Felts v. DeJoy

1

MICHAEL L. FELTS, Plaintiff, v. LOUIS DEJOY, U.S. Postmaster; CHRISTOPHER YAZZIE, Postmaster Albuquerque, Defendants.

No. 1:21-cv-00370-LF-KK

United States District Court, D. New Mexico

September 17, 2022

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Laura Fashing United States Magistrate Judge

This matter comes before the Court on defendants Louis DeJoy and Christopher Yazzie's Motion to Dismiss and for Partial Summary Judgment. Doc. 19. Plaintiff Michael L. Felts opposes the motion. Doc. 23. Having considered the parties' submissions and the relevant law, the Court GRANTS the motion in part and DENIES it in part.

I. Factual Background

In ruling on a motion to dismiss under FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) the Court must accept as true all facts alleged in the complaint. See Smith v. United States, 561 F.3d 1090, 1098 (10th Cir. 2009). It also must view these factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See id. Viewing the facts^[1] alleged in the complaint in this manner, the relevant facts are as follows:

Plaintiff Michael L. Felts worked for the United States Postal Service (USPS) for 33 years. See Doc. 10 ¶ 10. From May 13, 2017, to January 31, 2019, he was employed as a Manager Customer Service with the USPS. Id. ¶ 8. Mr Felts lived and worked in Albuquerque, New Mexico. See id. ¶ 3. Defendant Christopher Yazzie served as the Postmaster of the main post office in Albuquerque. See id. ¶ 6.

In July 2017, Mr. Felts became ill and subsequently suffered a series of serious medical conditions, including tumor, hernia, lung nodes, insomnia, stress/anxiety, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Id. ¶¶ 15, 44. Mr. Felts notified Postmaster Yazzie, MCSO (Manager, Customer Service Operations) Janelle Aragon, and Linda Hernandez of his condition, and kept them informed of the status of his condition between July 2017 and February 2018. Id. ¶¶ 17, 19, 44. After Mr. Felts notified Postmaster Yazzie of his condition, Postmaster Yazzie became hostile toward Mr. Felts. Id. ¶ 18. Postmaster Yazzie incessantly admonished Mr. Felts, embarrassed Mr. Felts on teleconferences^[2] in front of his peers, increasingly issued Mr. Felts “fact findings” and “warnings with discipline,” and claimed without basis that Mr. Felts was failing “to perform to the standards.” Id.

In November 2017, Mr. Felts advised someone-presumably someone at the USPS-that he was dealing with extreme stress and anxiety, that he was very ill, and that he needed to take time off from work. Id. ¶ 20. In December 2017, Postmaster Yazzie issued Mr. Felts a Letter of Warning (LOW) for an alleged failure by his assigned station to make eight proper scans. Id. ¶ 23. The acting Officer in Charge expunged the LOW from Mr. Felts' record because he determined that Mr. Felts was disciplined for something that another coworker was not disciplined for. Id. ¶ 24.

At some point during the first five months of 2018,^[3] Mr. Felts requested reasonable accommodation for his condition, and MCSO Aragon approved a change to Mr. Felts' schedule that allowed him to work 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Id. ¶ 25; see also Doc. 19-1 ¶ 11. Mr. Felts was not required to attend the morning teleconferences. Id.

In February 2018, Mr. Felts was diagnosed with a thyroid tumor and lung nodes, which required him to take additional time off. Doc. 10 ¶ 21. Mr. Felts informed Postmaster Yazzie and MCSO Aragon of his diagnosis. Id. ¶ 22. Mr. Felts was away from work on FMLA protected leave for about four weeks. Id. ¶¶ 26, 27.

When Mr. Felts returned to work, he learned of a Postmaster position that had opened in Farmington. Id. ¶ 28. Mr. Felts applied for the position on April 4, 2018, in part because he wanted to get away from Postmaster Yazzie's “continued harassing and hostile conduct.” Id.; see also Doc. 19-2 at 2 (stating date of application). Mr. Felts was interviewed for the Farmington Postmaster position on April 17, 2018, Doc. 19-2 at 2, but he was not hired, Doc. 10 ¶ 29; Doc. 19-2 at 2. Suzie Yarbro, the “MPOO” (Manager Post Officer Operations) and hiring official, told Mr. Felts he was not hired because she did not believe that Mr. Felts would be “available.” Doc. 10 ¶ 29. Postmaster Yazzie had made the same statement about Mr. Felts. Id. MPOO Yarbro was the attendance control officer for the Albuquerque area and had access to Mr. Felts' medical and attendance records. Id. ¶ 31. She also had discussed the open Postmaster position with Postmaster Yazzie. Id. Michael Korbas was selected as Postmaster of Farmington effective May 12, 2018. Doc. 19-3.

In May 2018, Mr. Felts again became ill and was away from work for two weeks. Doc. 10 ¶ 32. In June, Mr. Felts was undergoing psychiatric treatment and prescription modifications which had debilitating side effects. Id. ¶ 33. In response, Postmaster Yazzie required Mr. Felts to attend the daily teleconferences beginning at 7:15 am, even though Mr. Felts was supposed to be “on respite” and despite his modified work schedule. Id.; Doc. 19-1 ¶¶ 13, 14; Doc. 23-2 at 3.

On October 1, 2018, Postmaster Yazzie ordered Mr. Felts to conduct interviews of job applicants beginning at 8:00 am. Doc. 10 ¶ 34. Mr. Felts later was removed involuntarily from his station based on Postmaster Yazzie's allegations that he had failed to follow instructions and had delayed the mail. Id. The same day, Postmaster Yazzie berated Mr. Felts on the 3:30 pm Postmaster group teleconference by saying that Mr. Felts “couldn't do his job.” Id. ¶ 35. Postmaster Yazzie called in a supervisor to close Mr. Felts' assigned station, demanded his postal identification, and removed Mr. Felts from his station for a week. Id. ¶ 36. No explanation was provided, and no discipline was issued. Id.

When Mr. Felts returned to work, Postmaster Yazzie changed Mr. Felts' work schedule and told him another manager would be brought in to handle the opening duties through the holidays. Id. ¶ 37. The new work schedule was a significant departure from the one Mr. Felts had coordinated with MCSO Aragon. Id.

On October 20, 2018, Postmaster Yazzie ordered all managers, including Mr. Felts, to go to their postal stations at 4:00 pm. Id. ¶ 38; see also Doc. 19-1 ¶ 15 (stating that “Yazzie told all managers to be in the office to open their station, which meant that [Mr. Felts] needed to be in at 0500”). Mr. Felts told Postmaster Yazzie that he would not be able to attend because of his medical restriction. Id. Postmaster Yazzie threatened Mr. Felts with discipline if he did not attend. Id. Mr. Felts consequently drove to the main post office, but he was sent home when he arrived. Doc. 10 ¶ 39; Doc. 19-1 ¶ 15. This exacerbated his symptoms. Id.

A month later, on November 20, 2018, Postmaster Yazzie asked Mr. Felts at the 3:00 pm teleconference what time the rural routes would return. Doc. 10 ¶ 40. Mr. Felts told him it would be about 9:00 pm. Id. “Postmaster Yazzie then berated and belittled Mr. Felts on the telecom for undetermined reasons.” Id. After the teleconference, Mr. Felts called Postmaster Yazzie and told him that he would exceed his time restrictions because of the 9:00 pm rural route return, and he asked him for help in closing the station. Id. ¶ 41. Postmaster Yazzie asked Mr. Felts why he was calling him, and he told Mr. Felts to call the AM manager. Id. He also changed Mr. Felts' duty hours to 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Id. Mr. Felts was the only supervisor “chastised and demoralized” during the management teleconferences, and this increased after Mr. Felts became ill and used approved FMLA leave and was given reasonable accommodations. Id. ¶ 43.

Postmaster Yazzie “constantly” forced Mr. Yazzie to work past his medical hour restrictions. Id. ¶ 42. On November 21, 2018, Postmaster Yazzie ordered Mr. Felts to bring in the last mail carrier by 8:30 pm, whether the mail was delivered or not. Id. He then threatened to return Mr. Felts to his regular hours and to continue to discipline him, saying that he “didn't care what kind of deal” Mr. Felts had made with MCSO Aragon. Id. Five days later, Mr. Felts requested leave through December 2018. Id. ¶ 46. Mr. Felts first contacted an EEO counselor on December 6, 2018. Doc. 19-4. At the end of December, Mr. Felts requested and received approval to take annual leave through January 2019 because of Postmaster Yazzie's constant threats and changes to the schedule. Doc. 10 ¶ 47. On January 31, 2019, Mr. Felts retired from the USPS under duress because of the “the continued and unending conduct by USPS employees.” Id. ¶ 48.

II. The First Amended Complaint and Defendants' Motion

In Count I of his first amended complaint, Mr. Felts alleges that the USPS and Postmaster Yazzie interfered with his Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a). Doc. 10 ¶¶ 49-65. In Count II, Mr. Felts alleges that the USPS and Postmaster Yazzie retaliated against him for taking FMLA leave, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a). Doc. 10 ¶¶ 66-80. In Counts III and IV of his first amended complaint, Mr. Felts alleges that the USPS and Postmaster Yazzie discriminated against him and retaliated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. Doc. 10 ¶¶ 81-109. In Count V, Mr. Felts alleges that the USPS and Postmaster Yazzie discriminated against him because of his disability, in violation of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq. Doc. 10 ¶¶ 110-30.

In their motion, defendants first argue that the Court should dismiss all FMLA claims that are clearly outside the three-year statute of limitations. Doc. 19 at 6-7. They also argue that Mr. Felts fails to state a claim for interference or retaliation under the FMLA. Id. at 8-18. Defendants urge the Court to dismiss Mr. Felts' claims under...