Patrece R. Edwards-Bradford v. WK Kellogg Co.

District Court, W.D. Tennessee·Decided August 11, 2026·No. 2:25-cv-02454·Unknown

Opinion

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

PATRECE R. EDWARDS-BRADFORD, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) No. 2:25-cv-02454-SHL-cgc v. ) ) WK KELLOGG CO., ) ) Defendant. ) ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiff Patrece Edwards-Bradford instituted this pro se action against Defendant WK Kellogg Co. on April 25, 2025, alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). (ECF No. 2.) Kellogg filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on April 9, 2026. (ECF No. 24.) On July 13, 2026, United States Magistrate Judge Charmiane Claxton entered a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”), recommending that Kellogg’s summary judgment motion be granted. (ECF No. 29.) The Parties had fourteen days, until July 27, 2026, to file objections to the R&R, and neither did so within that period. (Id. at PageID 462.) However, seventeen days after the R&R was filed, Edwards-Bradford filed Specific Objections to the Report and Recommendation, requesting de novo review and lodging eight objections. (ECF No. 30.) Because the R&R correctly concludes that Kellogg is entitled to summary judgment, even when reviewed de novo in part, the R&R is ADOPTED IN FULL and Kellogg’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. I. BACKGROUND Because Plaintiff did not comply with Federal Rule 56 or Local Rule 56.1 in responding to Kellogg’s Statement of Undisputed Facts, the R&R recommends treating Kellogg’s asserted facts as undisputed for the purposes of ruling on the Motion. As explained below in Part III, the Court agrees and ADOPTS the R&R’s conclusions of fact.

The R&R finds that Kellogg’s Memphis Plant employs about 300 employees who are represented by the Bakery, Confectionary Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union, Local 252G, in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) with Kellogg. (ECF No. 29 at PageID 455.) Pursuant to that CBA, plant employees can “bid” into certain roles based on skills and seniority. (Id.) When an employee needs work restrictions, the plant’s Environmental, Health & Safety (“EHS”) Managers try to find a role for them that accommodates their restrictions. (Id.) For instance, some employees with restrictions “perform office work, cleaning, or working the ‘star wheel.’”1 (Id. (citing ECF No. 24-6 at PageID 336).) However, when no suitable substitute work exists, an employee is placed on leave. (Id.)

Plaintiff Edwards-Bradford began her employment with Kellogg on September 4, 2001, as a Tank Room Operator. (ECF No. 29 at PageID 455.) In 2009, she bid into a role in the Carton & Glue department and worked there for several years. (Id.) She first reported medical- related work restrictions in 2019 because of a back injury—as a result, Kellogg accommodated her and assigned her “sedentary work and other tasks.” (Id.) Plaintiff worked under these restrictions until mid-2020. (Id.)

1 Kellogg refers to the star wheel as a piece of production equipment, the operation of which is a “primarily sedentary task[].” (ECF No. 24-6 at PageID 336.) Then, in July 2022, Plaintiff again reported restrictions. Under these new restrictions, she could lift, push, or pull, no more than ten pounds, which the R&R finds was “much less than the requirements for her job in the Glue & Carton department.” (Id. at PageID 456.) Therefore, when positions were open, EHS managers assigned Plaintiff to modified Tank Room Operator work or the star wheel, and if they were not open, managers placed her on leave. (Id.) The R&R

finds that, between July 2022 and February 2023, Plaintiff’s restrictions varied, including weight-lifting restrictions (ranging from seven and a half pounds to twenty-five pounds) and limitations on squatting or standing. (Id.) On January 5, 2023, Plaintiff was re-assigned to the Tank Room under lifting restrictions. (Id.) Because Plaintiff could only lift items up to a certain weight, Kellogg required Plaintiff’s Tank Room coworkers to lift items for her. (Id.) Further, because similar accommodation for overtime hours was not consistently available in other departments, Plaintiff’s overtime hours were strictly limited to Tank Room work. (Id.) For over a month, she worked overtime hours ranging from six to forty-eight hours per week. (Id.)

On February 16, 2023, Plaintiff’s physician updated her restrictions, stating that she should “[c]ontinue working as a tank room operator with no repetitive lifting, no lifting greater than 25lbs until further advised.” (Id. (quoting ECF No. 24-6 at PageID 372).) Kellogg complied with the doctor’s direction. This arrangement eventually led to dissatisfaction, and, on April 3, 2023, Plaintiff filed a grievance asserting that Kellogg should allow her to work overtime hours in other departments, which would violate the push and pull restrictions specified in her doctor’s note. (Id.) For support, Plaintiff argued that, previously, her supervisor had assigned her work “that went against her restrictions.” (Id. (citing ECF No. 24-4 at PageID 94).) Kellogg investigated the grievance and dismissed it. Afterwards, Plaintiff tried bidding into a “Floors” job, but was denied because of the February 16 work restrictions. (Id.) On July 31, 2023, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging disability-based discrimination. (Id. at PageID 457.) The EEOC declined to proceed with her claim and issued her right-to-sue notice on January 28, 2025. (Id.)

On April 25, 2025, Plaintiff filed this action pro se, alleging that Kellogg violated Title VII and the ADA. (ECF No. 2.) Specifically, she alleges that Kellogg discriminated against her because of disability by failing to accommodate her. She further alleges that Kellogg unlawfully retaliated against her. (Id. at PageID 4.) On April 9, 2026, Kellogg filed the present Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing that there exists no genuine dispute of material fact and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (ECF No. 24.) Plaintiff responded in opposition to the Motion on May 6, 2026. (ECF No. 25.) However, that response is infirm under Local Rule 56.1(b) and Federal Rule 56, as it does not

clearly respond to or dispute the enumerated assertions in Kellogg’s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e); LR 56.1(b)(3).2 Generally, Plaintiff contends that

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Patrece R. Edwards-Bradford v. WK Kellogg Co., (W.D. Tenn. 2026).

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