Black v. Swift Pork Co.

655 F.Supp.3d 776

Raymond BLACK, Plaintiff, v. SWIFT PORK COMPANY d/b/a JBS, Defendant.

No. 4:21-cv-00365-JEG-SBJ

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division

Signed February 7, 2023

David Ronald Albrecht, Amy Rachelle Beck, Fiedler Law Firm PLC, Johnston, IA, for Plaintiff.

Christine E. Bestor Townsend, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Milwaukee, WI, Charlotte McEwen, Pro Hac Vice, Jonathon Michael Watson, Pro Hac Vice, Tara Ann Bailes, Pro Hac Vice, Spencer Fane LLP, Denver, CO, Randi Joy Winter, Pro Hac Vice, Spencer Fane LLP, Minneapolis, MN, Wesley T. Graham, Duncan Green PC, Des Moines, IA, for Defendant.

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

JAMES E. GRITZNER, Senior Judge

This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 25, filed by Defendant Swift Pork Company (Swift Pork). Plaintiff Raymond Black (Black) resists. ECF No. 31.¹ Swift Pork filed a reply. ECF No. 34. Both parties requested oral argument. After reviewing the record, the Court determined oral argument was not necessary to resolve the issues adequately presented in the briefing. ECF No. 41. The motion is ready for disposition.

I. BACKGROUND²

Swift Pork operates a pork processing plant in Ottumwa, Iowa, where it employs approximately 2,500 workers. During the period relevant to this case, Black was employed by Swift Pork as a mechanic in the Ottumwa plant's maintenance department. Swift Pork fired Black after he left the plant in the middle of his shift on June 16, 2020. In this lawsuit, Black contends Swift Pork's termination of his employment violated his rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654.

A. Swift Pork's Policies

Swift Pork maintains a written attendance policy applicable to all employees at the Ottumwa plant. Under the policy's "nofault" framework, employees who miss work incur "points" for their absences, regardless of the reason. Attendance Policy—Def.'s App. 54, ECF No. 25-3. Gaining too many points in a twelve-month period triggers progressive discipline, up to automatic termination. Among other provisions, the attendance policy requires employees to remain at the plant for the duration of their scheduled shifts. Leaving a shift early is considered "job abandonment (voluntary resignation)" unless an employee has the permission of a supervisor. Id. Between January 2017 and June 2020, Swift Pork terminated 145 employees for leaving work without permission.

Swift Pork also maintains a written employee handbook for production and maintenance workers at the Ottumwa plant. The handbook features a leave of absence policy, which includes information regarding FMLA leave.³ A section of the policy entitled "Notice of Leave" provides:

If your need for family/medical leave is foreseeable, you must give the Company at least 30 days prior written notice. Failure to provide such notice may be grounds for delay of leave. In cases where the need for leave is not foreseeable, you are expected to notify the Company as soon as possible, generally within 1 to 2 business days of learning of your need for leave. The Company has Request for Family/Medical Leave forms available from the Human Resources Department. You must use these forms when requesting leave.

Id. at 84. Notwithstanding, the parties agree that Swift Pork employees requesting FMLA leave for a scheduled shift may notify the company by calling a hotline at least 30 minutes prior to their shift and selecting "FMLA" using touch tone numbers. These employees must then complete an FMLA reporting form within 48 hours of their return to work. Approved FMLA leave does not count towards an employee's attendance points.

B. Black's FMLA Leave

Black's wife, Janet, suffers from severe cardiovascular disease. In September 2017, Black began requesting intermittent FMLA leave to provide care for Janet. Black supplied Swift Pork with a certification form completed by Janet's doctor, who stated Janet would need Black's help with transportation for medical appointments or emergency treatment approximately four times per month for up to two days at a time. Janet's doctor also certified that she would need assistance with "transportation" and "help [with] medications [and] oxygen" in the event of "hospitalizations." FMLA Certification—id. at 35.

Swift Pork approved Black to take intermittent FMLA leave up four times per month for two days per episode. Between September 2017 and June 2020, Black took FMLA leave to care for Janet on 158 occasions. All but three of these absences were for full-day shifts.

C. Black's Termination

According to his job description, Black's duties as a mechanic at Swift Pork's Ottumwa plant included repairing and maintaining equipment throughout the facility, carrying out preventative maintenance, responding to radio calls for mechanical issues, and performing related maintenance tasks as assigned by his supervisor. Black typically worked in the upper cut area of the plant on a machine called the loin puller, which is used to cut the loin, ribs, and bacon off a hog. The loin puller is a critical component on Swift Pork's production line. If it malfunctions, production must be stopped until the machine is repaired.

In May 2020, Black contracted walking pneumonia. He took twelve days of paid leave and fifteen days of unpaid medical leave to recover.⁴ While Black was out sick, Swift Pork's plant engineer, John White, directed Black's supervisor, Patrick Griffith, to begin cross-training other employees on the loin puller.

On June 16, 2020, Black returned to work. He arrived at the plant around 7:45 a.m. At that time, Griffith asked Black to take maintenance calls in the lower cut production area. Black asserts that he waited in the lower cut area for two hours before being told to inspect the plexi-glass dividers installed between production workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Black eventually learned that another mechanic was training on the loin puller, he confronted Griffith. According to Black, Griffith told him other employees were being trained because "John [White] wanted somebody that was here all the time." Black Dep. 105:24—id. at 74, ECF No. 25-3. Black alleges that when he denied responsibility for being out with pneumonia, Griffith responded "no, before that." Black Dep. 106:2—id. at 75. Swift Pork alleges Black cursed at Griffith for moving him off the loin puller. Black denies cursing. There is no dispute that when Griffith expressed uncertainty about Black's future work assignment, Black replied that he would "take a vacation until you guys can figure it out." Black Dep. 106:4-5—id.

Black proceeded to Swift Pork's Human Resources office, where he filled out a form requesting five days off—the balance of his accrued vacation—to begin the following day. Black presented the form to Griffith, but Griffith refused to approve the request without advance notice. Black then took the form to White, who was meeting with Assistant Plant Engineer Ron Hesse. Both White and Hesse declined to sign Black's form. Next, according to Black:

I walked out, and I probably stood there for a few minutes. And my wife was home sick, and I just went to [Griffith], and I said, "My wife is not feeling very good, and I'm going home." And he said, "Okay." So I went and put up my tools and everything and went home on FMLA.

Black Dep. 87:22-88:2—id. at 70. The parties do not dispute that Black informed Griffith that he intended to use FMLA leave for the remainder of his shift. However, Swift Pork denies that Griffith gave Black permission to leave the plant. According to Swift Pork, Griffith told Black to take his FMLA request to Human Resources, but Black simply walked out.

Black left the plant sometime after 10:30 a.m. He spent the rest of June 16th at home with his wife. The next day, June 17th, Black asserts he requested FMLA leave for his full scheduled shift using Swift Pork's call-in system. On June 18th, Black called in sick but did not request FMLA leave. He was then placed on a leave of absence.

On Friday, June 19th, Human Resources Director Zenna Boyd and Plant Manager Joe Mach met with Black to discuss his early departure on June 16th. The following Monday, June 22nd, Boyd called Black to notify him that his employment had been terminated for leaving the plant without permission. The parties disagree whether Boyd and Mach were aware during the June 19th meeting that Black had invoked the FMLA when leaving the plant on June 16th. The parties also dispute whether it was Boyd or Mach who ultimately determined to terminate Black.

D. Procedural History

Black's union grieved his termination pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. During the grievance process, Swift Pork offered to reinstate Black to a different position, but Black declined. On October 18, 2021, Black filed this action in the Iowa District Court for Wapello County alleging Swift Pork had terminated his employment in violation of the FMLA. He asserts claims for FMLA interference and FMLA discrimination.⁵ Swift Pork timely removed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1441(a).

On October 7, 2022, Swift Pork filed its instant Motion for Summary Judgment seeking dismissal of Black's lawsuit in full. Swift Pork contends Black's interference claim must fail as a matter of law because Black did not seek leave for an FMLA-qualifying reason on June 16th, because he received all of the leave to which he was entitled, and because he was terminated for a reason unrelated to his use of FMLA leave. Swift Pork further argues that Black's discrimination claim must fail because Black did not engage in protected activity, because he cannot show a causal connection between his termination and FMLA-protected activity, and because he cannot rebut Swift Pork's non-discriminatory reason for terminating his employment. Black resists, arguing genuine and material factual disputes require trial on each of these issues.

II. DISCUSSION

"Summary judgment is proper ...