Opinion ID: 799676
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jones's Ability to Perform the Essential Functions of the Store Manager Position

Text: Our second task is to determine whether Jones was capable of performing the essential functions of the Store Manager position with or without reasonable accommodation. Simply stated, we assess whether the summary judgment record would allow a reasonable jury to find that Jones could perform enough of the tasks required to properly (1) improve and maintain store condition, maintenance, and appearance for the safety, health, and well-being of customers and employees and (2) to implement corporate planograms and merchandising guidelines, to include properly using endstands, promotional space, and display tables. See Richardson, 594 F.3d at 79 ([I]f an employer has a legitimate reason for specifying multiple duties for a particular job classification ..., a disabled employee will not be qualified for the position unless [s]he can perform enough of these duties to enable a judgment that [s]he can perform its essential duties.) (quoting Miller v. Ill. Dep't of Corr., 107 F.3d 483, 485 (7th Cir. 1997) (emphasis altered)). Jones bears the burden of showing she could perform the essential functions of the Store Manager role with or without accommodation. See Calef v. Gillette Co., 322 F.3d 75, 86 (1st Cir. 2003). As she did at the district court, Jones makes much of the fact that she had been working as Store Manager for close to a year following her initial knee surgery before receiving her notice of termination. See Jones, 765 F.Supp.2d at 107-08. Jones thus reasons that her apparent past ability to perform the job without issue supports an inference that she could effectively undertake the essential functions of the Store Manager role. Jones's argument misses the mark. It is well settled that `[a]n ADA plaintiff may not rely on past performance to establish that [s]he is a qualified individual without accommodation when there is undisputed evidence of diminished or deteriorated abilities.' Richardson, 594 F.3d at 80 (quoting Land v. Wash. Cnty., Minn., 243 F.3d 1093, 1096 (8th Cir. 2001)); see also Browning v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 178 F.3d 1043, 1048 (8th Cir. 1999) (upholding denial of judgment as a matter of law against ADA plaintiff where record reflect[ed] virtually nothing to indicate that, at the time [she] was fired, she could perform the essential functions of her job without accommodation). Even if we assume that Jones was fully capable of performing the essential functions of her job prior to September 2006, the record amply supports the district court's determination that competent evidence foreclosed the same conclusion after that date. Indeed, Walgreens is on firm ground when it argues that whatever its understanding of Jones's physical restrictions was, that understanding was altered in September 2006 when it first gleaned the full scope of Jones's physical limitations. Specifically, a note from Dr. Luber dated September 11, 2006, explained his belief that Jones should permanently refrain from bending, stooping, or reaching below her knees, squatting, kneeling, climbing stairs, or using ladders. Dr. Luber also noted that Jones would have to minimize standing or walking and could only work up to eight hours a day. A more formal follow-up note dated September 14, 2006 then explained that Dr. Luber thought Jones should not have to stand or walk for greater than 30 minutes at a duration without being allowed to take a break, change positions or sit down when necessary. If given a short break, Dr. Luber added, Jones could again stand for an additional 30 minutes, but could spend no more than 4-5 total hours each day... in a standing position, [] with frequent breaks as necessary. Dr. Luber clarified that these limitations were also of a permanent nature and stated his impression that Jones had reached end maximum medical improvement. [5] An employer may base a decision that [an] employee cannot perform an essential function on an employee's actual limitations, even when those limitations result from a disability. Calef, 322 F.3d at 86. Walgreens certainly could, as it states it did, rely on Jones's physician's medical opinion when it assessed the scope of Jones's limitations. Reviewing Dr. Luber's instructions, we must necessarily conclude that, as of September 2006, due to her physical restrictions Jones could not, among other things, competently conduct store walkthroughsa crucial task expected of the Store Manager that, according to Telson's testimony, could neither be completed in under 30 minutes nor be done in shorter temporal segments without accommodation; bend, stoop, and reach to the ground or to low shelves to get products for customers or to pick up items that have fallen, Jones, 765 F.Supp.2d at 107, as Telson testified a Store Manager routinely would have to do; or use ladders to reach high shelves, as Jones herself testified she regularly did before her accident, see id. at 106. Nor could Jones inventory merchandise, arrange store displays, or unload delivery trucksall tasks assigned to the Store Manager position, each of which, according to evidence in the record, requires bending at the knees, kneeling, or standing for extended periods of time. This was all simply too much. A reading of the record suggests that, as of September 2006, Jones could not undertake a broad enough range of the tasks necessary to adequately perform the functions essential to the Store Manager position. Even if Jones could perform some of the tasks associated with the essential functions of the job, her physical limitations prevented her from executing a great too many others. Cf. Miller, 107 F.3d at 485 (If it is reasonable for a farmer to require each of his farmhands to be able to drive a tractor, clean out the stables, bale the hay, and watch the sheep, a farmhand incapable of performing any of these tasks except the lightest one (watching the sheep) is not able to perform the essential duties of the position.). We must therefore conclude that no reasonable jury could find that Jones could effectively perform the essential functions that we have already identified above.