Alexander v. Board of Education

107 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63468, 2015 WL 2330126
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 13, 2015
DocketNo. 14 Civ. 8553
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 107 F. Supp. 3d 323 (Alexander v. Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alexander v. Board of Education, 107 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63468, 2015 WL 2330126 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Defendant the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York (“BOE” or “Defendant”) (also known as and sued herein as the “The Board of Education of the City School District of the City New York, and The Department of Education of the City of New York”) has moved pursuant to Rules 12(b)(6) and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss the complaint of plaintiff Deborah June Alexander (“Alexander” or the “Plaintiff’) alleging that BOE unlawfully terminated her employment in retaliation for exercising her rights pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA” or the “Act”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. Based on the conclusions and findings set forth below, Defendant’s motion is granted, and the complaint dismissed.

Prior Proceedings

On August 4, 2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County (the “Complaint”). The Defendant removed the action to this Court on October 24, 2014 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441.

[326]*326The Complaint contains the following allegations: 1

Plaintiff began her employment with the BOE as a school nurse in 2000. Compl. ¶9. In March 2010, Plaintiff applied for intermittent FMLA leave. Id. at ¶ 11. Plaintiff’s proffered reason for the leave was to care for her daughter, who had suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis, and to escort her to physical therapy. Id. at ¶¶ 11, 18. Plaintiff requested that the intermittent leave period include every Monday and Wednesday from September 7, 2010 to December 17, 2010 (the “FMLA leave period”). Id. at ¶ 11.

Following Plaintiffs request, the Office of School Health (“OSH”) Bronx Borough Nursing Director Eileen Cotter (“Ms. Cotter”) appeared “visibly upset” about the request and “questioned why she was applying for FMLA so early for September, that the FMLA form look[ed] suspicious, and [noting] how it only takes an hour to have therapy.” On August 6, 2010, while reviewing Plaintiff’s FMLA leave application, the BOE requested that Plaintiff provide a doctor’s note confirming her daughter’s medical condition and the need for Plaintiff to care for and escort her daughter to her physical therapy sessions, which Plaintiff provided. Id. at ¶¶ 13, 14. The note did not state what times on Mondays and Wednesdays the physical therapy sessions were to take place or how long they would generally last. See SCI Report at Item B-l. After receiving the note, .the BOE approved Plaintiffs FMLA leave application. Compl. ¶¶ 15,18.

From September 7, 2010 and continuing through the remainder of the FMLA leave period ending on December 17, 2010, Plaintiff completed a course and clinical practicum at the College of New Rochelle. Compl. ¶¶ 18, 23; see also SCI Report at Items E-l through E-10. The course and practicum began in July 2010, with two-sessions taking place on July 13, 2010 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on July 23, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Id. at Items E-1 through E-10. The clinical practicum sessions continued on Mondays and Wednesdays from September 15 to December 6 of 2010. Id. On most days, the sessions ran from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but sometimes they took place from 7:00 a.m. to noon or 1:00 p.m., or from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Id. Plaintiff, admitted that she did not escort her daughter to physical therapy during the approved FMLA leave period. Compl. ¶ 19. Her failure to accompany her daughter to physical therapy during the relevant period was due to her daughter’s refusal to attend the sessions. Id. Plaintiff did not communicate to anyone at the BOE, or any of its agents, that the purpose for which the leave had been approved no longer existed, or any desire to terminate the leave. Instead, Plaintiff returned to work at the end of the leave period. See generally Compl. ¶¶ 11, 20, 22.

Two months after returning from FMLA leave, Plaintiff submitted an application for tuition reimbursement for classes she had completed in the Fall of 2010. SCI Report at Item B-5. As a result of the tuition reimbursement re[327]*327quest, the BOE referred the matter to the SCI in order to investigate the circumstances surrounding Plaintiffs FMLA leave. See SCI Report. From March 29, 2011 through June 16, 2011, SCI conducted an internal investigation regarding Plaintiffs use of approved FMLA leave during the fall of 2010. Id. The SCI investigation established that Plaintiff had taken courses at the College of New Rochelle on Mondays and Wednesdays between September 15, 2010 and December 6, 2010, while on FMLA leave. The SCI investigation also established that on most days during the relevant period, Plaintiff performed a clinical practicum on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, 7:00 am to noon or 1:00 pm, or from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Id. SCI also determined that Plaintiff had attended two initial sessions in July 2010 in anticipation for the start of the Fall 2010 semester. Id. at Item E-l. In an interview with an SCI investigator, Plaintiff admitted to attending the clinical practicum course at the College of New Rochelle on Mondays and Wednesdays during the time frame in which she had requested and obtained FMLA leave and acknowledged that she did not notify the BOE of her daughter’s refusal to attend the physical therapy sessions during the FMLA leave period. Ex. B. SCI also determined that Plaintiff had previously been denied leave to complete the clinical program to obtain her degree. Id. at n. 2.

On June 16, 2011, the SCI Report recommended that disciplinary action be taken against Plaintiff. The BOE’s Direct of Nursing, Carole A. Márchese, by letter dated August 19, 2011, terminated Plaintiffs employment stating:

I concur with SCI’s determination and believe that your actions were an attempt to improperly use FMLA to complete your degree when you knew that the Office of School' Health does not grant time off to complete a practicum. This falsification constitutes misconduct that is not only unprofessional but in violation of guidelines for FMLA. In addition, OSH incurred over $9,000.00 in expenses for a substitute nurse to cover you during your absence.
Effective today, you are hereby terminated from your employment with the New York City Department of Education.

Termination Letter at p. 2 of 5.

The instant motions were heard and marked fully submitted on January 21, 2015.

The Applicable Standards

On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), all factual allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all inferences are drawn in favor of the pleader. Mills v. Polar Molecular Corp., 12 F.3d 1170, 1174 (2d Cir.1993). However, “a plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds, of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).

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107 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63468, 2015 WL 2330126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alexander-v-board-of-education-nysd-2015.