Deily v. Waste Management of Allentown

118 F.Supp.2d 539

Kris DEILY, Plaintiff, v. WASTE MANAGEMENT OF ALLENTOWN, Defendant.

No. CIV.A. 00-1100.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

October 23, 2000.

Donald P. Russo, Bethlehem, PA, for Plaintiff.

Erica A. Watkins, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

LOWELL A. REED, Jr., Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Kris Deily brought this action against defendant Waste Management of Allentown under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq. ("ADA"), the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 951, et seq. ("PHRA"), the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601, et seq. ("FMLA"), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001, et seq. ("ERISA"), and Pennsylvania common law. Defendant has filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Document No. 5). For the following reasons, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

Background¹

Plaintiff Deily claims that defendant fired him for illegitimate reasons from his job as a truck driver in 1997. Plaintiff had worked for defendant and its predecessor in interest since 1987, during which time he was out of work on two occasions, once in 1990-91 because of a skin condition called Sweet's Syndrome that causes red nodules to appear on the skin, and again in 1995 due to a work-related hernia. Plaintiff last worked for defendant on June 25, 1996, and thereafter filed a request for leave under FMLA, claiming he was unable to work because he suffered from schizophrenia. Plaintiff never returned to work, and he was not terminated until June 25, 1997, one year after he last worked for defendant. According to his complaint, plaintiff received notice of his termination on December 15, 1997.

Plaintiff then brought this action, and defendant now seeks to dismiss most of the counts in the complaint on the ground that each fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Specifically, defendant argues that it is apparent on the face of the complaint that plaintiff failed to timely exhaust his administrative remedies as to some of his claims, and failed to file this action within the appropriate statute of limitations as to other claims. Defendant also argues that summary judgment is appropriate on plaintiffs ERISA claim.

Analysis

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure tests the sufficiency of the complaint. See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). The Court must determine whether the plaintiff is entitled to relief under any set of facts consistent with the allegations of the complaint. See Piecknick v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 36 F.3d 1250, 1255 (3d Cir.1994). In deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the factual allegations in the complaint must be accepted as true and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom must be viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See id. A court may, however, also consider matters of public record, orders, exhibits attached to the complaint, and items appearing in the record of the case. See Oshiver v. Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, 38 F.3d 1380, 1384 n. 2 (3d Cir.1994). A motion to dismiss should only be granted if "it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984).

The statute of limitations may be the basis for a motion to dismiss, provided the complaint on its face shows noncompliance with the applicable limitations period and the affirmative defense clearly appears on the face of the pleading. See Oshiver, 38 F.3d at 1384 n. 1; 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1357, at 299 (2d ed. 1990).

Count I—ADA Claim

Defendant argues that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under the ADA in a timely fashion. In order to properly exhaust his ADA claim, plaintiff was required to file a "charge" with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days of the date the last "unlawful employment practice." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (e).²

The parties offer dueling characterizations of the relevant events and their dates. Defendant argues that the last unlawful employment practice was plaintiffs termination, which took effect on June 25, 1997, and that plaintiff did not file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC until October 19, 1998, long after the 300 days had passed. Thus, defendant contends, plaintiff failed to exhaust his ADA claim in a timely fashion, and plaintiffs ADA claim should be dismissed. Plaintiff counters that the last unlawful employment practice was defendant's effort to secure his signature on a general release on June 8, 1998, and that plaintiffs submission of EEOC intake questionnaires on July 16, 1998 constituted the filing of a charge for the purpose of the 300-day limitations period.

Each party gets it partially right. Defendant is correct that the event that started the clock on plaintiffs 300 days was his termination, not defendant's delivery of the general release. The relevant event in this case must be an "unlawful employment action." The general release could not have been an "unlawful employment action" because the release was offered to plaintiff long after his employment had ended. Furthermore, I find nothing amiss in the general release.³ Plaintiff's contention that the release requires plaintiff to waive future rights and to waive the right to file a charge with the EEOC or PHRC is unfounded. The release does not involve a waiver of future rights; it waives only causes of action arising out of plaintiff's past, terminated employment with defendant. I read the reference in the release to rights "which may exist in the future" to apply to new causes of action arising out of a change in law, not to future factual circumstances that may give rise to a discrimination claim. Furthermore, the release simply prevents plaintiff from filing suit and recovering damages for employment discrimination; it says nothing about filing charges with administrative agencies or cooperating in investigations by such agencies.

Settlement agreements and general releases are not inherently violative of the ADA, Title VII, or any other federal civil rights statute. On the contrary, such agreements are to be encouraged, as they provide a fair, reliable, cost-efficient means of resolving discrimination cases short of litigation. See Carson v. American Brands, Inc., 450 U.S. 79, 88 n. 14, 101 S.Ct. 993, 67 L.Ed.2d 59 (1981). My research revealed no instances of a court concluding that a settlement agreement or general release constitutes an unlawful employment practice and therefore a violation of the ADA.⁴ Therefore, I conclude that the presentation of the general release to plaintiff was not an unlawful employment action and did not violate the ADA.

Thus, it is not the date of plaintiff's receipt of the general release, but the date of plaintiff's termination that is the effective date for purposes of starting the 300-day filing period. There is a question, however, as to when plaintiff discovered that he had been terminated. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that the discovery rule—under which a limitations period is tolled until plaintiff knows or reasonably should know of his or her injury—is applicable in federal discrimination cases. See Oshiver, 38 F.3d at 1385-86 (discussing Title VII) (citing Cada v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 920 F.2d 446 (7th Cir.1990)). Here, plaintiff has averred that he did not discover his June 25, 1997, termination until he was notified of it by defendant on December 15, 1997. Drawing all inferences in favor of the plaintiff, then, I conclude, for the purposes of this motion only, that the last discriminatory act took place when plaintiff claims he was notified of his termination, on December 15, 1997.

Plaintiff's argument prevails, however, on the date of the filing of the charge. Plaintiff filed a formal charge of discrimination with the EEOC on October 19, 1998, which was 304 days after December 15, 1997, and therefore not timely. (Defendant's Exh. 2, Charge of Discrimination, Oct. 19, 1998.) However, on July 16, 1998, plaintiff filed two forms with the EEOC—an ADA Intake Questionnaire, and an Allegation of Employment Discrimination form—and he argues that these documents should suffice to toll 300-day limitations period. (Plaintiffs Exh. A, ADA Intake Questionnaire; Allegations of Employment Discrimination.) I am persuaded by plaintiff's argument. Both documents adequately spelled out plaintiff's claims, and both were signed by plaintiff. The latter document was submitted under oath, and plaintiff checked a box on that form labeled "I want to file a charge of discrimination." There is a substantial body of case law among the district courts of this circuit and in the other circuits to support plaintiff's contention that a timely filed intake questionnaire either constitutes an official charge or tolls the 300-day limitations period. See Ricciardi v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 2000 WL 1456736 at 2 (E.D.Pa. Sept. 29, 2000) (filing of intake questionnaire tolls 300-day limitations period); Bullock v. Balis & Co., Inc., 1999 WL 527792 at 2 (E.D.Pa. July 22, 1999) (intake questionnaire constitutes official charge for statutory filing purposes) (citing Peterson v. City of Wichita, 888 F.2d 1307, 1309 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 495 U.S. 932, 110 S.Ct. 2173, 109 L.Ed.2d 502 (1990); Casavantes v. California State Univ., 732 F.2d 1441, 1443 (9th Cir.1984); Price v. Southwestern Bell Tel., 687 F.2d 74, 78 (5th Cir.1982)); but see Gulezian v. Drexel Univ., 1999 WL 153720 at 3 (E.D.Pa. Mar. 19, 1999) (intake questionnaire insufficient where EEOC advises grievant that more information is necessary).⁵

Having established that...