Vindacak v. Potter

81 F. App'x 721
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedNovember 26, 2003
Docket02-7158
StatusUnpublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 81 F. App'x 721 (Vindacak v. Potter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vindacak v. Potter, 81 F. App'x 721 (10th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Plaintiff appeals the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of defendant, the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service (USPS), on plaintiffs disability discrimination claims. Because plaintiff has not shown that he was an individual with a disability when the events challenged in this appeal occurred, we affirm.

Plaintiff worked for the USPS from sometime in 1983 until December 1998. In the fall of 1997, plaintiff was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, which caused him to miss work for an extended period of time. When he returned, he continued to work full time from 5:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. as a timekeeper.

In May 1998, the USPS abolished plaintiffs timekeeper position and allocated the duties to other employees, reassigning plaintiff to a night shift position — boxing and casing mail from 2:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Because he had difficulty sleeping during the day, plaintiffs arthritis flared up during the two night shifts he attempted to complete. On May 27, 1998, plaintiff provided a note from his doctor stating that he should not work before 5:00 a.m. and that he should have two consecutive days off. The USPS changed plaintiffs hom*s to 5:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., which did not permit him to work a full day. Plaintiff was required to make up the remaining hours through use of his sick leave and annual leave.

In June 1998, plaintiff filed an administrative appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board. Plaintiff challenged his May 1998 reassignment as both a placement on enforced leave and a constructive suspension, alleging that his reassignment constituted discrimination on the basis of a disability. The Board dismissed his appeal in March 1999 for lack of jurisdiction. See SuppApp. at 5-15.

Plaintiff also brought a union grievance in June 1998, claiming that the elimination of his timekeeper position violated the collective bargaining agreement between USPS and postal workers. The labor arbitrator who eventually received the grievance ruled that the timekeeper position should not have been abolished and award *723 ed plaintiff back pay for the hours he would have worked at the timekeeper position until his date of retirement in 1999. See Aplt’s App. at 106-07.

In September 1998, the USPS reassigned plaintiff to a position requiring him to operate a sorting machine from midnight until 8:30 a.m. Because of his medical restrictions, plaintiff worked only from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and made up the remaining hours by using his leave. In December 1998, on the advice of his physician and psychiatrist, plaintiff ceased work. He applied for and received a disability retirement in February 1999.

In October 1999, plaintiff filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, alleging that the USPS’s failure to accommodate him in June 1998 constituted discrimination on the basis of his disability. See Supp.App. at 16-18. Plaintiffs EEOC complaint did not raise a retaliation claim. Id. In January 2000, the EEOC issued plaintiff a right to sue letter. In March 2002, plaintiff brought this employment discrimination and retaliation action against the USPS pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e through § 2000e-17, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 791 and § 794a. He also sought damages for violation of his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and § 1983. In November 2002, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant on all claims. The court found (1) that plaintiff was not disabled at the time of his reassignment because he was not substantially limited in his ability to work and (2) that plaintiffs retaliation claim failed because his previous grievance rested on a violation of the collective bargaining agreement rather than disability discrimination.

On appeal, plaintiff argues only that the evidence raises a factual dispute regarding whether he had a disability entitling him to accommodation by the USPS. We review the grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as that used by the district court. Woodman v. Runyon, 132 F.3d 1330, 1337 (10th Cir.1997). Summary judgment is appropriate only if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

As a USPS employee, § 501 of the Rehabilitation Act is the exclusive remedy for plaintiffs claim of disability discrimination. See 29 U.S.C. § 791; Johnson v. United States Postal Serv., 861 F.2d 1475, 1477 (10th Cir.1988). A plaintiff makes out a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act by showing that (1) he is a disabled person within the meaning of the Act, (2) he is otherwise qualified for the job, and (3) he was discriminated against because of his disability. Wells v. Shalala, 228 F.3d 1137, 1144 (10th Cir.2000); Woodman, 132 F.3d at 1338. Because the Rehabilitation Act incorporates the standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, see 29 U.S.C. § 791(g), decisions under both Acts apply interchangeably to our analysis. See Woodman, 132 F.3d at 1339 n. 8.

In his brief, plaintiff argues that he was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis in 1997 and that at the time of his 2001 deposition the arthritis significantly limited his abilities to walk, sleep, eat, dress, bathe, get in and out of bed, and go to the restroom. See Aplt. Br. at 8. He argues that this evidence raised a factual dispute regarding whether he was disabled. However, our inquiry is whether plaintiff had a disability when he asked for accommodation in 1998, not whether he has since become disabled. Cf. Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 482-83, 119 S.Ct. 2139, 144 L.Ed.2d 450 (1999) (explaining that a person requesting accommodation

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81 F. App'x 721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vindacak-v-potter-ca10-2003.