Opinion ID: 797678
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Communications with Honda

Text: 10 Brandel began communicating with Honda regarding Kleiber's limitations and his desire to return to work. On October 10, 2000, Dr. Mysiw filled out a Honda document labeled a Work Capacity Form. On the form, Dr. Mysiw indicated Kleiber's restrictions were cognitive—i.e., memory, attention, and that these issues require[d] supervision and possibly a job coach. J.A. at 316 (Work Capacity Form). He also indicated that Kleiber could not work in an environment featuring unrestricted heights, and stated that Kleiber's endurance was likely poor. Id. Sometime after October 10, 2000, Brandel submitted the Work Capacity Form to Honda. 11 Notwithstanding Kleiber's limitations, Doug Bigler, Honda's placement leader for the Marysville plant, and Cathy Cronley, Honda's in-house registered nurse, began to identify certain positions that they thought Kleiber might be able to perform. These positions included the Right Rear Beam Tighten position in [the] Assembly [Department], the Front Bumper Install position in [the] Assembly [Department], and processes in the Paint Department. J.A. at 25-27 (Bigler Aff. ¶¶ 14-15, 19). Ultimately, Honda determined that none of these positions were appropriate for Kleiber because they required walking on uneven surfaces, working under substantial time pressures, and employing fine manual dexterity. 12 During this process, the Honda representatives determined that they needed more precise information regarding Kleiber's limitations, so they scheduled a meeting with Brandel. On October 27, 2000, Brandel and Joe Roop, Kleiber's job coach from the BVR, met with several Honda representatives to discuss Kleiber's prospects for returning to work. According to Brandel, [t]he idea was to have the [job] coach work with Honda staff to identify a suitable position to start. J.A. at 111-12 (Brandel Dep. at 75:23-76:2). Kleiber did not attend this meeting. The Honda contingent included Bigler, Cronley, and Jean Jackson, a disability and case-management nurse. At the meeting, Honda's representatives indicated that the Work Capacity Form did not provide enough information for them to identify job processes that Kleiber could perform. Consequently, Honda's representatives requested more specific information and asked that Kleiber be evaluated by Dr. Robert Shadel at Health Partners, Inc. 1 13