Howard v. Magoffin County Board of Education

830 F. Supp. 2d 308, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132771, 2011 WL 5598897
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedNovember 17, 2011
DocketCivil No. 10-59-ART
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 830 F. Supp. 2d 308 (Howard v. Magoffin County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard v. Magoffin County Board of Education, 830 F. Supp. 2d 308, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132771, 2011 WL 5598897 (E.D. Ky. 2011).

Opinion

[313]*313MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

AMUL R. THAPAR, District Judge.

Patty Jo Howard is suing the Magoffin County Board of Education for age and disability discrimination. When asked why she thought her reassignment to a new school was the result of discrimination, Howard responded, ‘Well, what else could it be?” Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 163. But Howard must point to actual evidence, and not just speculate, to survive summary judgment. Consequently, the Court must grant Magoffin County’s motion for summary judgment on both her age and disability discrimination claims.

BACKGROUND

In 1999, the Magoffin County Board of Education hired Patty Jo Howard as an Instructional Assistant I at the Magoffin County Alternative School. Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 77. In this position, Howard’s duties included assisting and supporting teachers in the classroom. Hunley Dep., R. 27 at 13.

Howard had both hearing and eyesight problems while working at the Alternative School. Benita Howard Dep., R. 25 at 61. Magoffin County tried to accommodate Howard by providing a telephone with an amplified hearing device, a “large” television on her desk, and a computer with an enlarged view. David Gibson Dep., R. 28 at 19; Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 74, 120. Howard appeared perfectly happy with these accommodations.

But all was not rosy. During her tenure, Howard also conflicted with the teachers with whom she worked—Rodney Whitaker and Paula Risner. See generally Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 21, 28, 32-70. As a result, Howard filed “many grievances” against Whitaker and Risner, id. at 33, including fifty against Whitaker alone, id. at 166. Whitaker and Risner also filed grievances against Howard for “breaking confidentiality” by making certain phone calls to students’ parents. Gibson Dep., R. 28 at 12. Magoffin County found that the grievances against Howard were meritorious, id. at 12, but none of Howard’s grievances against the teachers had merit, Hunley Dep., R. 27 at 9.

Stuck with this deteriorating relationship, Magoffin County came up with a solution—Magoffin County placed Howard in her own office to “watch television and play computer games.” Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 166. But this did not solve the problem. The relationship between Howard and the teachers continued to decline. Id. The conflicts eventually became so disruptive that they affected the educational environment at the Alternative School. Hunley Dep., R. 27 at 27.

Superintendent Joe Hunley ultimately intervened. Magoffin County was in the process of consolidating five elementary schools into two, id. at 15, so Hunley decided that the best course of action was to transfer Howard to another school within the district. Id. at 15. At the end of the 2007-2008 academic year, Magoffin County notified Howard that she would be transferred to the newly opened North Magoffin Elementary School for the upcoming academic year. Id. Upon her transfer, Howard maintained the same position with the same salary and benefits and the same job description, id., and her commute to the new school was shorter. The existing teachers at the Alternative School absorbed Howard’s duties. Whitaker Dep., R. 29 at 30. Magoffin County did not seek applicants for the position because of budgetary constraints and eventually eliminated the position entirely. Hunley Aff., R. 59-1.

On her first or second day at North Magoffin Elementary School, Howard hurt her lower back when lifting a box of text[314]*314books. Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 87. Howard claims that the assistant principal instructed her to shelve the textbooks in a book supply room. Id. at 86. Before this incident, Howard had no disabilities related to her lower back. Id. at 147; see also Benita Howard Dep., R. 25 at 63. After this incident, Howard did not return to work. Gibson Dep., R. 28 at 34.

Her doctor later informed Howard and Magoffin County on several occasions that she could return to work with certain restrictions. Id. at 35; see also Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 138^10. Magoffin County offered to let her return to work at North Magoffin Elementary School under her doctor’s restrictions. Gibson Dep., R. 28 at 35. Howard rejected this offer because she wanted to go back to work at the Alternative School—an unavailable position. Patty Howard Dep., R. 24 at 144. Howard then sued Magoffin County for employment discrimination based on both age and disability. Compl., R. 2.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

On summary judgment, ADA and ADEA claims are evaluated under the same framework. Macy v. Hopkins Cnty. Sch. Bd. of Educ., 484 F.3d 357, 363 (6th Cir.2007) (ADA); Grosjean v. First Energy Corp., 349 F.3d 332, 335 (6th Cir.2003) (ADEA). When a plaintiff relies only on circumstantial evidence of disparate treatment, the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework applies. Macy, 484 F.3d at 364. This framework requires three stages of proof. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). The plaintiff first must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. Macy, 484 F.3d at 364 (citing Monette v. Elec. Data Sys. Corp., 90 F.3d 1173, 1186 (6th Cir.1996)). The burden then shifts to the defendant to show a “legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its action.” Id. If the defendant does so, then the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to show that the reason is “actually a pretext for unlawful discrimination.” Id.

Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is insufficient evidence to create a genuine dispute of material fact “at each stage” of the framework. Macy, 484 F.3d at 364 (emphasis added) (quoting Cline v. Catholic Diocese of Toledo, 206 F.3d 651, 661 (6th Cir.2000)); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The Court must “construe the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.” Browning v. Dep’t of Army, 436 F.3d 692, 695 (6th Cir.2006) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).

DISCUSSION

1. Americans with Disabilities Act Claim

Magoffin County is entitled to summary judgment on Howard’s ADA claim because she cannot establish her prima facie case. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their disabilities if they are otherwise qualified to perform their jobs. 42 U.S.C. § 12112.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
830 F. Supp. 2d 308, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132771, 2011 WL 5598897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-v-magoffin-county-board-of-education-kyed-2011.