Ransom v. State of Arizona Board of Regents

983 F. Supp. 895, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20080, 1997 WL 732622
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedOctober 22, 1997
DocketCIV. 95-821 TUC ACM
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 983 F. Supp. 895 (Ransom v. State of Arizona Board of Regents) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ransom v. State of Arizona Board of Regents, 983 F. Supp. 895, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20080, 1997 WL 732622 (D. Ariz. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

MARQUEZ, Senior District Judge.

Eileen Ransom, an employee of the University of Arizona, sues Defendant the State of Arizona Board of Regents for violating the American Disabilities Act (ADA), the Federal Rehabilitation Act (FRA), the Arizona Civil Rights Act (ACRA) and for wrongfully terminating her in violation of public policy. She sues the other Defendants in their individual and official capacities for violations of the ACRA and for wrongfully terminating her employment in violation of public policy. She also sues the individual Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Plaintiff suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and myofascial pain syndrome 1 which disables her from performing the heavy word processing duties of the full-time administrative secretary position she held at the College of Nursing. When Plaintiff became unable to perform her job at the College of Nursing even with the many accommodations provided by the Defendant, she requested reassignment to a position with lighter word processing demands. The Uni-versify considered Plaintiff’s request pursuant to its general transfer policy that all employees, including those with disabilities, must compete for job reassignments through the competitive hiring process. Plaintiff was not reassigned and her employment was terminated.

Plaintiff files a Partial Motion for Summary Judgment challenging the Defendants’ policy as applied to disabled persons seeking accommodation under the ADA. Defendants make intra departmental transfers or reassignments at the discretion of the department head, but employees must compete with all qualified applicants for interdepartmental transfers or reassignments. Defendants argue that the ADA merely ensures equality, not preference to disabled employees, and that Plaintiff was treated no differently from any other employee whose job was eliminated. Therefore, as a matter of law, its policy does not violate the ADA, the ACRA, or the FRA Defendants also argue that the individually named Defendants are not employers within the meaning of ACRA and that the comprehensive remedial schemes of the ADA and FRA foreclose the Plaintiff’s § 1983 claim. Lastly,- Defendants seek summary judgment on Plaintiff’s claim of retaliation, but Plaintiff abandoned it. 2 Therefore, the Court need not consider that issue here.

A. Standard on Summary Judgment

On summary judgment, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, if the Court determines that in the record before it there exists “no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an *899 otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A material fact is any factual dispute that might affect the outcome of the case under the governing substantive law. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. A factual dispute is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the dispute in favor of the nonmoving party. Id.

The moving party, bears the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, but is not. required to support its motion with affidavits or other similar materials negating the opponent’s claim. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A party opposing a motion for summary judgment cannot rest upon mere allegations or denials in the pleadings or papers, but instead must set forth specific facts demonstrating a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. “If evidence is merely colorable ... or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.” Eisenberg v. Insurance Co. of North Am., 815 F.2d 1285, 1288 (9th Cir.1987). In determining whether to grant summary judgment, the Court views the facts and inferences from these facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 577, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1351, 89 L.Ed.2d 538, (1986).

The Judge’s role on a motion for summary judgment is not to determine the truth of the matter or to weigh the evidence, or determine credibility, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. A genuine issue of material fact exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id. The inquiry mirrors the standard for a directed verdict: whether the evidence presented reveals, a factual disagreement requiring submission to a jury or whether the evidence is so one sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. Id.

B. As a Matter of Law, Defendants’ Reassignment Policy that a Qualified Employee with a Disability Seeking Reassignment as an Accommodation under the ADA Must Apply for and Compete with all Other Applicants for a Vacant Position, Violates the ADA the FRA and the ACRA. 3

The ADA defines a “qualified individual with a disability” as “an individual with a disability, who with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.” 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8). Reasonable accommodation may include “job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified- readers or interpreters and other similar accommodations for individuals with *900 disabilities.” 42 U.S.C. § 12111(9)(B) (emphasis added),

“Discrimination under the ADA includes ‘not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability ... unless [the employer] can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose undue hardship on the operation of the business of [the employer].’” United States v. City and County of Denver, 943 F.Supp. 1304, 1310 (D.Colo.1996) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A)).

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983 F. Supp. 895, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20080, 1997 WL 732622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ransom-v-state-of-arizona-board-of-regents-azd-1997.