George Gerdes v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., Doing Business as Armour Foods

125 F.3d 634, 7 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 482, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 23897, 1997 WL 561748
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 11, 1997
Docket97-1006
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 125 F.3d 634 (George Gerdes v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., Doing Business as Armour Foods) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George Gerdes v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., Doing Business as Armour Foods, 125 F.3d 634, 7 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 482, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 23897, 1997 WL 561748 (8th Cir. 1997).

Opinion

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

George Gerdes appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Swifts Eekrich, Inc. (“Armour”) on Gerdes’s claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act, 14 U.S.C. § 12101 (“ADA”). We affirm.

I.

Gerdes began working as a maintenance supervisor at Armour’s processing plant in Mason City, Iowa in 1978 and became a maintenance foreman in 1980. In 1991, Gerdes underwent coronary bypass surgery after which he returned to work without restriction. In 1994, Gerdes underwent coronary angioplasty. After he recovered, his physician, Dr. Joseph Cookman, sent a letter to Armour on September 16, 1994 indicating that although Gerdes should continue working, Dr. Cookman “strongly requested] and recommend[ed] that [Gerdes] work no more than forty hours per week.” (J.A. at 1.)

In October 1994, Armour’s Human Resources Manager, Daryl Johnson, wrote to Dr. Cookman inquiring whether Gerdes’s forty-hour restriction was temporary or permanent and whether Gerdes should refrain from other activities. (J.A. at 2.) In a letter dated November 8, 1994, Dr. Cookman responded that Gerdes’s restrictions were permanent, and that Gerdes should refrain from excessive lifting and “exposure to hazardous work environments such as exhaust fumes, wide temperature variations, and other environmental hazards.” (J.A. at 4.) On January 6, 1995, a representative from the Armour Employee Benefits office sent Dr. Cookman Gerdes’s job description and solicited Dr. Cookman’s opinion on Gerdes’s ability to work within the packing plant’s environment. *636 (JA. at 7.) On April 3rd, Dr. Cookman reiterated his opinion that, on a permanent basis, Gerdes should not work more than forty hours a week and that he should avoid exposure to extreme variations in temperature, to noxious fumes, dust and other potentially harmful materials. (J.A at 15.)

On July 13, 1995, Johnson wrote to Gerdes inquiring whether Gerdes’s medical condition had changed. (J.A. at 109.) He also requested that Gerdes meet with Armour representatives to discuss his condition and possible accommodations to assist him in returning to work. Id. In response, Gerdes’s attorney wrote to Armour indicating that Gerdes had already provided the information Armour was requesting anddireeting the company to send all future inquiries through the attorney. On February 26, 1996, Johnson again requested medical information from Gerdes. Johnson restated the restrictions Dr. Cookman imposed on Gerdes and indicated that “[without more from Dr. Cookman or others, we must interpret these restrictions literally.” (J.A. at 141.) Johnson also expressed Armour’s continued desire to assess Gerdes’s condition and whether Armour could accommodate Dr. Cookman’s restrictions.

On April 8, 1996, Dr. Cookman wrote to Johnson “clarify[ing] [the] recommendations [he] made in the past with respect to Mr. Gerdes’[s] ability to continue working with his coronary artery disease.” (J.A. at 143.) While Dr. Cookman indicated that the forty-hour-week restriction remained his principal recommendation for Gerdes, he modified his previous recommendations as follows:

I did not say then, nor do I say now that Mr. Gerdes can never, ever lift anything heavy or he can never be exposed to cold or an occasional fume. My only recommendation was that this not be a principle [sic] part of his work environment____
... All of my recommendations regarding Mr. Gerdes’[s] number of hours worked as well as exposure to other environmental hazards, have to be given a reasonable interpretation. I certainly think it is acceptable for him to work in the area of 40-45 hours, but I would not want him to work a 50, 60, or 70 hour work-week....

(J.A at 143-44.) Dr. Cookman likewise indicated that his recommendations regarding Gerdes’s exposure to a hazardous work environment needed a reasonable interpretation. Id. He suggested that Gerdes should refrain from “excessive or continuous exposure” to environmental hazards and that Gerdes could minimize the risks associated with such exposure by wearing a mask or appropriate clothing. Id. After receiving Dr. Cookman’s April 8th letter, Johnson telephoned Gerdes to inform him that a third-shift maintenance supervisor position was open and asked Gerdes to meet with Armour representatives about returning to work. In light of Dr. Cook-man’s modified restrictions, Armour determined that Gerdes could return to work as a maintenance supervisor, which he did in April 1996.

After obtaining the appropriate right-to-sue letters, Gerdes had previously filed an amended complaint in federal court in November 1995, alleging that Armour had discriminated against him in violation of the ADA 2 After discovery, Armour moved for summary judgment. The district court granted Armour’s motion, holding Gerdes was not disabled within the meaning of the ADA. 3 We affirm.

II.

Summary judgment is proper only when there are no genuine issues of material *637 fact to be resolved, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. Kaplon v. Howmedica, Inc., 83 F.3d 263, 266 (8th Cir.1996). When considering a grant of summary judgment, we view all of the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Rifkin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 78 F.3d 1277, 1280 (8th Cir.1996).

To establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADA, Gerdes must show that he is disabled within the meaning of the ADA, 4 that he is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation, and that he suffered an adverse employment action from which an inference of unlawful discrimination arises. Webb v. Garelick Mfg. Co., 94 F.3d 484 (8th Cir.1996). In Webb, we stated:

The purpose of the ADA is broad and remedial: It is designed to provide “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.” 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b)(1)____ A person is substantially limited in the major life activity of working if she is “significantly restricted in the 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.” 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(3)(I).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Davila v. Hilton International of Puerto Rico, Inc.
165 F. Supp. 2d 94 (D. Puerto Rico, 2001)
Meyer v. Iowa Mold Tooling Co., Inc.
141 F. Supp. 2d 973 (N.D. Iowa, 2001)
Fritz v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
158 F. Supp. 2d 991 (D. Nebraska, 2001)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Woodbridge Corp.
124 F. Supp. 2d 1132 (W.D. Missouri, 2000)
Weigert v. Georgetown University
120 F. Supp. 2d 1 (District of Columbia, 2000)
Jeffrey Gorman v. Floyd Bartch
152 F.3d 907 (Eighth Circuit, 1998)
Gorman v. Bartch
152 F.3d 907 (Eighth Circuit, 1998)
Fredregill v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance
992 F. Supp. 1082 (S.D. Iowa, 1997)
United States v. Frank E. Kosmicki
132 F.3d 37 (Seventh Circuit, 1997)
Karl Roberts v. District No. 9
126 F.3d 1088 (Eighth Circuit, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
125 F.3d 634, 7 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 482, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 23897, 1997 WL 561748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-gerdes-v-swift-eckrich-inc-doing-business-as-armour-foods-ca8-1997.