Opinion ID: 784781
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: 23 We review a district court's order granting summary judgment de novo. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y v. Poe, 143 F.3d 1013, 1015 (6th Cir.1998). Summary judgment is appropriate where the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party has the initial burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to an essential element of the non-moving party's case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). An issue of fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Determination of whether a fact is genuine requires consideration of the applicable evidentiary standard. Id. A fact is material only if its resolution will affect the outcome of the lawsuit. Id. Once the moving party satisfies its burden, `the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to set forth specific facts showing a triable issue.' Wrench LLC v. Taco Bell Corp., 256 F.3d 446, 453 (6th Cir.2001)(quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). 24 As for Hedrick's motion for partial summary judgment, an order denying summary judgment ordinarily constitutes a non-appealable, interlocutory order. Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists v. Marshall, 434 U.S. 1305, 1306, 98 S.Ct. 2, 54 L.Ed.2d 17 (1977). However, because Hedrick's appeal is from a final judgment, the denial of her motion for partial summary judgment is reviewable. Tetro v. Elliott Popham Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and GMC Trucks, Inc., 173 F.3d 988, 992 (6th Cir.1999). We ... review de novo a district court's order denying summary judgment, if the denial is based on purely legal grounds. If the denial is based on the district court's finding of a genuine issue of material fact, however, we review for abuse of discretion a district court's order denying summary judgment. Black v. Roadway Express, Inc., 297 F.3d 445, 448 (6th Cir.2002)(internal citations omitted).
25 The ADA provides, in relevant part, that [n]o covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). In order to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA, a plaintiff must establish that: 1) he is an individual with a disability; 5 2) he is `otherwise qualified' to perform the job requirements, with or without reasonable accommodation; and 3) he was [not hired] solely by reason of his handicap. Monette v. Electronic Data Sys. Corp., 90 F.3d 1173, 1178 (6th Cir. 1996) (footnote added) (citations omitted). A plaintiff may prove that he was discriminated against based upon his disability either through direct or indirect evidence. Id. 26 We have previously explained that in cases where the plaintiff presents direct evidence of disability discrimination: 27 (1) The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that he or she is disabled. (2) The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that he or she is otherwise qualified for the position despite his or her disability: (a) without accommodation from the employer; (b) with an alleged essential job requirement eliminated; or (c) with a proposed reasonable accommodation. (3) The employer will bear the burden of proving that a challenged job criterion is essential, and therefore a business necessity, or that a proposed accommodation will impose an undue hardship upon the employer. 28 Monette, 90 F.3d at 1186. When a plaintiff seeks to establish his case indirectly, however, the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting approach applies so that the 29 plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that: (1) he or she is disabled; (2) otherwise qualified for the position, with or without reasonable accommodation; (3) suffered an adverse employment decision; (4) the employer knew or had reason to know of the plaintiff's disability; and (5) the position remained open while the employer sought other applicants or the disabled individual was replaced. The defendant must then offer a legitimate explanation for its action. If the defendant satisfies this burden of production, the plaintiff must introduce evidence showing that the proffered explanation is pretextual. Under this scheme, the plaintiff retains the ultimate burden of persuasion at all times. 30 Id. at 1186-87; Walsh v. United Parcel Serv., 201 F.3d 718, 724-25 (6th Cir.2000). 31 As this Court recognized in Kline v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 128 F.3d 337 (6th Cir.1997), [t]he direct evidence and circumstantial evidence paths are mutually exclusive; a plaintiff need only prove one or the other, not both. If a plaintiff can produce direct evidence of discrimination then the McDonnell Douglas-Burdine paradigm is of no consequence. Similarly, if a plaintiff attempts to prove its case using the McDonnell Douglas-Burdine paradigm, then the party is not required to introduce direct evidence of discrimination. Id. at 348-49. 32 As the district court correctly noted, the crux of Hedrick's Amended Complaint against WRCS is that WRCS unlawfully discriminated against her by failing to award her one of the four case manager positions or one of the two quality assurance positions for which she applied. Hedrick argues that she established her prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA via both the direct and the indirect method.
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34 As for her direct evidence of disability discrimination, Hedrick relies upon the testimony of Dr. Nash who testified that Nelson expressed concern to me that she felt that [Hedrick's] medical condition would prohibit her from being able to perform this job as case manager. Hedrick contends that the district court erred in rejecting this direct evidence of disability discrimination — as grounds for denying WRCS's motion for summary judgment — for two reasons. 35 First, Hedrick asserts that the district court erred in requiring her to establish that she was denied one of the vacant job positions for which she applied solely because of unlawful disability discrimination. Although she acknowledges that Monette and its progeny hold that an ADA plaintiff must establish that the adverse employment action occurred solely by reason of his handicap, Monette, 90 F.3d at 1178, Hedrick claims that this holding is no longer good law. Rather, Hedrick argues that all she needed to show in order to establish her prima facie case under the ADA was that discriminatory animus played a part in WRCS's hiring decision, not that it was the sole reason. 36 Second, Hedrick contends that, contrary to the district court's conclusion, Dr. Nash's testimony regarding Nelson's statement to him created a genuine issue of material fact sufficient to deny WRCS's motion for summary judgment. Hedrick asserts that the district court erred in holding that the direct evidence standard requires a defendant's admission in order to constitute direct evidence of disability discrimination. On the contrary, Hedrick claims that this Court's opinion in Ross v. Campbell Soup Co., 237 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 2001), establishes that isolated comments may constitute direct evidence of disability discrimination sufficient to defeat a defendant's summary judgment motion. Accordingly, Hedrick asks us to reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment against her. 37
38 We find that the district court did not err in finding Hedrick's direct evidence of disability discrimination insufficient to withstand WRCS's summary judgment motion. While it is true (as cited by Hedrick) that some of our sister circuits have held that an ADA plaintiff need not demonstrate that disability was the sole reason for the adverse employment action but only that it played a motivating role in the decision, e.g., Parker v. Columbia Pictures Indus., 204 F.3d 326, 337 (2d Cir.2000), Monette and Walsh remain good law in this circuit, and we are bound by this authority. See McLeod v. Parsons Corp., 73 Fed.Appx. 846 (6th Cir.2003)(We decline McLeod's request that this panel permit plaintiffs to recover under the ADA in mixed motive cases. Adopting the approach followed by several other circuits would require the panel to make a substantial departure from this Court's holdings in Walsh and Monette. Under Salmi v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 774 F.2d 685, 689 (6th Cir.1985), one panel of this Court cannot reverse the holding of another panel unless there is a contrary Supreme Court decision or en banc decision by this Court. Id. ). Accordingly, the district court did not err in requiring Hedrick to show that her disability was the sole reason for WRCS's decision not to hire her for one of the four case manager positions or one of the two quality assurance positions for which she applied. 39 Furthermore, we agree that Ross is distinguishable from the instant case. In Ross, we held that the district court erred in dismissing, as isolated and insufficient to constitute direct evidence of discriminatory animus, a memorandum which referred to the plaintiff as a back case. Ross, 237 F.3d at 706-07. Although it is true that the Ross court concluded that the district court too easily dismissed the `back case' memo as direct evidence of discrimination by the employer, id. at 707, when viewed in the entire context of the case and of the court's opinion, it is clear that the back memorandum was but one event in a series of comments and reports which, when taken cumulatively, was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment. Here, Hedrick has tendered no series of comments or reports which would indicate WRCS's discriminatory animus, and thus, Nelson's comment to Dr. Nash may properly be characterized as isolated and insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding WRCS's discriminatory intent. 40 In addition, the plaintiff in Ross tendered the memorandum in order to establish that his employer regarded him as being disabled, and the Ross court held that the memorandum, when viewed in combination with other evidence, was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact with regard to that element. See id. at 706 (We conclude that Ross has presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact concerning his claim that the company regarded him has [ sic ] a person with a disability within the meaning of the Act. Perhaps the piece of evidence most indicative of this fact is the `back case' memo....); see also id. at 707 (That the note's author would think to identify Ross with the scrawled post-script `back case' demonstrates that there is at least a genuine issue of material fact that Campbell Soup Co. regarded Ross through the lens of his medical condition.). In the instant case, Hedrick tendered Nelson's statement to Dr. Nash in an attempt to tender direct evidence of WRCS's discriminatory animus sufficient to establish her prima facie case under the ADA, not merely to establish that WRCS regarded her as being disabled. 6 41 Finally, the Ross memorandum is distinguishable in that the memorandum's tone was clearly discriminatory, see id. (Not only does the note identify Ross as a `problem person,' a comment which cannot be taken in a positive light, but it also identifies him as a `back case.' The ADA was enacted, in part, to eliminate the sort of stereotyping that allowed employers to see their employees primarily as their disabilities and not as persons differently abled from themselves.), while Nelson's comment to Dr. Nash was clearly an expression of concern for Hedrick's ability to perform the jobs' requirements which included a fair amount of walking. Accordingly, we agree with the district court that Hedrick failed to tender any direct evidence in support of her ADA claim against WRCS.
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43 As for her indirect evidence of disability discrimination, Hedrick argues that only the first two elements of her prima facie case are in dispute because it is undisputed that she satisfied elements three, four, and five. She suffered an adverse employment decision ( i.e., she was not hired for one of the four vacant case manager positions and/or for one of the two quality assurance positions); WRCS knew of her disability; and the positions remained open while WRCS sought other applicants, and non-disabled applicants were chosen for the positions rather than her. Hedrick asserts that the district court erred in concluding that she did not show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact as to the first two elements of her prima facie case, and therefore, she asks us to reverse the district court's summary judgment order. 44 Regarding the first element of her prima facie case, Hedrick argues that her osteoarthritis in her knees constitutes a disability, as that term is defined in the ADA, (1) because her condition is a physical impairment which substantially limits her major life activities of walking and working; (2) because she has a record of having such an impairment; and (3) because WRCS regarded her as having a disabling impairment. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2); Toyota Motor Mfg., 534 U.S. at 193, 122 S.Ct. 681. 45 First, Dr. Nash testified that, in his medical opinion, Hedrick's osteoarthritis in her knees rendered her disabled within the meaning of the ADA and that her condition is severe and permanent. Dr. Nash also testified that Hedrick could not perform a broad range of nursing jobs due to her limited ability to work and walk both of which are considered to be major life activities under the ADA. 46 Second, Hedrick contends that Dr. Nash's correspondence with WRCS, her functional capacity evaluation, and the fact that she was on WRCS's ADA list establish that she had a record of having a disabling impairment and, taken individually or collectively, constitute sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether she is disabled. 47 Third, Hedrick claims that WRCS regarded her as having a disabling impairment and that the district court erred in holding otherwise. In support of her argument, Hedrick notes that WRCS agreed that she could not resume her general duty staff nurse position due to her condition, that WRCS placed her on its ADA list, and that WRCS asked her about her physical limitations during several of her interviews. Accordingly, Hedrick argues that a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding whether she was disabled within the meaning of the ADA and that the district court committed reversible error in finding her not to be disabled. 48 Regarding the second element of her prima facie case, Hedrick contends that WRCS did not provide her with a reasonable accommodation as required under the ADA. Specifically, Hedrick claims that the district court erred in concluding that the referral center scheduler position was a reasonable accommodation which satisfied WRCS's obligations under the ADA and, as a result, erred in ruling that she was not a qualified individual with a disability. 49 In making this finding, Hedrick asserts that the district court resolved disputed issues of fact which were not properly determinable on summary judgment: the district court found that WRCS offered Hedrick the referral center scheduler position, that she refused it, and that the referral center scheduler position was a reasonable accommodation. Because genuine issues of material fact existed regarding the first two elements of her prima facie case, Hedrick argues that the district court committed reversible error in entering summary judgment against her on her ADA claim. 50
51 We find that the district court did not err in entering summary judgment in WRCS's favor because Hedrick did not satisfy her prima facie case of disability discrimination under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting method. In reaching this conclusion, we need not resolve the thornier issue of whether Hedrick was disabled under the ADA because it is clear that, even assuming that she was disabled, she was not a qualified individual with a disability. Accordingly, we affirm the district court. 52 A `qualified individual with a disability' is defined as `an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.' Black, 297 F.3d at 448 (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8)); see 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(m)(Qualified individual with a disability means an individual with a disability who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position.). As we have previously explained: 53 To recover under the ADA, a plaintiff must do more than show that he is disabled within the meaning of the statute. He must also establish that he is a qualified individual with a disability by showing: (1) that he satisfies the prerequisites for the position [he holds or desires], such as possessing the appropriate educational background, employment experience, [and] skills ...; and (2) that he can perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, with or without reasonable accommodation. Burns v. Coca-Cola Enter., Inc., 222 F.3d 247, 256 (6th Cir.2000)(quoting Dalton v. Subaru-Isuzu Auto., Inc., 141 F.3d 667, 676 (7th Cir.1998)). 54 A disabled employee who claims that he or she is otherwise qualified with a reasonable accommodation `bears the initial burden of proposing an accommodation and showing that that accommodation is objectively reasonable.' Cassidy v. Detroit Edison Co., 138 F.3d 629, 633-34 (6th Cir.1998)(quoting Monette, 90 F.3d at 1183). An employer, then, has the burden of persuasion to show that an accommodation would impose an undue hardship. Id. at 634; Monette, 90 F.3d at 1184. 55 Although a reasonable accommodation may include reassignment to a vacant position, 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B); 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2( o )(2)(ii), an employer need not reassign a disabled employee to a position for which he is not qualified, nor is the employer required to waive legitimate, non-discriminatory employment policies or displace other employees' rights in order to accommodate a disabled employee. Burns, 222 F.3d at 257. On the contrary, 56 [a]ccording to the regulations, an employer need only reassign a disabled employee to a vacant position. Employers are not required to create new jobs, displace existing employees from their positions, or violate other employees' rights under a collective bargaining agreement or other non-discriminatory policy in order to accommodate a disabled individual. 57 Id. (internal citations omitted). 58 Furthermore, in order to satisfy its duty under the ADA, an employer is only required to transfer an employee to a position comparable to the employee's prior position. Hoskins v. Oakland County Sheriff's Dep't, 227 F.3d 719, 728 n. 3 (6th Cir.2000). The regulations instruct that employers `should reassign the individual to an equivalent position, in terms of pay, status, etc., if the individual is qualified, and if the position is vacant within a reasonable amount of time,' and should only reassign an individual to a lower graded position if the individual cannot be accommodated in an equivalent position. 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630, App. § 1630.2( o ). Id. The ADA does not require an employer to offer an employee a promotion as a reasonable accommodation, Cassidy, 138 F.3d at 634, and an employee cannot make his employer provide a specific accommodation if another reasonable accommodation is instead provided. Hankins v. The Gap, Inc., 84 F.3d 797, 800-01 (6th Cir.1996)(citing Ansonia Bd. of Educ. v. Philbrook, 479 U.S. 60, 68-69, 107 S.Ct. 367, 93 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986)). In fact, where a comparable position is not vacant, an employer's obligation to reassign an employee may include an assignment to a position with a lower grade of pay if the employee meets the job's qualifications. Cassidy, 138 F.3d at 634. 59 Finally, the regulations indicate that, although an employee is not required to accept an offered accommodation, if an individual rejects a reasonable accommodation, the individual will no longer be considered a qualified individual with a disability. Hoskins, 227 F.3d at 728 n. 3; Hankins, 84 F.3d at 801. Specifically, 29 C.F.R. § 1630.9(d) provides: 60 A qualified individual with a disability is not required to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit which such qualified individual chooses not to accept. However, if such individual rejects a reasonable accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit that is necessary to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, and cannot, as a result of that rejection, perform the essential functions of the position, the individual will not be considered a qualified individual with a disability. 61 Id. 62 In the instant case, we agree with the district court that the referral center scheduler position was a reasonable accommodation and that Hedrick cannot be considered a qualified individual with a disability based upon her rejection of that position. As noted supra, although it is unclear whether WRCS formally offered the position to Hedrick, it is clear, based upon her own deposition testimony, that Hedrick understood that the job was hers if she wanted it and that she preemptively rejected the position by informing Nelson and Foley that she would not take the position because of its low salary: 63 A. I stated that I expected the cut in salary when I came back; but I did not expect that drastic of a cut when I came back. 64