Legg v. Ulster County

820 F.3d 67, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 741, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 7589, 129 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 37, 100 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 45,539, 2016 WL 1637993
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedApril 26, 2016
Docket14-3636 (L)
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 820 F.3d 67 (Legg v. Ulster County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Legg v. Ulster County, 820 F.3d 67, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 741, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 7589, 129 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 37, 100 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 45,539, 2016 WL 1637993 (2d Cir. 2016).

Opinion

BARRINGTON D. PARKER, Circuit Judge:

Ann Marie Legg, a corrections officer at the Ulster County Jail, appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Scullin, J.) dismissing her claim against Ulster County and former Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum for pregnancy discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k) (“PDA”). Legg claims that the County unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of her pregnancy when it denied her request for an accommodation under its light duty policy, pursuant to which only employees injured on the job were eligible for light duty assignments. The district court granted the defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law at .the close of Legg’s direct case, reasoning that the policy could not be discriminatory because it was facially neutral with respect to pregnancy.

While this appeal was pending, the Supreme ' Court decided Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., — U.S. -, 135 S.Ct. 1338, 191 L.Ed.2d 279 (2015). Young held that an employer’s facially neutral accommodation policy gives rise to an inference of pregnancy discrimination if it imposes a significant burden on pregnant employees that is not justified by the employer’s non-discriminatory explanation. We conclude that Legg has presented sufficient evidence to support a pregnancy discrimination claim under Young and therefore vacate the judgment in part and remand with instructions to conduct a new trial.

The defendants appeal from post-judgment orders denying their motions for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial on Patricia Watson’s claim of a sex-based hostile work environment. The district court, without objection, initially granted the defendants an extension of time to file their post-trial motions. However, after the motions were filed, the court denied them for want of jurisdiction, believing that it had lacked authority under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(2) to grant an extension and that the time limitations are jurisdictional. We conclude that the district court erred in denying the motions for want of jurisdiction and that, although it lacked authority under Rule 6(b)(2) to grant an extension, it had discretion to consider whether the plaintiffs waived compliance with the rule or whether an equitable exception applied. Accordingly, we vacate the post-judgment orders and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

Legg began working as a corrections officer for the Ulster County Jail in 1996. At the time, the County maintained a policy under which employees injured on the job were eligible for light duty assignments, defined as clerical and other duties that would not aggravate the employee’s condition. Under Sheriff VanBlarcum’s implementation, the policy did not apply to pregnant employees because their condition did not result from a line-of-duty injury. Consequently, pregnant employees’ *71 only options were to continue working full duty, use accrued sick, vacation, or personal time, or take Family and Medical Leave Act or disability leave.

After a 'number of pregnancy-related complications, Legg became pregnant in 2008. Because the pregnancy was high risk, her doctor recommended that she work light duty and provided a note, on July 8, stating that she was “able to work at this time but shouldn’t have direct contact with inmates.” Joint App’x at 923. VanBlarcum directed Undersheriff Frank Faluotico to deny her request to accommodate her doctor’s recommendation. On July 10, Faluotico informed Legg that “[e]mployees are afforded light duty assignments at the Sheriffs discretion for work-related injuries/illnesses only,” and she therefore had “the option of being reevaluated by [her] attending physician and returning to work full duty capacity as a Correction Officer or [to] utilize accrued time (sick, vacation, personal) and file for [New York State] Disability benefits.” Id. at 925. Faluotico requested that Legg notify him of her response as soon as possible.

Later that day, Legg received a call from Lieutenant Jon Becker, who said that he would take care of her by assigning her to light duty positions if she obtained a revised doctor’s note stating that she was able to work. Legg submitted a new note that day indicating that she was “able to work with no restrictions.” Id. at 924.

For a time, Legg was assigned to light duty tasks as promised. By August, however, she was gradually required to work with inmates again. While working in a cell block in November, by then approximately seven months pregnant, Legg came upon two inmates fighting in the bathroom and was bumped as one ran past her. As a result of this incident, she left work and did not return until after she gave birth.

After Legg returned to work, she brought this action against the County and several of its officials, including VanBlar-cum, alleging that the denial of her request for an accommodation amounted to pregnancy discrimination in violation of Title VII. Legg, Watson, and two other female corrections officers also asserted claims for, among other things, a sex-based hostile work environment in violation of Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The suit proceeded to trial and, at the close of Legg’s direct case, the defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50 on the ground that all employees who had “outside line-of-duty disabilities” were treated the same under the light duty policy. Joint App’x at 674. The district court granted the motion, explaining that in requiring that the injury arise when the employee is on duty, the policy “applied across the board to everyone,” “[a]nd when the policy applies across the board to everybody, there’s no discrimination.” Id. at 675-76. The remaining claims were submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict in Watson’s favor on her hostile work environment claim but in the defendants’ favor otherwise.

After the jury was excused, the defendants indicated that they intended to file post-trial motions and the district court, without objection from the plaintiffs, set a deadline of two weeks from the date that the defendants received the transcript. On August 20, 2014, the court entered final judgment, and on November 5, less than two weeks after receiving the transcript, the defendants filed their post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b) and, alternatively, for a new trial under Rule 59(b). The next day, the district court denied the motions as untimely, concluding that although the defendants had been granted an extension, they -were nonetheless required to file *72 their Rule 50(b) and Rule 59(b) motions no later than 28 days after the entry of judgment, and under Rule 6(b)(2) these deadlines were jurisdictional.

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820 F.3d 67, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 741, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 7589, 129 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 37, 100 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 45,539, 2016 WL 1637993, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/legg-v-ulster-county-ca2-2016.