Lee v. Rite Aid Corp.

917 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2013 WL 141585, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4785
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedJanuary 11, 2013
DocketNo. 12-CV-0080-TOR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 2d 1168 (Lee v. Rite Aid Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lee v. Rite Aid Corp., 917 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2013 WL 141585, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4785 (E.D. Wash. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

THOMAS O. RICE, District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT is Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs’ Claims for Wrongful Termination (ECF No. 32). This matter was heard without oral argument on December 28, 2012. The Court has reviewed the motion, the response, and the reply, and is fully informed.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff has sued her former employer for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. Defendant has moved for summary judgment on two separate grounds. First, Defendant argues that Plaintiff cannot establish that she was constructively discharged on the undisputed facts presented. Second, Defendant asserts that Plaintiff cannot prove the “jeopardy” element of her wrongful discharge claim because the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”) adequately protects the public policy against pregnancy-related discrimination. For the reasons discussed below, the motion will be granted.

FACTS

Plaintiff Danielle Lee (“Plaintiff’) began working for Defendant Rite Aid Corporation (“Rite Aid”) in 2007 as a pharmacy intern.1 After graduating from pharmacy school, Plaintiff was offered a position as a pharmacist at Rite Aid’s Franklin Park store in Spokane, Washington. The terms of the offer provided that Plaintiff would be permanently assigned to the Franklin Park store as a full-time management employee. ECF No. 41-4 at 6. Plaintiff accepted the offer on June 5, 2008. ECF No. 41-4 at 6. She began work on June 16, 2008. ECF No. 41-4 at 6.

In August 2008, Plaintiff became pregnant. Later that month, Plaintiff began to experience medical difficulties with her pregnancy. On the advice of her doctors, Plaintiff advised Rite Aid that she would need to reduce her work hours to no longer than 10 hours per shift. ECF No. 34 at ¶ 3; ECF No. 45 at ¶ 1.3. As her pregnancy progressed, Plaintiffs medical difficulties worsened. This prompted Plaintiff to further restrict her work schedule by requesting even shorter shifts and taking [1171]*1171fewer shifts per week. On March 2, 2009, as her due date approached, Plaintiff took a three-month medical leave of absence. ECF No. 45 at ¶ 2.19. She subsequently delivered her child on April 7, 2009.

Plaintiff returned from medical leave on June 10, 2009. ECF No. 34 at ¶ 5; ECF No. 45 at ¶ 2.21. One week later, Rite Aid began periodically assigning Plaintiff to cover shifts at locations other than the Franklin Park store. Rite Aid’s attendance records indicate that, from June 4, 2009 to August 13, 2009, Plaintiff was assigned to shifts at other locations on 10 out of 29 total workdays. ECF No. 50 at 8. Throughout this period, Plaintiff requested several days off for both personal and ongoing pregnancy-related reasons. ECF No. 34 at ¶¶ 6-8; ECF No. 45 at ¶ 2.23.

In mid-August 2009, Rite Aid changed the business hours of the Franklin Park store from being open 24-hours a day, seven days per week, to being open only from 8:00 a.m. to midnight each day. ECF No. 34 at ¶ 10; ECF No. 45 at ¶ 1.10. This scheduling change reduced the number of shifts and work hours available to pharmacists assigned to the Franklin Park store. Krimmer Deck, ECF No. 37, at ¶ 13. Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff was formally assigned to Rite Aid’s “float team,” meaning that her work location would vary from shift to shift according to the needs of individual stores in the eastern Washington region.2 The reasons for this transfer are sharply disputed. Rite Aid asserts that the change was designed to more easily accommodate Plaintiffs frequent requests for medical and personal leave (see ECF No. 34 at ¶¶ 11-14). Plaintiff insists that she was transferred in “retaliation” for having requested frequent medical leave due to her pregnancy. Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-2, at Tr. 288.

Within two weeks of being assigned to the float team, Plaintiff informed Rite Aid that she was unwilling to travel to stores located outside of Spokane. ECF No. 38-2 at 36-37. Plaintiffs reasons for limiting her travel are disputed. Plaintiff asserts that she was unwilling to make lengthy commutes from Spokane to places like the Tri-Cities and Moses Lake because she “had a brand new baby at home.” Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-1, at Tr. 141. Rite Aid maintains that Plaintiff simply “did not like driving outside Spokane.” ECF No. 46 at 2; Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-2, at Tr. 167. In addition, Plaintiff informed Rite Aid that she preferred not to work on Sundays for religious reasons. ECF No. 38-2 at 36-37; Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-2, at Tr. 164-65.

Plaintiff worked on the float team during the months of August, September and October 2009. During this time, Plaintiff was unable to obtain enough scheduled work hours — an average of 35 hours per week — to be considered a full-time employee. ECF No. 34 at ¶ 17; ECF No. 45 at ¶ 1.17. As a result, Plaintiff became ineligible to receive health insurance benefits offered by her employer. ECF No. 45 at ¶ 2.28. She also experienced a reduction in her monthly income due to the fact that she was working fewer hours. Finding these circumstances to be unacceptable, Plaintiff resigned her employment at the end of October 2009. Lee Dep., ECF No. 41-3, at Tr. 216-17.

In an attempt to convince Plaintiff to change her mind, Rite Aid offered Plaintiff an assignment as a “pharmacist in charge” of its store on the South Hill in Spokane. Krimmer Decl., ECF No. 37, at ¶ 20. By [1172]*1172Rite Aid’s account, this assignment was a “trial period.” In its view, if Plaintiff wanted to keep the position, she would need to “commit to working a regular rotating schedule that included working every other weekend (including Sundays), working every other holiday, and not constantly seeking to have her work schedule changed to fit her personal desires for time off.” Krimmer Decl., ECF No. 37, at ¶¶ 19-20.

Plaintiff understood the offer somewhat differently. In her view, the offer was simply made with the caveat that she could not take as much “time off.” Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-2, at Tr. 313. Plaintiff interpreted this to mean that Rite Aid “didn’t want to deal with [her] missing work” for medical reasons. Lee Dep., ECF No. 38-2, at Tr. 313-14. Apparently willing to accept these terms, Plaintiff began working as a full-time pharmacist at the South Hill store on November 1, 2009. ECF No. 34 at ¶ 21.

Over the next two months, Plaintiff requested a number of scheduling accommodations for both medical and personal reasons. Rite Aid contends that the majority of these requests were personal in nature, such as attending a funeral, taking time off for the Christmas holiday, and participating in a church function. ECF No. 34 at ¶¶ 22, 24, 26-27. It further alleges that Plaintiff made unilateral changes to her assigned shifts without consulting the other full-time pharmacist assigned to the store. ECF No. 34 at ¶¶ 22-24, 27.

Plaintiff, for her part, insists that the majority of her requests for time off during this two-month period were medical in nature. While she acknowledges taking time off for the personal reasons above, she maintains that most of her leave was taken to care for a back injury (purportedly caused by the weakening of her abdominal muscles during pregnancy) and to take her infant son to various doctor’s appointments. ECF No. 45 at ¶¶ 1.25, 2.37. Plaintiff further denies unilaterally changing the store’s work schedule, explaining that she did in fact consult with the other pharmacist before making any changes. ECF No. 45 at ¶ 1.22-1.24, 1.27.

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

Related

Russell v. T-Mobile USA Inc
W.D. Washington, 2025
Bultena v. Wash. State Dep't of Agric.
319 F. Supp. 3d 1215 (E.D. Washington, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
917 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2013 WL 141585, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4785, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lee-v-rite-aid-corp-waed-2013.