Ferguson v. Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications

18 F. Supp. 3d 947, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1582, 2014 WL 1689608, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60195
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedApril 29, 2014
DocketNo. 3:12-cv-1200
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 18 F. Supp. 3d 947 (Ferguson v. Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ferguson v. Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications, 18 F. Supp. 3d 947, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1582, 2014 WL 1689608, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60195 (M.D. Tenn. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

WILLIAM J. HAYNES, JR., Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Danielle Ferguson, filed this action under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., and the Tennessee Human Rights Act (“THRA”), Tenn.Code §§ 4-21-101 et seq. against the Defendant, Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications (“Williamson County”), her employer. Plaintiff asserts claims for violation of the FMLA and pregnancy discrimination in violation of the THRA.

Before the Court is Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (Docket Entry No. 13), contending, in sum, that Plaintiffs FMLA claim is not ripe for adjudication, and even if it were, Plaintiff has not stated a FMLA claim, and the Court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs THRA claim. As to the merits of the THRA claim, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs proof fails to make a prima facie showing of discrimination. In response, Plaintiff contends that she has stated a viable FMLA claim, and that the Court should exercise supplemental jurisdiction because her THRA claims involve the same nucleus of operative facts as her FMLA claim. As to the merits of her THRA claim, Plaintiff asserts that her proof is sufficient for a prima facie showing of discrimination. (Docket Entry No. 20).

For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be denied because Plaintiff has stated an FMLA claim and made a prima facie showing of discrimination under the THRA. Further material factual disputes exists on whether Plaintiff was able to accept the new shift as of October 5, 2012, or whether she needed to wait until January 2013 to do so.

A. Review of the Record1

Plaintiff, Danielle Ferguson, was at all times relevant to this case, a dispatcher for [951]*951the Defendant, Williamson County Department of Emergency Communications. (Docket Entry No. 19, Plaintiffs Response to Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts, at ¶ 1). In August 2012, Plaintiffs shift was Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Id. at ¶ 3.

During late August 2012, Plaintiffs physician restricted her work hours for the duration of her pregnancy such that she could no longer work 7 or 8 hours of her 13 hour shift. Id. at ¶ 4-5. Plaintiff communicated those restrictions to Defendant. Id. There was no available regular day shift to which Plaintiff could have been reassigned. Id. at ¶ 6. During the weekend of August 25, 2012, Plaintiff was initially taken off the schedule, but was eventually scheduled for a 10-hour shift on Saturday, a 6-hour shift on Sunday, and at 7-hour class on Monday, for which she was compensated. Id. at ¶ 8.

As a longer-term partial solution, Plaintiff agreed to work from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. of her regular shift. Id. at ¶¶ 9-10. As an employee who was compensated hourly, Plaintiff also sought additional hours to maintain her existing wages. Id. at ¶ 10; Docket Entry No. 25, Defendant’s Response to Plaintiffs Statement of Additional Material Facts, at ¶ 10. While Plaintiff was under her physician’s restrictions for complications due to her pregnancy, her hourly rate remained the same, and she received the same employment benefits as she had prior to her pregnancy. (Docket Entry No. 19, Plaintiffs Response to Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts, at ¶ 11).

Some of Plaintiffs hours from her regular shift were within the scope of her restrictions. Id. at ¶ 12. Phyllis Dodd, Plaintiffs scheduling supervisor, told Plaintiff that if any other employee was absent and additional help was needed on the shift, Plaintiff would be offered those shifts first. Id. Plaintiff was offered shifts when other employees were absent and accepted some and declined others. Id. at ¶ 13-14. On October 5, 2012, Plaintiff was offered a shift with all hours within her restrictions. Id. at ¶ 17. The parties dispute whether Plaintiff was able to accept the new shift as of October 5, 2012, or whether she needed to wait until January 2013. Id. at ¶¶ 17-18.

On December 31, 2012, Plaintiff began working the new shift, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Id. at ¶ 19. Between August 2012 and December 2012, Plaintiff was under restrictions, but was not yet reassigned to a new shift. Id. at ¶ 16. Plaintiff worked 176.5 hours less than she would have been scheduled absent her medical restrictions. Id.

According to Plaintiff, a number of other employees were permitted to change their schedules for a variety of reasons, including child care (Id. at ¶¶ 25, 27), school schedules (Id. at ¶¶26, 30), changes in personal lives (Id. at ¶ 26), personal preference (Id. at ¶ 29), among others.

B. Conclusions of Law

“The very mission of the summary judgment procedure is to pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see [952]*952whether there is a genuine need for trial.” Advisory Committee Notes on Rule 56, Federal Civil Judicial Procedure and Rules (West Ed.1989). Moreover, “district courts are widely acknowledged to possess the power to enter summary judgment sua sponte, so long as the opposing party was on notice that [he] had to come forward with all of [his] evidence.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 326, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); accord Routman v. Automatic Data Processing, Inc., 873 F.2d 970, 971 (6th Cir.1989).

In Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), the United States Supreme Court explained the nature of a motion for summary judgment:

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if 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.” By its very terms, this standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact. As to materiality, the substantive law will identify which facts are material. Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted.

477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (emphasis in the original and added in part).

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18 F. Supp. 3d 947, 22 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1582, 2014 WL 1689608, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60195, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ferguson-v-williamson-county-department-of-emergency-communications-tnmd-2014.