Opinion ID: 71871
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Stewart's ADA Claims

Text: 33 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in the Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., prohibits covered employers from discriminating based upon the known physical or mental impairments of a qualified individual with a disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112. Indeed the ADA imposes upon employers the duty to provide reasonable accommodations for known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship upon the employer. Morisky v. Broward County, 80 F.3d 445, 447 (11th Cir.1996) (citation omitted). 34 To establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADA, a plaintiff must show that she: (1) has a disability; (2) is a qualified individual; and (3) was unlawfully subjected to discrimination because of her disability. Morisky, 80 F.3d at 447. Whether an individual has a disability within the ADA's purview turns on a determination of whether the individual has: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment. 42 U.S.C. § 12102; Pritchard v. Southern Co. Services, 92 F.3d 1130, 1132 (11th Cir.), amended on reh'g, 102 F.3d 1118 (11th Cir.1996). When individuals claim that they are substantially limited in the major life activity of working, their condition must significantly restrict [their] ability to perform either a class of jobs or a broad range of jobs in various classes as compared to the average person having comparable training skills and abilities. Pritchard, 92 F.3d at 1133 (internal quotations and citations omitted). An impairment does not substantially limit the ability to work merely because it prevents a person from performing either a particular specialized job or a narrow range of jobs. Nor does the inability to perform a single, particular job ... constitute a substantial limitation in the major life activity of working. Pritchard, 92 F.3d at 1133 (internal quotations and citations omitted). 35 As suggested above, a qualified individual with a disability may be unlawfully discriminated against because of the individual's disability when the individual's employer does not reasonably accommodate the disability--unless such an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A). Under the ADA, the term reasonable accommodation may include, inter alia, job restructuring, parttime or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities. 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B). This list notwithstanding, [t]he use of the word 'reasonable' as an adjective for the word 'accommodate' connotes that an employer is not required to accommodate an employee in any manner in which that employee desires. Lewis v. Zilog, Inc., 908 F.Supp. 931, 947 (N.D.Ga.1995). This is so because the word reasonable would be rendered superfluous in the ADA if employers were required in every instance to provide employees the maximum accommodation or every conceivable accommodation possible. Lewis, 908 F.Supp. at 947; see also Vande Zande v. State of Wis. Dept. of Admin., 851 F.Supp. 353, 360 (W.D.Wis.1994) (an employee is entitled only to a reasonable accommodation and not to [a] preferred accommodation), aff'd, 44 F.3d 538 (7th Cir.1995). Stated plainly, under the ADA a qualified individual with a disability is not entitled to the accommodation of her choice, but only to a reasonable accommodation. Lewis, 908 F.Supp. at 948. 36 Moreover, the burden of identifying an accommodation that would allow a qualified individual to perform the job rests with that individual, as does the ultimate burden of persuasion with respect to demonstrating that such an accommodation is reasonable. Willis v. Conopco, 108 F.3d 282, 283 (11th Cir.1997). 37 The district court in this case never reached the reasonable accommodation issue, as it found, in part, that Stewart was not substantially limited in the major life activity of working. On appeal, Happy Herman's urges us to affirm the district court's analysis and, in the alternative, to find that it reasonably accommodated Stewart. We accept the suggestion to affirm on the alternative basis. We do so because the record clearly reveals that Happy Herman's met its burden to accommodate Stewart's disability. 38 The uncontroverted record in this case demonstrates that prior to any change in break policy Stewart effectively had a twenty-five minute paid lunch break that was subject to interruption if the store was busy. Stewart managed to perform her duties with no special accommodation under this break policy for more than a year. After the new break policy went into effect, Happy Herman's ultimately offered Stewart multiple accommodations which presented her a broad range of work options. Specifically, Happy Herman's offered Stewart: (1) a paid break that was five minutes shorter than her previous break, but not subject to any interruption; (2) an unpaid break of up to sixty minutes; (3) shorter work shifts to obviate the need for a lunch break altogether; (4) a leave of absence; and (5) planned break time in order to aid her with health problems. Happy Herman's made these accommodation offers despite the fact that Stewart made her requests for accommodation to management in a manner that can only be described as highly confrontational. Rather than accept the Happy Herman's accommodation offers or explain with some specificity why they were all unreasonable in light of her medical condition, Stewart admits that she took on the role of ad hoc employee negotiator for a thirty minute break for all employees, as well as the role of general lobbyist for positive social change at Happy Herman's. 39 Whatever the obligations of an employer are under the ADA to accommodate an employee, they do not extend to engaging in generalized negotiations with an employee concerning the employer's workplace rules and policies for all employees. As we have stated before, the ADA is remedial in nature--ensuring that those with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of society, including the workplace. Willis, 108 F.3d at 285. The ADA thus requires that employers reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability, not that employers negotiate with disabled individuals on behalf of all workers, disabled or not. See 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B) (discussing accommodations that must be offered for individuals with disabilities ) (emphasis added). 40 In this case, Stewart clearly crossed the line from seeking an accommodation on her own behalf to becoming an advocate on behalf of a policy goal--thirty minutes of paid break time for all Happy Herman's employees. Happy Herman's nonetheless still attempted to accommodate Stewart's individual needs and offered her no less than five different accommodations. To the extent that the ADA requires an employer in some limited circumstances to engage in an interactive process with the disabled employee, Happy Herman's met its burden in that regard. See Beck v. Univ. of Wis. Bd. of Regents, 75 F.3d 1130, 1135 (7th Cir.1996) (under the ADA regulations it may be necessary for an employer to engage in an informal interactive process with the individual in need of an accommodation). The record is clear that Stewart failed to engage Happy Herman's in an interactive process after it offered accommodations, in that she did not provide Happy Herman's with any substantive reasons as to why all five of the proffered accommodations were unreasonable given her medical needs. Instead, Stewart simply demanded that Happy Herman's capitulate and provide a thirty minute paid break for her and all of her coworkers. 41 Under these circumstances, no reasonable juror could find in Stewart's favor, and summary judgment is thus appropriate. Liability simply cannot arise under the ADA when an employer does not obstruct an informal interactive process; makes reasonable efforts to communicate with the employee and provide accommodations based on the information it possesses; and the employee's actions cause a breakdown in the interactive process. Cf. Beck, 75 F.3d at 1137 (liability for failure to provide reasonable accommodations ensues only where the employer bears responsibility for the breakdown); Willis, 108 F.3d at 283 (an ADA plaintiff has the burden of proving that an accommodation is reasonable).
42 The ADA also provides that no person shall discriminate against any individual because such individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by [the ADA] or because such individual made a charge ... under [the ADA]. 42 U.S.C. § 12203(a). This provision creates a prohibition on retaliation under the ADA that is similar to Title VII's prohibition on retaliation. Accordingly, we assess ADA retaliation claims under the same framework we employ for retaliation claims arising under Title VII. McNely v. Ocala Star-Banner Corp., 99 F.3d 1068, 1075-77 (11th Cir.1996) (relying on Title VII jurisprudence to interpret meaning of ADA provisions in a retaliation case), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1819, 137 L.Ed.2d 1028 (1997). To establish a prima facie case of retaliation, a plaintiff must show: (1) statutorily protected expression; (2) adverse employment action; and (3) a causal link between the protected expression and the adverse action. See Goldsmith v. City of Atmore, 996 F.2d 1155, 1163 (11th Cir.1993) (explaining requirements to show retaliation in the Title VII context). Once a prima facie case is established, the burden then shifts to the defendant employer to come forward with legitimate non-discriminatory reasons for its actions that negate the inference of retaliation. See Goldsmith, 996 F.2d at 1163. The plaintiff must then demonstrate that it will be able to establish at trial that the employer's proffered non-discriminatory reasons are a pretextual ruse designed to mask retaliation. Cf. Isenbergh v. Knight-Ridder Newspaper Sales, Inc., 97 F.3d 436, 440 (11th Cir.1996). 43 In this case, the district court found that Stewart established a prima facie case, but failed to rebut Happy Herman's assertion that it legitimately fired Stewart for insubordination. We agree that Stewart failed to rebut Happy Herman's non-discriminatory explanation for discharging her. 44 Stewart argues that the district court erred in two respects. First, she contends that an inference of retaliation arises in this case because of the timing of her discharge and because Happy Herman's provided varying reasons for her termination. This claim is meritless. It is undisputed that the numerous acts of alleged insubordination in this case occurred around the same time period as Stewart's request for accommodations. Indeed, Stewart admits doing most of the acts at issue. No inference of retaliation based on suspect timing arises under these particular circumstances. Cf. Severino v. North Fort Myers Fire Control Dist., 935 F.2d 1179, 1183( 11th Cir.1991) (finding that the Rehabilitation Act does not subject employers to liability for maintaining appropriate discipline in the workplace even when the discipline is directed at a handicapped individual). We are also unpersuaded that Stewart could prevail before a jury on her pretext claim based on the alleged varying explanations. The discharge notice in this case stated only that Stewart was discharged for insubordination. Happy Herman's later provided different examples of Stewart's alleged insubordination to the Georgia Unemployment Board and the National Labor Relations Board. The explanation that Happy Herman's proffered, though, remained unvarying: it discharged Stewart for insubordination. Under these circumstances no question of pretext arises. See Combs v. Plantation Patterns, 106 F.3d 1519, 1534-35 (11th Cir.1997) (employer entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the reasons for the employer's action remain unrebutted). 45 Stewart's second contention is that the district court overlooked other adverse acts which occurred prior to her discharge, such as Happy Herman's managers denying Stewart the right to take accrued vacation time to extend her breaks. We agree that the district court did not address these alleged acts, but find that Stewart cannot rely on the district court's oversight to defeat the grant of summary judgment in this case. In our view, the acts Stewart describes relate directly to her reasonable accommodation discrimination claim, not her retaliation claim, and accordingly provide no basis for denying summary judgment on this issue.