Flasza v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc.

159 F.R.D. 672, 4 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 11, 10 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1302, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13661, 1994 WL 745187
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided September 27, 1994·No. No. 93 C 7315·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

[675]*675 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CONLON, District Judge.

John K. Flasza sues TNT Holland Motor Express (“TNT”) for discrimination in a termination decision under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., Illinois common law, and the Illinois Workers’! Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 805/4. TNT moves for summary judgment on all claims.

BACKGROUND1

TNT is an interstate trucking company that is based in Holland, Michigan, but operates a terminal facility in McCook, Illinois. Vandevusse Aff. ¶¶ 2-4. Three types of dock workers are employed at the McCook terminal facility. “Casual” or “extra” dock workers work on a daily basis and are guaranteed eight hours of work per day. Def. Mem., Ex. 1, art. 4. They are considered employees under the collective bargaining agreement and are paid on a weekly basis. Id. at art. 5. The second category of dock employees are probationary employees. These employees become seniority employees if they remain employed after a thirty-day probationary period. Vandevusse Aff. ¶ 7. The final type of dock employee is a seniority employee. Id. at 8.

In July 1992, Flasza sought employment at TNT’s McCook terminal facility after voluntarily leaving his previous employer. Flasza Aff. ¶ 2; PI. 12(n), Ex. D, p. 1. TNT immediately hired Flasza as a casual dock worker and told him to submit to a physical examination and drug test at a specified doctor. Flasza Aff. ¶ 4. Flasza passed his physical and drug test. Def.Mem., Ex. 2. The “health history” section of the physical examination report is a series of “yes/no” boxes for 18 classes of ailments. Every box is checked “no” on the report, including those for “extensive confinement by illness or injury” and “permanent defect from illness, disease, or injury.” Id. On July 16, Flasza completed a TNT employment application form that qualified his signature with the following statement: “I also understand that misrepresentation or omission of information or facts may result in my rejection or dismissal.” TNT also informed Flasza that it would shortly conduct a background check of his employment and credit history.

Flasza worked for TNT six days a week from July 17 through August 21,1992. Flasza was never criticized for his job performance; supervisors occasionally told Flasza that he was doing a good job. Flasza Aff. ¶ 10. On August 21, TNT terminated Flasza without warning. Id. Flasza immediately inquired about the reason he was terminated. A supervisor told him that the decision came from the Michigan office and that he should direct his inquiries there. Id. at 12. Flasza made at least one oral request and two written requests sent by certified mail to TNT’s Michigan office. PI. 12(n), Exs. J, K, L. TNT ignored the requests. Flasza ¶ 12. Flasza then filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor under the Illinois Personnel Records Review Act. Id. TNT still refused to disclose Flasza’s employment file. Finally, the Illinois Department of Labor issued a subpoena for the records. PI. 12(n), Ex. P.

Flasza’s employment file contained little information on his dismissal. The file did include a report from TNT’s employee background investigator, Robert Arden & Associates, Inc. (“the Arden report”), containing the results of its background cheek on Flasza. The Arden report included favorable comments from Flasza’s previous employers, a favorable credit history, and no criminal history. But the report also disclosed that Flasza had filed five workers’ compensation claims against his former employer, most recently in early 1984. PI. 12(n), Ex. D. The only other item in Flasza’s employment file relevant to his discharge was a memorandum from Stacey Fitts (now Stacey Vandevusse), the person responsible for Flasza’s employment decision, to the McCook terminal facility. The memorandum states in total: “Don — Based on our findings, this person does not meet our criteria, /s/ Stacey.” PI. 12(n), Ex. I.

[676]*676Flasza filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (“EEOC”) in Chicago on May 12, 1993. The Chicago office transferred the charge to the EEOC’s Detroit office. The Detroit office referred the charge to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, which returned Flasza’s charge for want of jurisdiction on September 28, 1993. The Detroit office issued Flasza a notice of right to sue on November 4, 1993. Flasza filed this suit on December 3, 1993. Count I of the complaint alleges that TNT violated the ADA by discharging Flasza because of a perceived disability. Count II alleges that TNT discharged Flasza because he had filed workers’ compensation claims against a previous employer. Count III alleges a statutory cause of action under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305/4.

DISCUSSION

TNT moves for summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. A movant is entitled to summary judgment under Rule 56 when the moving papers and affidavits show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Unterreiner v. Volkswagen of Am. 8 F.3d 1206, 1209 (7th Cir.1993). Once a moving party has met its burden, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Becker v. Tenenbaum-Hill Assoc., Inc., 914 F.2d 107, 110 (7th Cir.1990). The court considers the record as a whole, and draws all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Fisher v. Transco Services-Milwaukee, Inc., 979 F.2d 1239, 1242 (7th Cir.1992). A genuine issue of material fact exists when “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Stewart v. McGinnis, 5 F.3d 1031, 1033 (7th Cir.1993), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 1075, 127 L.Ed.2d 393 (1994). This standard is applied with added rigor in employment discrimination cases, where issues of intent and credibility often dominate. Sarsha v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 3 F.3d 1035, 1038 (7th Cir.1993); McCoy v. WGN Continental Broadcasting Co.,

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Flasza v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc., 159 F.R.D. 672, 4 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 11, 10 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1302, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13661, 1994 WL 745187 (N.D. Ill. 1994).

159 F.R.D. 672 (Flasza v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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