Huffman v. Speedway LLC

21 F. Supp. 3d 872, 2014 WL 1870793, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64193, 124 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 300
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMay 9, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-12453
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 21 F. Supp. 3d 872 (Huffman v. Speedway LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Huffman v. Speedway LLC, 21 F. Supp. 3d 872, 2014 WL 1870793, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64193, 124 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 300 (E.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION, VACATING JUDGMENT, AND DISMISSING HER COMPLAINT WITH PREJUDICE

THOMAS L. LUDINGTON, District Judge.

Lauri Huffman worked for Speedway LLC from July 2011 through May 2013. In November 2012, she became pregnant, and in March of 2013, her doctor recommended various restrictions to keep her safe. Concluding that Huffman could not perform her job responsibilities given her doctor’s restrictions, Speedway attempted to place her on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). But Huffman was unwilling to take leave. After she failed to return the requisite paperwork over a six-week period, Speedway terminated Huffman’s employment based [875]*875on job abandonment. She then filed a complaint alleging violations of the FMLA and Michigan’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act (Elliott Larsen).

Speedway filed a motion for summary judgment, and the Court concluded that Huffman’s FMLA claim was not ripe; the Court then dismissed the FMLA claim. Noting that only Huffman’s state law claim for pregnancy discrimination remained, the Court dismissed that claim without prejudice to Huffman’s ability to refile in state court.

Huffman subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration, contending that the Court had original jurisdiction over the Michigan state law claim—not supplemental jurisdiction—by way of complete diversity between the parties. Thus, according to Huffman, the Court erred in dismissing the Elliott Larsen claim without prejudice rather than addressing it on the merits. Huffman is correct. She pled both federal question and diversity jurisdiction in her complaint, see Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 9, ECF No. 1, and indicated that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, id. ¶ 10. Huffman is quite right and her motion for reconsideration will be granted. The Court will address the merits of her Elliott Larsen claim for pregnancy discrimination.

I

Elliott Larsen prohibits an employer from “discriminating against individuals on the basis of sex with respect to a condition of employment[,]” and “discrimination because of a woman’s pregnancy is a form of discrimination because of sex.” Haynie v. State, 468 Mich. 302, 664 N.W.2d 129, 133-34 (2003). Although Huffman has not raised a claim for pregnancy discrimination under Title VII, Elliott Larsen claims are analyzed “under the same framework as Title VII claims[,]” and so the Court will analyze Huffman’s claim accordingly. See Latowski v. Northwoods Nursing Ctr., 549 Fed.Appx. 478, 483 n. 2 (6th Cir.2013) (citing Sutherland v. Mich. Dep’t of Treasury, 344 F.3d 603, 614 n. 4 (6th Cir.2003)).

Huffman can prove her pregnancy discrimination claim with either direct or indirect evidence. Ensley-Gaines v. Runyon, 100 F.3d 1220, 1224 (6th Cir.1996). She claims she has advanced both.

A

Direct evidence “is that evidence which, if believed, requires a conclusion that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s actions.” Kocak v. Cmty. Health Partners of Ohio, Inc., 400 F.3d 466, 470 (6th Cir.2005) (citation omitted). Once a plaintiff proffers direct evidence of discrimination, the burden of persuasion “shifts to the defendant to show that it would have terminated the plaintiffs employment had it not been motivated by discrimination.” Jacklyn v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Prods. Sales Corp., 176 F.3d 921, 926 (6th Cir.1999) (collecting cases).

Huffman argues she has offered direct evidence that Speedway discriminated against her: “[Speedway] admittedly knew that [Huffman] was pregnant. Nevertheless, [Speedway] was forcing [Huffman] to take a leave of absence that was unnecessary simply because she was pregnant. ... Simply put, sufficient undisputed direct evidence exists to preclude summary judgment in favor of [Speedway], as it is [Huffman] that would be actually entitled to summary judgment.” Pl.’s Resp. 16, ECF No. 16.

Contrary to Huffman’s contention, the mere fact that Speedway knew she was pregnant and attempted to impose an involuntary leave does not “require a conclusion” that her eventual termination was [876]*876motivated by unlawful discrimination. Speedway attempted to place Huffman on FMLA leave because of the specific restrictions her physician imposed, not simply because she was pregnant. This is substantiated by the evidence: After Huffman learned that she was pregnant, and when her doctor first placed restrictions upon her ability to work, Speedway accommodated Huffman because the restrictions did not interfere with her ability to perform assigned tasks. Speedway did not attempt to terminate her employment or place her on leave.

When Huffman’s physician imposed additional restrictions, Speedway representatives asked the doctor to identify the assigned duties Huffman should not perform; Speedway did not automatically attempt to place her on leave because she was pregnant. Based on the subsequent recommendation of Huffman’s doctor, Speedway representatives concluded that Huffman could no longer perform the duties of her position, and only then was she extended FMLA leave. When Huffman refused to take leave, and then did not return the necessary paperwork for requesting leave, Speedway terminated her employment for job abandonment — just as it had previously warned it would. See Huffman Dep. 128, attached as Def.’s Mot. Ex. 1, ECF No. 13.

The fact that Speedway attempted to place Huffman on FMLA leave while aware of her pregnancy does not require a conclusion that unlawful discrimination motivated Speedway’s decision to later terminate Huffman’s employment. To conclude that Huffman’s termination demonstrates an anti-pregnancy animus rather than a non-discriminatory concern about her refusal to return the leave paperwork requires an inference and thus is not direct evidence of discrimination. See Johnson v. Kroger Co., 319 F.3d 858, 865 (6th Cir.2003) (“direct evidence of discrimination does not require a factfinder to draw any inferences in order to conclude that the challenged employment action was motivated at least in part by prejudice against members of the protected group.”).

Huffman also argues that .Speedway’s leave policy “is discriminatory on its face towards pregnant employees” because “just for being pregnant, [she] was forced to take FMLA leave.... ” Pl.’s Resp. 17. A leave policy that facially discriminates on the basis of pregnancy constitutes direct evidence of discrimination. See Reeves v. Swift Transp. Co., Inc., 446 F.3d 637, 640 (6th Cir.2006) (“In her brief, Reeves argues in effect that the terms of Swift’s light-duty policy constitute direct evidence of discrimination, but she is incorrect because Swift’s light-duty policy is pregnancy-blind.”). Consistent with Reeves,

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21 F. Supp. 3d 872, 2014 WL 1870793, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64193, 124 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huffman-v-speedway-llc-mied-2014.