Goeldner v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedMarch 9, 2020
Docket4:19-cv-00692
StatusUnknown

This text of Goeldner v. Union Pacific Railroad Company (Goeldner v. Union Pacific Railroad Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goeldner v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, (W.D. Mo. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI WESTERN DIVISION

ERICH GOELDNER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 4:19-cv-00692-NKL ) UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD ) COMPANY, ) ) Defendant. )

ORDER Plaintiff’s complaint alleges four claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.: disparate treatment, disparate impact, unlawful medical inquiries, and failure to accommodate.1 Doc. 1 (Complaint). Plaintiff’s claims arise from Defendant’s determination under its internal medical policy that Plaintiff was unfit to return to work following shoulder surgery. Pending before the Court are Defendant Union Pacific’s motion to dismiss, Doc. 8, and Plaintiff Erich Goeldner’s motion to amend the complaint, Doc. 29. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff’s motion to amend is GRANTED and Defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED. I. Alleged Facts Goeldner began working at Union Pacific as a brakeman/conductor in January 2006. Doc. 1, ¶ 2. On August 21, 2016, Goeldner dislocated his left shoulder while on duty as a brakeman as a result of his backpack slipping from his shoulder while exiting a locomotive. Id., ¶¶ 29–31.

1. Union Pacific challenges Goeldner’s claim for failure to accommodate, arguing that Goeldner did not exhaust his administrative remedies and failed to sufficiently plead this claim. In his response brief on this issue, Goeldner states that he “withdraws Count IV for failure to accommodate and consents to its dismissal without prejudice.” Doc. 20, at 5 n.1. The Court in this order dismisses Goeldner’s Count IV for failure to accommodate without prejudice, and therefore need not address this claim on the merits. Goeldner was taken to a hospital, “but was ultimately able to pop his shoulder back into place without medical intervention.” Id., ¶ 32. Following this injury, Goeldner was diagnosed with a shoulder labral tear which was surgically repaired on September 21, 2016. Id., ¶¶ 34–35. On December 27, 2016, Goeldner’s physician released him to return to work without restrictions. Id., ¶ 36, Doc. 1-5 (Plaintiff’s Charge of Discrimination to the EEOC).

Following his shoulder surgery, Union Pacific did not allow Goeldner to return to work. Id., ¶ 37. Instead, on February 16, 2017, Union Pacific issued a Memo on Fitness for Duty Determination which stated that Goeldner was “unfit to continue working as a brakeman/conductor” and “imposed significant permanent restrictions” on his ability to work for Union Pacific. Id., ¶¶ 38, 42. In a letter dated August 8, 2017, Union Pacific informed Goeldner that a third-party doctor review of his case as requested by his union was not warranted, and his current work restrictions remain in place. Id., ¶ 46; Doc 1-4. Goeldner has not returned to work at Union Pacific, and on December 19, 2017 he filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC alleging that Union Pacific discriminated against him on

the basis of age and disability. Id., ¶¶ 49–50, Doc. 1-5. On June 10, 2019, the EEOC issued Goeldner a right to sue letter. Id., ¶ 50, Doc. 1-6. Goeldner then filed this action on August 30, 2019 alleging disparate treatment, disparate impact, unlawful medical inquiries, and failure to accommodate under the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. Doc. 1. A parallel class action brought against Union Pacific asserting similar ADA claims of disparate treatment, disparate impact, and unlawful medical inquiries based on the same policy of requiring fitness for duty assessments and determinations was filed on November 25, 2015. The court in that case granted class certification for the class of “[a]ll individuals who have been or will be subject to a fitness-for-duty examination as a result of a reportable health event at any time from September 18, 2014 until the final resolution of this action.” Harris v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 329 F.R.D. 616, 628 (D. Neb. 2019). On February 27, 2019, Union Pacific appealed the class certification. Goeldner asserts that he qualifies as a member of the Harris class, and has opted-out of that class to file his individual claims through this action. Doc. 20, at 7, 11. II. Discussion

A. Amending Complaint by Interlineation The Court first addresses Goeldner’s motion to amend the complaint by interlineation, Doc. 29. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) provides that a request for leave to amend a complaint “shall be freely given when justice so requires.” Construing this Rule, the Supreme Court has held that “[i]n the absence of . . . undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive . . . , repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party . . . [or] futility of amendment, etc.,” leave should indeed by freely given. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). In pleading his claim for disparate treatment, Goeldner’s complaint cites as the applicable

standard 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(6), a subsection of the ADA used in asserting claims for disparate impact. Doc. 1, at ¶ 59. Goeldner acknowledges that this was a mistaken reference and moves to amend this paragraph in his complaint by interlineation to substitute reference to the applicable section for pleading a claim of disparate treatment, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(1). Union Pacific opposes this motion on the grounds that even if the proposed amendment was granted, Goeldner’s claim would still fail to withstand a motion to dismiss as his claim would still be time-barred. As this Court finds that Goeldner’s claims are not time-barred, an amendment would not be rendered futile due to Union Pacific’s asserted statute of limitations defense. Goeldner timely filed this motion to amend in advance of the deadline set by the Scheduling Order, Doc. 21, and there is no assertion that this amendment would cause any undue delay or prejudice. Accordingly, in the interest of justice, and so Goeldner can clearly state and test his claim of disparate treatment on the merits, Goeldner’s motion to amend, Doc. 29, is granted. Paragraph 59 of Plaintiff’s Complaint, Doc. 1, is amended by interlineation to state as follows: Discriminating against a qualified individual on the basis of disability includes “limiting, segregating, or classifying a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects the opportunities or status of such applicant or employee because of the disability of such applicant or employee.” 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(1). B. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Prior to bringing a claim of discrimination under the ADA in court, a plaintiff must first exhaust her administrative remedies by timely filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC within 300 days of the alleged unlawful employment practice. 42 U.S.C. § 12117(a) (incorporating Title VII’s enforcement provisions in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 to the ADA).

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Goeldner v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goeldner-v-union-pacific-railroad-company-mowd-2020.