Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.

921 F. Supp. 767, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3750, 67 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 43,929, 1996 WL 156851
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedFebruary 7, 1996
Docket1:94-cv-02847
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 921 F. Supp. 767 (Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 921 F. Supp. 767, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3750, 67 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 43,929, 1996 WL 156851 (N.D. Ga. 1996).

Opinion

ORDER

VINING, Chief Judge.

The plaintiff filed the instant action, alleging that the defendant suspended and terminated her in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”). This matter is currently before the court on the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, this court GRANTS the defendant’s motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The plaintiff, Marianne Rich, was hired by the defendant, Delta Air Lines, Inc., as a domestic flight attendant in June 1987. For each flight on her schedule, the plaintiff was required to report to the airport before the scheduled departure time. This is generally referred to as one’s “sign-in” or “report time.” Depending upon the particular flight, the plaintiff was required to sign-in either sixty or ninety minutes prior to departure time. The time that a plane stops at the gate at the destination airport is referred to as the “block-in” time.

After working an assigned flight, the plaintiff would either remain at the airport to work another flight or be “released” from duty. Subsequent to working an assigned flight and after the plane had “blocked-in,” the plaintiff would occasionally perform some brief duties, such as saying good-bye to and thanking passengers as they deplaned. According to the plaintiff, when she did have to perform these deplaning duties, she would spend approximately twenty to thirty minutes engaged in such activities. She also asserts that on at least five occasions she was required to stay on board her last flight of the day, after it had blocked-in, to be “debriefed” by the flight crew. In addition, the plaintiff and the defendant’s other flight attendants were also required by the defendant to attend jet recurrent training on an annual basis.

The duty hours of flight attendants are comprised of those hours between their “sign-in” at the beginning of the day through the time that their last flight blocks-in. The defendant maintains written hours of service *771 records for each flight attendant which identify the number of hours worked by a flight attendant, commencing when the flight attendant first “signs-in” until the time of arrival of her last flight of the day. The defendant does not, however, maintain records of the time between a flight attendant’s last “block-in” time and his or her release time. Consequently, the time that the plaintiff and other flight attendants spent assisting in deplaning activities after their last flight, engaged in flight crew “debriefing” sessions, and in jet recurrent training is not officially recorded by the defendant.

During the plaintiffs employment tenure with the defendant, she was absent from work on a number of occasions. The plaintiff was absent from work for a significant number of days from 1988 to 1991 due to various work-related injuries. Neither the plaintiff nor the defendant asserts that these absences have any relevance to this action. However, from August 1993 until April 1994, the plaintiff missed quite a few more days from work. She asserts that these absences were due to serious medical illnesses, inter alia, a chronic respiratory tract infection, inflammation of the gums, and pelvic endometriosis and dysplasia of the cervix, all of which she contends are covered and protected by the FMLA. On April 23, 1994, the plaintiff was suspended without pay by the defendant upon the written recommendation of her immediate supervisor, Jackie Owens, for her excessive absenteeism and for allegedly falsifying a doctor’s certificate to explain one of her absences. She was subsequently terminated by the defendant on May 20, 1994, for these same reasons. The plaintiff contends that the absences upon which the defendant based its suspension and termination decisions qualify under the FMLA as acceptable leave time. Accordingly, she asserts that the defendant unlawfully interfered with her protected rights to take FMLA leave by suspending and terminating her.

II. LEGAL DISCUSSION

A. The Legal Standard

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes summary judgment when all “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The party seeking summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating that no dispute as to any material fact exists. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 156, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Bingham, Ltd. v. United States, 724 F.2d 921, 924 (11th Cir.1984). The moving party’s burden is discharged merely by “ ‘showing 1 — that is, pointing out to the District Court — that there is an absence of evidence to support [an essential element of] the nonmoving party’s case.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining whether the moving party has met this burden, the district court must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Bradbury v. Wainwright, 718 F.2d 1538, 1543 (11th Cir.1983). Once the moving party has adequately supported its motion, the nonmovant then has the burden of showing that summary judgment is improper by coming forward with specific facts showing a genuine dispute. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, it is not the court’s function to decide genuine issues of material fact but to decide only whether there is such an issue to be tried. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The applicable substantive law will identify those facts that are material. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. Facts that in good faith are disputed, but which do not resolve or affect the outcome of the case, will not preclude the entry of summary judgment as those facts are not material. Id.

Genuine disputes are those by which the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant. Id. In order for factual issues to be *772 “genuine” they must have a real basis in the record. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356.

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921 F. Supp. 767, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3750, 67 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 43,929, 1996 WL 156851, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rich-v-delta-air-lines-inc-gand-1996.