Hawthorne v. City of Prattville

JAY HAWTHORNE, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF PRATTVILLE, Defendant.

Case No. 2:19-cv-139-RAH (WO)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION

October 2, 2020

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

I. INTRODUCTION

This case concerns a local firefighter, Jay Hawthorne ("Hawthorne"), formerly employed with the fire department at the City of Prattville ("the City"), who, due to physical limitations resulting from a motor vehicle accident and a separate work-related injury, was unable to fully return to his job as a battalion chief. Hawthorne filed this suit against the City, claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 701, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 42 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. (ADEA), when the City refused to honor Hawthorne's accommodation requests, thereby ultimately forcing him to retire from the City.

Pending before the Court is the motion for summary judgment filed by the City. (Doc. 16.) Hawthorne has filed a response, (Doc. 20), and the City a reply, (Doc. 23).

As explained below, the City's motion is due to be GRANTED.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The Battalion Chief Position

Hawthorne became a battalion chief in 2011. (Doc. 16-18 at 2.) A battalion chief is a heavy-duty-rated, 24-hour position that works 24 hours on-duty followed by 48 hours off-duty. (Doc. 16-13 at 31.) Battalion chiefs do not fight fires, but they do attend structure fires, haz-mat and multi-casualty events. (Doc. 16-13 at 7, 33.) Their duties principally involve coordinating the efforts of several fire stations and the captains that serve each. See, e.g., Atlanta Professional Firefighters Union, Local 134 v. City of Atlanta, 920 F.2d 800, 804 (11th Cir. 1991) (discussing the hierarchy of a fire department).

At the City, 24-hour employees, such as a battalion chief, are allowed to pay another employee of equal rank to work the overnight portion of the 24-hour shift in the assigned employee's place, and thereby shorten the actual shift worked. (Doc. 16-13 at 31-32.) Hawthorne regularly used this policy in 2017, the year preceding the events at issue in this case, so that he could manage family obligations, sleep at home, and maintain a normal schedule. (Doc. 16-13 at 31-32.)

B. Hawthorne's Car Accident and Temporary Accommodation

On March 31, 2017, Hawthorne injured his neck in a non-work-related car accident for which he ultimately underwent surgery. (Doc. 16-1; Doc. 16-2.) Hawthorne used and exhausted his twelve weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") leave but was not immediately released by his physician to return to work full duty. (Doc. 16-3.) Therefore, Hawthorne used his accrued sick and vacation time as an accommodation during his continued absence. (Doc. 16-3.)

On October 13, 2017, Hawthorne provided the City with a return-to-work plan, stating that he could return to light-duty work on October 16, 2017 and then to full-duty work four months later. (Doc. 16-4.) Beginning October 23, 2017, the City provided Hawthorne with light-duty clerical work in 8-hour daily shifts as a temporary accommodation while he continued to recover. (Doc. 16-13 at 28-29; Doc. 16-14 at 4, 9; Doc. 16-15 at 4.) During the time that Hawthorne was working in the temporary light-duty position, his battalion chief duties were performed by Captain Josh Brown as acting battalion chief. (Doc. 16-13 at 29; Doc. 16-17 at 3.)

Four months later, in February 2018, the City's Human Resource Director, Lisa Thrash, requested that Hawthorne submit a status plan. (Doc. 16-4.) In response, on February 27, 2018, Hawthorne provided an updated plan, stating that he could not return to full-duty work but that he could return to a modified work capacity, lifting no more than 75 pounds for the next 6 weeks. (Doc. 16-4; Doc.16-5.) Hawthorne remained in his temporary position while under these restrictions.

On April 12, 2018, Hawthorne provided another update regarding his recovery and ability to work, stating that he needed to work under restrictions for another month. (Doc. 16-4.)

On April 19, 2018, Thrash emailed Hawthorne to advise that the temporary accommodation would end on April 21, 2018 and that the City would continue to accommodate him through his use of leave time, or alternatively, he needed to retire. (Doc. 16-5; Doc. 16-15 at 5; Doc. 21-2 at 2; Doc. 21-13.) Hawthorne, however, did not want to use his accrued leave or retire, so he convinced his doctor to allow him to return to work full duty, with no limitations. (Doc. 21-2 at 3; Doc. 16-5; Doc. 16-13 at 28.) This decision proved to be a mistake, at least medically.

C. Hawthorne's Second Injury Causing Event

Hawthorne returned to work full duty, per his physician's release, on May 2, 2018. (Doc. 21-2 at 3; Doc. 16-5; Doc. 16-13 at 17.) The day of his return, Hawthorne participated in a quarterly physical exercise evaluation and afterwards complained of pain and numbness in his neck that radiated through his shoulder. (Doc. 16-6; Doc. 16-13 at 28.) As a result, he visited the City's workers' compensation physician, was diagnosed with a muscle strain, and was released back to work with a lifting limitation of 15 pounds. (Doc. 16-7; Doc. 21-2 at 3.)

D. Hawthorne's Second Return to Work

The City scheduled Hawthorne to return to work on May 20, 2018, on a 24-hour shift, restricted-duty status, based on the medical restrictions placed on Hawthorne by his physician. (Doc. 16-8; Doc. 16-13 at 30.) According to the City (Thrash), their logic was several-fold — Hawthorne could be effective in assisting shift members in his battalion with their reports, it was in his best interest to return to the shift to which he was most accustomed, and he would soon recover from his muscle strain. (Doc. 16-15 at 6; Doc. 21-7 at 4, 6.)

The City's duty restrictions were outlined in a letter dated May 14, 2018, and included, among others, "no operation of department vehicles," "no responding to incident or emergency scenes," and "no lifting over 15 pounds." (Doc. 16-8.)

The vehicle use restriction was concerning to Hawthorne because the City had never placed this restriction on other employees who had medical restrictions. (Doc. 21-1 at 12-15.) According to the City, this restriction was not because of Hawthorne's medical condition, but instead was because Hawthorne was not performing the duties of a battalion chief. (Doc. 16-13 at 7; Doc. 16-15 at 6.)

Another concern for Hawthorne was that he was placed under the direction of Captain Josh Brown who was serving as acting battalion chief, even though Hawthorne held a senior rank. (Doc. 21-2 at 3-4.) Hawthorne believed this wasegregious because the City took away his accommodated light-duty position as a battalion chief and placed him underneath a subordinate rank employee. (Doc. 16-13 at 8; Doc. 21-1 at 16.)

Of all the new restrictions, the 24-hour shift requirement was the most problematic for Hawthorne. According to Hawthorne, because of his medical condition, his physician recommended that he sleep on a "regular bed" (that is, his own bed at home), instead of a cot at the station. Therefore, Hawthorne believed he should not have been required to work 24-hour shifts as did the other fire department employees, including all of the other battalion chiefs. (Doc. 16-9.) Instead, Hawthorne believed he should have been permitted to work only reduced 8-hour shifts and stay at his own home at night.

Upon hearing of Hawthorne's complaint about the cot and the need to sleep at home instead of completing the 24-hour shifts like everyone else, Thrash confirmed that the City in fact provided regular beds with memory-foam mattresses, not cots, for 24-hour shift personnel such as Hawthorne. (Doc. 16-15 at 7.) Thrash also contacted Hawthorne's physician for more information about the cot issue. (Id.) During their conversation, the physician clarified that the regular bed request was "not a medical restriction" but instead a suggestion based on Hawthorne's statement to him that the City was "having him sleep on a cot in the fire department" and that Hawthorne "was unhappy with sleeping at the station."(Id.) For Thrash, this was problematic because this "was a 24-hour shift" and it was inaccurate for Hawthorne to claim that he was sleeping on a cot. (Id.) From Thrash's point of view, Hawthorne was "very angry that he was working a 24-hour shift" and "he did not want to do that." (Id.)

Dissatisfied with the new restrictions and the City's refusal to allow him to work a reduced 8-hour schedule, Hawthorne retained legal counsel. Counsel's first volley was a May 25, 2018, letter that threatened an EEOC filing if Hawthorne was not returned to his "previous accommodation position, with full pay, benefits and privileges." (Doc. 16-10 at 2-3; Doc. 21-16.) This missive was accompanied by correspondence from a licensed professional counselor, who recommended that Hawthorne be accommodated with an 8-hour shift and be permitted to sleep at home. (Doc. 21-17 at 2.) Hawthorne then filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") several days later on June 8, 2018. (Doc. 1.)

Although unclear in the record as to the date, Hawthorne says that he discussed with the City about moving into an "administrative battalion chief" position but was told that the City was leaving the position open for 32-year old, Captain Josh Bingham, once Hawthorne retired. (Doc. 21-1 at 28; Doc. 21-2 at 2.) Hawthorne also spoke with Fire Chief Terry Brown, Fire Marshall Dallis Johnson, and Assistant Chief Michael Whaley about being demoted into an administrativecaptain position, if the battalion chief position was not available. (Doc. 21-1 at 29; Doc. 21-5 at 4-5; Doc. 21-6 at 4.) According to Hawthorne, the position would become open if Captain Bingham was promoted to Hawthorne's battalion chief position. (Doc. 16-14 at 5.) Although the responses varied, Assistant Chief...