discrimination statute. See id. at 80, 118 S.Ct. 998; Lee-Crespo v. Schering-Plough Del Caribe, Inc., 354 F.3d 34, 43 n. 5 (1st Cir.2003). 26 The Postmaster General correctly posits that some of Vazquez's conduct does not constitute actionable harassment because it occurred before Vazquez knew that Quiles was suffering from depression. But, even discounting this conduct, there was ample proof that Quiles was harassed because of his disability. On March 5, 1998, Quiles brought a medical certificate to Lopez identifying his mental impairment. And, for the next two years, Quiles' superiors harassed and ridiculed him relentlessly, frequently mentioning the disability in the course of their actions. This evidence was sufficient to ground the jury's finding that Quiles was discriminated against because of his perceived disability.