Spiteri v. AT & T Holdings, Inc.

40 F. Supp. 3d 869, 30 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 854, 2014 WL 4055220, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113412
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedAugust 15, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-cv-11806
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 40 F. Supp. 3d 869 (Spiteri v. AT & T Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Spiteri v. AT & T Holdings, Inc., 40 F. Supp. 3d 869, 30 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 854, 2014 WL 4055220, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113412 (E.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (ECF NO. 13)

PAUL D. BORMAN, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendants AT & T Holdings, Inc. and Michigan Bell Telephone Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 13.) Plaintiff filed a Response (ECF No. 18) and Defendants filed a Reply (ECF No. 25). The Court held a hearing on June 18, 2014. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff claims that his employer, Defendant Michigan Bell Telephone Company 1 (“Michigan Bell”), terminated him because he engaged in protected activity under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “the Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Plaintiff claims that he engaged in protected activity when he refused to work additional hours at the end of his scheduled shift to make up for time he was permitted to be off task during the work day to stand and/or walk as an accommodation for his disabling back pain. Plaintiff also claims that Michigan Bell violated the Michigan Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act (“PWDCRA”), Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.1101 et seq., by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation for his disability. In response to Plaintiffs FLSA claim, Michigan Bell argues that Plaintiff has (1) failed to demonstrate that he complained to Michigan [871]*871Bell about a violation of the FLSA, (2) failed to show that the underlying conduct about which he complains, i.e. having to make up his accommodation break time, violated the Act and (3) failed to demonstrate the his termination was causally related to his alleged protected activity. With regard to Plaintiffs claims under the PWDCRA, Michigan Bell argues that Plaintiff was offered and refused a reasonable accommodation.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff generally accepts Michigan Bell’s submission of undisputed facts. (PL’s Resp. 3.) Plaintiff was hired by Michigan Bell on April 22, 2001 as an installation technician. (Def.’s Mot. Ex. 32, December 11, 2013 Deposition of David Spiteri 17.) On December 10, 2009, Plaintiffs installation position was declared unnecessary due to a surplus of technicians and Plaintiff was offered, and accepted, a position as a dispatcher in Michigan Bell’s Southfield, Michigan call center, working an 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift five days a week. Id. at 18-19, 20-21, 28. The dispatcher job is sedentary and involves fielding calls from and making calls to customers to set up service appointments. Id. at 21. Plaintiff held the dispatcher position until December 20, 2011, when Plaintiff was terminated for job abandonment. Id. at 126.

Michigan Bell has a policy to address employee requests for accommodations due to medical conditions. (Def.’s Mot. Ex. 31, February 19, 2014 Declaration of Gale Piner ¶ 7, Ex. A.) Pursuant to that Policy, an employee seeking a medical accommodation must direct the request to the AT & T Integrated Disability Service Center (“IDSC”), which assigns an accommodation specialist to the employee’s case. Plaintiff was aware of this Policy, through which the employee is required to provide medical documentation supporting the request which is then reviewed by the IDSC specialist who determines whether the proposed restrictions are medically substantiated and determines whether accommodations can be made, and continues to monitor the case until the need for accommodation ceases to exist. Id.

On April 25, 2011, Plaintiff requested time off due to “extreme lower back pain,” and stated in an email to the scheduling department that he would be applying for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). (PL’s Dep. 48; Def.’s Mot. Ex. 4.) Plaintiff did take FMLA leave until May 16, 2011, when he returned to work and immediately emailed the scheduling department to say he was leaving early again due to back pain, recommencing his FMLA leave. (PL’s Dep. 48-49; Def.’s Mot. Ex. 31, Piner Decl. ¶ 8, Ex. B.)

On May 20, 2011, Dr. Sidhu wrote a note in support of Plaintiffs medical need for time off work, indicating that Plaintiff could return to work on June 13, 2011, without restrictions. (Def.’s Mot. Ex. 6; PL’s Dep. 58-59.) In a subsequent note dated June 3, 2011, another physician in Dr. Sidhu’s group wrote a note stating that Plaintiff was released to return to work on June 13, 2011, with the restriction of “no prolonged sitting for 6 weeks.” (Def.’s Mot. Ex. 5; PL’s Dep. 50-52.)

On June 13, 2011, when Plaintiff returned to work he met "with Attendance Manager Gale (Edwards) Piner who explained the accommodations that Michigan Bell was willing to make. Under the •terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) governing Plaintiffs employment, Plaintiff was entitled to two 15-minute paid rest breaks and an unpaid meal break. Plaintiff was offered the opportunity to take additional break time in addition to the two 15-minute compensated breaks and his meal break so that he [872]*872could walk or stand intermittently throughout the day. Plaintiff also would be given a sii/stand desk option at his workstation.

Plaintiff concedes that Michigan Bell provided him with the extra break time and that the ability to take those extra breaks adequately accommodated his back pain. (Pl.’s Dep. 83, 121.) However, Michigan Bell conditioned the extra break accommodation on Plaintiff working an additional number of hours every day equal to the time spent on his periodic breaks that were in addition to the two company-paid 15-minute breaks. Plaintiff felt that requiring him to “make up” this extra break time was “unfair.”

Plaintiff also concedes that Michigan Bell provided him with a sit/stand work station that was designed to permit him to sit or stand while working, but Plaintiff claims that the sit/stand desk never functioned properly and required him to hunch over to use his keyboard. He reported this lack of functionality to Piner shortly after receiving the desk. (PL’s Dep. GIGS, 65-66, 73.) Plaintiff concedes that had the sit/stand desk functioned properly, it would have adequately accommodated his need to stand, stretch and avoid prolonged periods of sitting, as his doctors recommended: “[P]roviding Spiteri with a working stand/sit station would have served as a reasonable accommodation.” (PL’s Resp. 11.) (Emphasis in Original.)

At the June 13, 2011 meeting with Plaintiff, Piner explained to Plaintiff the terms of the proposed accommodations and documented Plaintiffs response:

I informed David that I have received his accommodations of frequent breaks, and a sit/stand work station. I explained to David that the department was able to accommodate this 'request as follows: I informed David that however much time that he takes during the day, that time will need to be made up at the end of his shift, daily. David stated that he could not do that, because he would be here until Midnight. I stated to David that this is the way that we accommodate for frequent breaks. David stated that he talked to the Union, and they stated that he did not have to make up the time. I stated to David that for frequent breaks, the time will need to be made up. David stated that was unfair, and he also stated that he could not use the sit/stand workstation. I stated to David that I had to find a sit/stand for him, and that was the only one that was available. David said he would get back to me, regarding his accommodations.

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40 F. Supp. 3d 869, 30 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 854, 2014 WL 4055220, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113412, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spiteri-v-at-t-holdings-inc-mied-2014.