Poe v. Waste Connections United States, Inc.

371 F. Supp. 3d 901
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedMarch 7, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 17-6014 RJB
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 371 F. Supp. 3d 901 (Poe v. Waste Connections United States, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Poe v. Waste Connections United States, Inc., 371 F. Supp. 3d 901 (W.D. Wash. 2019).

Opinion

ROBERT J. BRYAN, United States District Judge

This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. 42. The Court has considered the pleadings filed in support of and in opposition to the motion and the file herein.

This case arises from an employment dispute between the Plaintiff Miriam Poe and her former employer. Dkt. 1. The Plaintiff makes claims for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. 12101, et. seq. , the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 42 U.S.C. 12101, et. seq. , the Washington Law Against Discrimination ("WLAD"), RCW 49.60, et. seq. , the Washington Family Medical Leave Act ("WFMLA"), RCW 49.78, et. seq. , and for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. Dkt. 15.

The Defendants now move for summary judgment. Dkt. 42. The Plaintiff opposes the motion for summary judgment, in part, and voluntarily dismisses her claims against Defendant Waste Connections US, Inc. and her claim for wrongful discharge. Dkt. 48. The Plaintiff's claims against Waste Connections US, Inc. and her claim for wrongful discharge should be dismissed with no further analysis. For the reasons provided below, the motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 42) should be granted, in part, and denied, in part.

*905I. RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. FACTS

The Plaintiff began work for Defendant Murrey's Disposal Company, Inc. ("Murrey's") in 1989 and worked until 1992. Dkt. 50, at 2. After a break, she returned to Murrey's in 2004, becoming an accounts' receivable clerk in 2006, this time staying until May 4, 2017. Id.

The Plaintiff has suffered severe depression and anxiety most of her adult life. Dkt. 50, at 1. Her symptoms worsened with the death of her husband in 2011, the death of both her brothers in 2015 and 2016, and with the death of her mother in 2017. Dkt. 50, at 2. The Plaintiff asserts that some of the main symptoms of her depression are negativity and unhappiness. Id.

The Plaintiff's direct manager, Rio Molina, who knew of the Plaintiff's depression, noticed the Plaintiff's negativity and unhappiness. Dkt. 49, at 73-74. Ms. Molina states that the Plaintiff was not pleasant to be around, reporting that the Plaintiff would repeatedly say, "I hate this place," about Murrey's. Id. In the fall before the events at issue here occurred, Ms. Molina began to keep notes on the Plaintiff, and only the Plaintiff. Dkt. 49, at 82. Ms. Molina explains that she was "looking for patterns of behavior" like "being difficult to work with," being "combative," "not following direction," "not being a team player" all of which could "constitute a write-up at some point." Dkt. 49, at 82. Ms. Molina acknowledges that she intended to use this document at some point to attempt to terminate the Plaintiff's employment with Murrey's or at least be grounds for the Plaintiff to leave Ms. Molina's team. Dkt. 49, at 82-85. Another manager, Andrea Ditzler, who was not aware of the Plaintiff's depression, also felt that the Plaintiff was difficult to work with, noting the Plaintiff had a "negative attitude at work," was not "willing to be a part of a team and to contribute," "always giving an attitude." Dkt. 49, at 135. Ms. Ditzler noticed the Plaintiff would roll her eyes, slam papers around, give people a "nasty attitude if they asked her to do something," ignore people, intimidate others, and talk badly about her work, the company and her pay. Dkt. 49, at 140. Ms. Ditzler, Ms. Molina and the District Manager, Mark Gingrich, would meet regarding the difficulty people were having dealing with the Plaintiff and would try to come up with tactics to deal with her. Dkt. 49, at 141-142.

The Plaintiff attempted suicide in February of 2017. Dkt. 50, at 3. As a consequence, she went on medical leave from February 9, 2017 to May 4, 2017. Dkt. 43-1, at 12. While on leave, the Plaintiff received mental health treatment in the form of medication and therapy. Dkt. 50, at 3. Her goal was to "better [her] mental condition and prepare to return to work." Dkt. 50, at 3. The Plaintiff states that it was her "intention to return to full-time work at Murrey's as soon as [she] was able to do so."Id. During this time, the Plaintiff applied for, and received, surviving spouse benefits from the Social Security Administration. Dkt. 49, at 26. She did not apply for disability benefits for her mental health condition. Id. She did not want to work part-time permanently because she needed health insurance and other benefits. Id. , at 27.

All of the FMLA leave that she requested was approved. Dkt. 43-1, at 26. She communicated with Murrey's managers Mr. Gingrich and Ms. Ditzler about her medical leave and return to work because Ms. Molina was on maternity leave. Dkt. 49, at 113 and 138-139.

*906According to Mr. Gingrich, he and the Plaintiff talked on the phone sometime before April 8, 2017. Dkt. 45, at 1. He asserts that she told him she may possibly resign because she was seeking Social Security benefits; she expressed concern that the Social Security benefits would not be sufficient income, however. Id. , at 2. Mr. Gingrich agreed to, and did, contact human resources for her by email regarding possible alternative sources of income and benefits. Id.

Also in early April, the Plaintiff and her health care providers began to consider her return to work, starting on a part-time basis. Dkt. 49, at 62, and 181-182. Her doctor, Geoffrey O. McNicoll, M.D., planned to return her to work full time, after seeing how well she tolerated part-time work. Dkt. 49, at 181-182. Her mental health counselor, Cheri Rohlman, states that the Plaintiff wanted to return first to work part time, then go full time, but the Plaintiff felt she was too old to work overtime. Dkt. 49, at 60. Plaintiff's response to the new mental health medication was also a factor in the timeframe for her return to full time work. Dkt. 49, at 34-35. On April 24, 2017, Dr. McNicoll signed a Fitness for Duty Certification form for the Plaintiff, indicating under the "restrictions" section that the Plaintiff could return to work on May 2, 2017 for "[two] days per week." Dkt. 49, at 174. While the form asked for the duration of any restrictions, none was provided on the form. Id. According to Dr. McNicoll, he assumed she would return to work full-time, but they would have had to assess that after she worked part-time for a while. Dkt. 49, at 163.

A few days after Dr. McNicoll signed her Fitness for Duty Certification form, the Plaintiff and Murrey's manager Mr. Gingrich met on April 27, 2017 to discuss her return to work. Dkt. 49, at 28 and 115. No one else was present for the meeting. Id. The Plaintiff asserts that she gave Mr. Gingrich her Fitness for Duty Certification and he asked her how long the two-day-per week restriction would last. Dkt. 49, at 29. The Plaintiff states that she told him that she couldn't give him a specific date. Id.

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371 F. Supp. 3d 901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/poe-v-waste-connections-united-states-inc-wawd-2019.