Lieffring v. Prairieland Solid Waste Facility

James Lieffring, Plaintiff, v. Prairieland Solid Waste Facility,County of Martin, and County of Faribault, Defendants.

Case No. 19-cv-02812 (SRN/TNL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

June 30, 2021

ORDER

Areti Georgopoulos, Harmony Law Firm PLLC, 310 Fourth Avenue South, Suite 5010, Minneapolis, MN 55415; and Heather M. Gilbert, Gilbert Law PLLC, 4856 Banning Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55110, for Plaintiff.

Ryan P. Myers and Timothy P. Jung, Lind Jensen Sullivan & Peterson, PA, 901 Marquette Avenue South, Suite 1300, Minneapolis, MN 55402, for Defendant.

SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 27] filed by Defendants. Based on a review of the files, submissions, and proceedings herein, and for the reasons below, the Court DENIES the motion.

I. BACKGROUND

In April 1989, Martin County and Faribault County (collectively, "the Counties") entered into a Joint Powers Agreement pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 471.59. (See Decl. of Ryan P. Myers ("Myers Decl.") [Doc. No. 30], Ex. 5 ("JPA").) The Agreement created the Prairieland Solid Waste Board ("Prairieland"), an entity tasked with meeting the solid waste disposal needs of the Counties and their residents. Under the Joint Powers Agreement and Prairieland's bylaws, Prairieland is governed by a Board of Directors, a ten-member body composed of each County's set of five commissioners, and the Prairieland Director, an individual appointed by the Board and tasked with overseeing Prairieland's daily operations. (See id. § II.A; Myers Decl., Ex. 7 ("Prairieland Bylaws"), art. IV; Decl. of Areti Georgopoulos ("Georgopoulos Decl.") [Doc. No. 36], Ex. 4 ("Rabbe Dep."), at 18-21.)

The Agreement required the Counties to pay the "[c]ompensation and other expenses" of the Prairieland Board.¹ (JPA § II.A.) In addition, the Agreement required the Counties to jointly fund the development of Prairieland's facilities, and split Prairieland's operating costs and revenue between them. (Id. § I.C.) However, Prairieland's current Director, Billeye Rabbe, testified that Prairieland's operating budget is fully funded by tipping fees paid by commercial garbage haulers and individuals who dump refuse at Prairieland's facilities. (Rabbe Dep. at 64-66.) The Prairieland Board is empowered to hire, fire, and pay employees.² (JPA § II.B; Prairieland Bylaws art. IV, sec. III.) Strikingly, theJoint Powers Agreement also grants the Prairieland Board authority to "assign tasks . . . to any staff member or members of any County," and provides that "[c]ompensation and payment of expenses of such staff member or members shall continue to be the responsibility of the County which regularly employs the staff member or members, unless otherwise determined by the [Prairieland Board]." (JPA § II.B.)

Although the Counties' commissioners typically manage Prairieland business at a meeting of the Prairieland Board, the record indicates that, on at least one occasion, the Prairieland Board's members conducted Prairieland business at the Counties' separate commissioner meetings. (See Rabbe Dep. at 155-56 (testifying that, when the Prairieland Board was unable to meet in May 2018, Rabbe sought authorization to pay Prairieland's bills at the Counties' respective commissioner meetings); Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 24.) Prairieland maintains its own personnel policy manuals, has its own federal employer identification number, and holds its own bank accounts. (See Rabbe Dep. at 40-41, 104; Myers Decl., Ex. 13.) There is no provision in either the Joint Powers Agreement or Prairieland's bylaws requiring Prairieland to indemnify the Counties for its actions.

In 2005, the Counties amended the Joint Powers Agreement to authorize Prairieland to serve as the Solid Waste Coordinator for each County. (See Myers Decl., Ex. 8.) Each County's Solid Waste Coordinator administers the county's solid waste collection programs, which are funded by a tax assessed on county residents. (See Rabbe Dep. at 16-20, 64-66.) In 2013, Billeye Rabbe was appointed as both Prairieland's Director and to the Solid Waste Coordinator position for each county. (Id. at 16-20.) Rabbe performs many of her duties as Solid Waste Coordinator from her office at Prairieland. (Id.) In her capacityas Prairieland Director, Rabbe reports to both Counties' commissioners together at Prairieland Board meetings; in her capacity as Solid Waste Coordinator, she reports separately to each County's commissioners.³ (Id. at 54.) When she was appointed to these positions, at the Prairieland Board's request, Rabbe created a salary proposal. (Id. at 29; Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 23.) Under the proposal, which was accepted by the Board, Prairieland was to be responsible for 50% of Rabbe's salary, and the Counties were to be collectively responsible for 50% of her salary. (Rabbe Dep. at 29; Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 23.) In practice, Prairieland pays Rabbe's full salary, and the Counties then reimburse Prairieland for their share of the salary. (Rabbe Dep. at 29.)

In 2016, Prairieland and Martin County entered into a Joint Powers Agreement, under which Martin County agreed to administer Prairieland's employee benefits in exchange for a $9,111.43 administrative fee. (Rabbe Dep. at 66-68; Martin Cty. Dep. at 108-09; Myers Decl., Ex. 9 ("Prairieland-Martin Cty. JPA").) The record suggests that, prior to the 2016 Agreement, Martin County had provided health insurance benefits directly to Prairieland employees, without charging an administrative fee. (See Grunig Decl.; Martin Cty. Dep. at 108-11.) The 2016 Agreement expressly provided that "Prairieland employees are not considered County employees for any purpose despite participating in any of [sic] health insurance or ancillary benefits being provided pursuant to this Agreement." (Prairieland-Martin Cty. JPA ¶ 5.)

Plaintiff James Lieffring joined Prairieland as a full-time Production Worker in 2001. (Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 1 ("Lieffring Dep."), at 13.) Prairieland's Production Workers are tasked with, in essence, operating equipment, cleaning, and working on the facility's tipping floor. (See Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 4 ("Langvardt Dep."), at 13; id., Ex. 25; Lieffring Dep. at 20.) Beginning in April 2017, Prairieland implemented a rule prohibiting employees from taking beverages onto the tipping floor. (Rabbe Dep. at 107-08; Myers Decl., Ex. 15.) Despite this rule, Lieffring took coffee onto the tipping floor on several occasions, leading to a verbal warning in June 2017 and a written warning in October 2017. (See Myers Decl., Ex. 15.)

In November 2017, Lieffring experienced a mesenteric artery blockage necessitating emergency medical care and a lengthy hospitalization. (See Lieffring Dep. at 29-30.) The following month, Lieffring discussed his medical condition with Rabbe and Kathryn Grunig, Prairieland's Office Manager, and was told that the only leave available to him was accrued vacation or sick leave. (Decl. of James Lieffring [Doc. No. 41], at ¶¶ 3-5.) Lieffring therefore used accrued sick leave benefits during his absence from work. (Lieffring Dep. at 33.) When Lieffring was released from the hospital in December 2017, his doctor imposed a ten-pound lifting restriction for six weeks. (Georgopoulos Decl., Ex. 28.) Although Lieffring sought to return to work, Rabbe refused to permit him to return, noting that his position as a Production Worker required him to be able to lift at least 35 pounds. (Lieffring Dep. at 31-33; Rabbe Dep. at 90-92.) Lieffring consulted with his doctor, who increased the lifting restriction to 36 pounds, and Lieffring returned to work on January 2, 2018. (Lieffring Dep. at 33; Rabbe Dep. at 91-92.) Lieffring testified that hereturned "on a lighter duty," and did not lift more than 36 pounds, climb, or do "anything real strenuous." (Lieffring Dep. at 35-36.)

On January 30, 2018, while checking on trash compactors outside the building, Lieffring slipped and fell on a patch of ice, injuring his left shoulder. (Id. at 36-37.) He reported his injury to Kirk Langvardt, the Plant Supervisor, and completed an accident report with Langvardt the next day. (Id.; Myers Decl., Ex. 19.) Lieffring sought medical treatment, and Prairieland filed a First Report of Injury with its workers' compensation insurer. (Lieffring Dep. at 40-42; Myers Decl., Exs. 21-22.) On February 5, Lieffring received an additional evaluation of his shoulder, and his doctor imposed a 26 to 40-pound lifting restriction. (Myers Decl., Ex. 23.) Because Lieffring could lift more than 35 pounds, Prairieland permitted him to continue working. (Rabbe Dep. at 104-05.)

On February 19, Rabbe met with Lieffring and Langvardt to discuss her observation that Lieffring continued to bring coffee onto the tipping floor, as well as "leav[e] early, watch[] other employees work and not perform[] his job." (Id. at 115.) Rabbe discussed her concerns with Langvardt, who she testified worked with Lieffring more closely than she did. (Id. at 115-16.) Langvardt did not share Rabbe's concerns regarding Lieffring's behavior, and testified that he "didn't know that she was upset about his work performance or his coffee drinking or anything else. It just kind of blind-sided me." (Id. at 115-19; Langvardt Dep. at 51-53.) Following this meeting, Rabbe suspended Lieffring for two weeks. (Myers Decl., Ex. 24.) Sometime prior to Lieffring's suspension, Rabbe discussed terminating Lieffring with the Prairieland Board. (Rabbe Dep. at 157.) At that meeting, Rabbe discussed her concerns with Lieffring's performance and asked the Board for "somedirection on if this was grounds for termination." (Id. at 157-58.) The Board voted to terminate Lieffring, but advised Rabbe to first seek guidance from counsel. (Id. at 158-60.) Rabbe disclosed to the Board that Lieffring had experienced a work-related injury. (Id. at 160.)

Lieffring was diagnosed with a complete rotator cuff injury, which...