Arndt v. Ford Motor Co.

BRADLEY A. ARNDT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 17-1415

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

December 13, 2017

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION

File Name: 17a0685n.06

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Before: GUY, MOORE, and ROGERS, Circuit Judges.

RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Bradley Arndt appeals from the entry of summary judgment in favor of his former employer Ford Motor Company with respect to his claims that Ford refused to accommodate his disability, failed to engage in the interactive process in good faith, and constructively discharged him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Michigan's Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA). See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a); MICH. COMP. LAWS § 37.1203. Arndt contends that the district court erred in concluding that no reasonable juror could find in his favor with respect to those claims. See Arndt v. Ford Motor Co., 247 F. Supp. 3d 832 (E.D. Mich. 2017). For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I.

Bradley Arndt, a 24-year veteran of the United States Army, was diagnosed with service related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Ford hired Arndt in August 2012 as a Process Coach supervising hourly employees at its Van Dyke Transmission Plant. Arndt supervised workers in the "clean room" where controls were assembled by employees who wear lab coats and protective eyewear. Arndt performed well, as was reflected in the year-end performance review he received for 2012.

a. First Request for Accommodation (February 2013)

In February 2013, symptoms of Arndt's PTSD caused him to miss a day of work and prompted him to inquire about bringing his service dog "Cadence" to work with him. Arndt approached his supervisor Vito Evola, who was initially receptive to the idea. Arndt then sent an email inquiry to Stephanie Roseman, his HR representative at the time, explaining that he had PTSD, that service dogs are trained to calm people with PTSD, and that his service dog was highly trained and carried "a certification with the ADA." Roseman responded that she would look into it and provided Arndt with the form to formally request accommodation.¹

On February 26, 2013, Arndt returned the "Disability Reasonable Accommodation Request" asking that he "be able to bring [his] service dog to work." Arndt attached a letter similar to his earlier email to Roseman, which included the following description of the functions his service dog would provide:

He is trained to sense when an anxiety or panic attack is going to happen, then he is able to guide me and direct me to a quiet calmer place, he is trained to keep people at an arm[']s length from my location, he also watches behind me to keep people from startling me as to not set off a trigger from me, provide Tactile Stimulation during intense moments of stress and panic, and "Watch my back,["]he also provides a great deal of comfort and security when he is near, thus giving me the utmost confidence to perform my job.

Also, in answer to the question about what job functions, if any, he was having difficulty performing, Arndt indicated that his PTSD sometimes causes him to miss work.

On March 13 or 14, 2013, Arndt met with the plant physician, Arthelia Brewer, M.D., to discuss his accommodation request. Dr. Brewer's records from that visit: (1) reflected that Arndt reported his diagnosis of PTSD; (2) noted Dr. Brewer's intention to work with human resources to find accommodation, while adding that there were health and safety concerns with allowing a dog in the manufacturing area; and (3) stated that a release of information form was "given to employee for completion to allow verbal and written communication with the social worker, psychologist and psychiatrist at the VA." Although Arndt disputes some of the details of their conversation, he testified that Dr. Brewer commented on his extensive resume and said that there would surely be a position that could accommodate his PTSD at the Van Dyke Plant or perhaps in Dearborn. Arndt admits he expressed concern to Dr. Brewer that working in Dearborn could cause PTSD-related flashbacks because of the large Arab population in the area.

On March 15, 2013, Arndt went to Roseman upset and repeated his concern about the possibility of having to work around the large Arab population in Dearborn. Arndt also told Roseman that he had been hired as a production supervisor—not to work in the "Glass House" in Dearborn (i.e., Ford World Headquarters). According to Roseman, Arndt added that he did not want to sign the medical release for Dr. Brewer. Roseman encouraged Arndt to see the process through, but there is no dispute that Arndt not only verbally withdrew his request but also formally retracted it in an email sent later that same day.²

In the wake of the retraction, Roseman sought "advice on how to proceed from here" from Maria Conliffe, Ford's Manager of Equal Employment Planning. Roseman then sent Arndt an email on April 2 stating: "The Van Dyke Transmission Plant is interested in moving forward with the ADA process in an attempt to accommodate you, but we will need medical information and authorization from you for our Medical Department to evaluate and assist with the accommodation." Arndt relies heavily on this email—referring to it as the "moving forward" email—to show that Ford considered his request to be an open matter notwithstanding his express retraction. But Arndt concedes that he never responded to the email, maintaining that he never received it. Arndt also did not approach Roseman about pursuing his accommodation request after all or otherwise reversing his retraction. As the district court concluded, there was no evidence that any further action was taken by either Arndt or Ford with respect to the February 2013 request for accommodation. See Arndt, 247 F. Supp. 3d at 838.

b. Two Periods of Medical Leave (6-weeks and 4-months)

Arndt was off work beginning on April 2, 2013, for what would become an approved six-week medical leave necessitated by his PTSD. At the time, Arndt told his treating psychologist Carol Lindsay-Westphal, Ph.D., that his worsened symptoms made him "fear that he may lose his temper unexpectedly and hurt someone." There is no dispute, however, that Arndt's symptoms subsided such that Dr. Lindsay-Westphal released him to return to work without restrictions on May 20, 2013.

Arndt returned to his position in the clean room, where he worked until he was moved to a Process Coach position in Machining in early October 2013. Arndt began reporting to Steve Sowers and worked in Machining for several weeks monitoring productivity from an office area on the plant floor, walking the plant floor periodically, and supervising nine hourly employees. Around this time, Arndt reported to Dr. Lindsay-Westphal that he was concerned about his "chronic anger and readiness to act in an aggressive manner at signs of provocation" and that he feared he might hurt someone at work. After Arndt initiated a second leave effective October 23, 2013, Dr. Lindsay-Westphal advised Unicare (Ford's disability provider) that Arndt needed leave due to a worsening of his symptoms of PTSD. Arndt did not return to work when the initial period of leave expired in December 2013, but an extension was later approved and disability benefits were provided through February 20, 2014.

Arndt contends that—instead of "moving forward" with his previous request for accommodation—Ford was improperly scrutinizing his attendance records and plotting to replace him. Arndt relies on internal emails produced in discovery to show: that Ford gathered information about his attendance and leave records in December 2013; that Ford sent notice to Arndt about the expiration of his approved leave in January 2014; and that communications with Arndt resulted in the approval of additional leave and an anticipated return date of February 15, 2014. However, even reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Arndt, bad faith cannot be inferred from this evidence.

The emails also reflect that Ford learned from a telephone conversation with Arndt that he might ask to return to work with his service dog. That possibility was communicated internally, and prompted the observation from one Ford employee that Ford was "still in need of the signed medical authorization form so that [the] company physician can better understand his condition, how it prevents him from doing his job and how the accommodation will assist." But the fact that this information prompted discussions that referred to the previously withdrawn request does not show that the prior request was considered open notwithstanding its express retraction and the absence of any further action with respect to the prior request. Further, although Arndt faults Ford for not contacting him then to get a signed authorization, Arndt was still on approved leave and had not been released back to work with or without restriction.

Finally, Arndt points to an internal email from January 2014 that he argues indicates that the plant wanted to know when they could replace him. The HR specialist responded "March 26," which was the date that Arndt's FMLA leave rights would expire. That exchange was followed by the circulation of a resume from Ron Kincer, a retired Ford employee, who was hired on a contract basis to do Arndt's job as of February 17, 2014. Arndt argues that this is evidence that Ford was plotting to get rid of him. However, Ford offered unrebutted evidence that the area was operating short four of its seven process coaches—including Arndt—and that Kincer was hired on a supplemental hourly contract basis and not as a replacement for any regular employee.

c. Return with Restriction and Request for Accommodation (February 2014)

On February 21, 2014, Arndt reported to the plant's medical...