Franklin v. City of Slidell

969 F.Supp.2d 644

Troy Reginald FRANKLIN

v.CITY OF SLIDELL, et al.

Civil Action No. 12–1940.

United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana.

Aug. 27, 2013.

Troy Reginald Franklin, Slidell, LA, pro se.

Lawrence Emerson Abbott, Nancy Brechtel, Cotten, Schmidt & Abbott, LLP, New Orleans, LA, Leah Taschek Therio, Cowan & Lemmon, L.L.P., Hahnville, LA, for City of Slidell, et al.

ORDER AND REASONS

CARL J. BARBIER, District Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. 43), filed by Defendants, the City of Slidell and six of its employees. Plaintiff has filed an opposition (Rec. Doc. 44). The Defendants' motion was set for hearing, on the briefs, on June 19, 2013. Having considered the motion and legal memoranda, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the Defendants' motion should be GRANTED IN PART for reasons explained more fully below.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND BACKGROUND FACTS

On July 26, 2012, Plaintiff, Troy Franklin, filed the instant pro se employment discrimination lawsuit. (Compl., Rec. Doc. 1) Plaintiff is an African–American male who was formerly employed by the City of Slidell as a senior corrections officer in the Slidell Police Department. (Compl., Rec. Doc. 1, p. 1; Pl.'s Opp. to City Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss, Rec. Doc. 12, p. 1) As a senior corrections officer, Plaintiff's job duties included: responsibility for maintaining and controlling the Slidell City jail, supervising all personnel in Slidell's Corrections Division, ensuring proper functioning and usage of the Division's equipment by all personnel, and controlling and searching prisoners.¹ (Slidell Police Dep't Job Description, Ex. A to Def.'s Mtn. for Summ. J., Rec. Doc. 43–4) Plaintiff also had arrest powers and authority to carry a firearm in the course a scope of his employment. Id.; (Klein Aff., Rec. Doc. 43–17, p. 2, ¶ 7) Physical requirements of senior corrections officers included being able to restrain a violent suspect. Id. The job description also notes that senior corrections officers must have the ability to “determine the appropriate method of action to take should a riotous or volatile situation occur in the jail,” and “on occasion may be in highly dangerous situations.” Id.

On December 10, 2008, at Franklin's request, the City referred him to the Employee Assistance Program for counseling. Id. On April 20, 2009, Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC alleging that he faced racial discrimination and retaliation for opposing practices made illegal under Title VII. On June 15, 2009, at Plaintiff's request, Plaintiff began twelve weeks of paid medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) after providing the City with a note from his physician, Dr. Jose Lefran, diagnosing post traumatic stress syndrome. Id. On August 21, 2009, while still on paid medical leave, Plaintiff appeared at the U.S. Attorney's Office at the Federal Courthouse in New Orleans and refused to leave. Id. According to the U.S. Marshal's report of the incident, Plaintiff “wished to report to the USA office issues with his ranking officer/supervisor at the Slidell Police Department making threats against the lives of he and his family ...” Id. Ultimately, the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) was contacted and officers escorted Plaintiff to University Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Id. The NOPD report states that the Court Operations Supervisor feared for Plaintiff's safety as well as the safety of members of the Slidell Police Department. Id. The U.S. Marshal's report of the incident states that “[Plaintiff] appeared to be emotionally disturbed and was extremely upset.” Id. The U.S. Marshal's Office and the NOPD notified the Slidell Police Department of the incident. Id. On September 4, 2009, Plaintiff's FMLA leave ended. Id. On September 21, 2009, Plaintiff's treating psychiatrist, Dr. Larry Warner, advised that Plaintiff was still under his care and receiving treatment for Adjustment Disorder, mixed type, with depression and anxiety along with acute stress disorder. Id. Dr. Warner recommended that Plaintiff remain away from work while undergoing treatment for an undetermined time. Id. The City granted Plaintiff's request for paid catastrophic leave, which began the same day. Id. Plaintiff remained on catastrophic leave for one year, during which time he continued to collect his full salary, benefits, and accrue vacation and sick time. Id.

In July 2010, after being on leave for more than a year, Plaintiff sought to return to regular duty. However, before allowing Plaintiff to return to active duty as a senior corrections officer, the Slidell Chief of Police, Randy Smith, requested that Plaintiff undergo a fitness for duty physical and psychological evaluation. Id. Section 52.1.7(D) of the Slidell Police Department Manual provides:

[T]he Chief of Police, at his discretion, may require any member of the Slidell Police Department to submit to a psychological examination, administered by a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist of his/her (Chief) choosing. Reasons for evaluation may include, but are not limited to: fitness for duty, public safety liability and the general welfare of the involved member and the Department.

Id.

On August 12, 2010, Plaintiff was evaluated by psychologist, Dr. Alan James Klein. Id. In a report dated August 20, 2010, Dr. Klein opined that Plaintiff was not fit for duty in a law enforcement agency in any capacity, including as a corrections officer or performing administrative duties. Id. Based on an interview and testing, he reported that Plaintiff had a serious psychiatric disorder, quite possibly of psychotic proportions, with evidence of paranoid thought processing that is likely alcohol induced. Id. On September 2, 2010, the Slidell Police Department relieved Plaintiff of duty. Id. Slidell Civil Service Rule 16.01 provides that an employee may be discharged or suspended without pay by the appointing authority or demoted or deprived of other privileges for, inter alia, physical or emotional unfitness for the position which the employee holds. Id. On September 20, 2010, Plaintiff's year-long catastrophic leave ended. Id. During that year of catastrophic leave and the prior twelve weeks of FMLA leave, Plaintiff had continued to collect his full salary, benefits, and also continued to accrue vacation and sick time. Id. Once his catastrophic leave time ended, Plaintiff's status was changed to sick leave. Id. He continued to receive full pay as he used accrued sick time, vacation time and birthday time, and his accrued time was sufficient to cover roughly twenty-seven pay periods. Id. Several weeks after he was relieved of duty, Plaintiff applied to the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana (“Retirement System”) for disability retirement. Id. The retirement System referred him to a psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Wade, for an evaluation. Id. In a report dated November 5, 2010, Dr. Wade concluded that Plaintiff was not disabled but did not state that he was fit to return to duty as a senior corrections officer. Id. On December 3, 2010, while still on paid sick leave and while his first lawsuit against the City was still pending, Plaintiff submitted a second Charge of Discrimination to the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights and EEOC in which he alleged:

I was released for return to work on July 15, 2010. Chief Randy Smith informed me I had to take a physical. Around August 13, 2010, I was told I couldn't go back to work because I failed part of the physical.

I believe I'm being discriminated against because of my race, black, disability and in retaliation for filing a previous charge of discrimination with EEOC.

Although I was released for work by my doctor, Chief Smith informed me I couldn't return to work because I was psychotic, delusional and paranoid. Base [sic] on information provided by Dr. Alan James Klein, Ph.D. it [sic] also stated that I was not fit to work for any law enforcement agency.

Id.

The EEOC issued a notice of right to sue on April 2, 2012, stating that it was unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes. Id. Because the report that the Retirement Board obtained from Dr. Wade on November 5, 2010 did not find Plaintiff disabled, but also did not opine on his fitness for duty, the City paid for a second psychological fitness for duty exam for Plaintiff with Dr. Cary Rostow on May 17, 2011. Id. Dr. Rostow found Franklin fit for duty on May 20, 2011, and Plaintiff was returned to active duty. Id. Throughout this history, Plaintiff remained employed with the City, and received a step/grade pay increase in January 2012. Id.

On July 26, 2012, Plaintiff filed the instant suit against the City of Slidell (“the City”), Dr. Klein,² and six City employees, including: (1) Chief Randy Smith (“Chief Smith”), of the Slidell Police Department, (2) Captain Kevin Foltz (“Captain Foltz”), of the Slidell Police Department, (3) Captain Robert Jacobs (“Captain Jacobs”), of the Slidell Police Department, (4) Lieutenant Rockwell McLellan (“Lieutenant McLellan”), of the Slidell Police Department, (5) D. Rene Johnson (“Johnson”), the Slidell Civil Service Personnel Director, and (6) Tim Mathison (“Mathison”), the City's Chief Administrative Officer (collectively “Employee Defendants”). (Compl., Rec. Doc. 1)

On March 27, 2013, 936 F.Supp.2d 691 (E.D.La.2013), the Court issued an Order and Reasons granting the City Defendants' 12(b)(6) motion in part and dismissing: (1) Plaintiff's Title VII and ADA claims against all Employee Defendants, (2) Plaintiff's racial discrimination claims under Title VII and Section 1981, (3) Plaintiff's claims for disclosure of confidential medical information under Section 12112(d) of the ADA, and (4) Plaintiff's punitive damages claim. (Order and Reasons, Rec. Doc. 39) Finding that Plaintiff had pleaded his best case with respect to those claims, the Court did not...