Limoli v. Delta Air Lines

AMY LIMOLI, Plaintiff, v. DELTA AIR LINES, INC., and MYKAL DENT, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 18-cv-10561-FDS

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

November 22, 2019

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SAYLOR, J.

This is an employment dispute arising out of an allegedly wrongful termination. Plaintiff Amy Limoli alleges that defendants Delta Air Lines, Inc., and Mykal Dent violated both the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2611 et seq., and Massachusetts law by terminating her from her position as a Passenger Service Agent for Delta. Limoli specifically alleges that both defendants interfered with her FMLA rights and terminated her in retaliation for exercising those rights. In addition, she alleges that Dent intentionally interfered with her contract with Delta and that Delta wrongfully terminated her in violation of public policy.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the motion will be granted.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The following facts are as set forth in the record and are undisputed except as noted.

1. Limoli's Employment History at Delta

On March 12, 2001, Amy Limoli was hired as a Customer Service Agent ("CSA") at Boston-Logan International Airport by Northwest Airlines. (See Cabantog Decl. (Dkt. No. 33), Ex. A). In 2008, Northwest merged with Delta Air Lines, Inc., and she became a Delta employee. (Rogers Decl. (Dkt. No. 35) ¶¶ 3, 11).

As part of the merger, Limoli's job title and responsibilities changed from CSA to Passenger Service Agent ("PSA"), which Delta employees also refer to as a "Red Coat." (Id.). As a Red Coat, Limoli was responsible for the same duties as a CSA, such as checking in passengers and handling their luggage, but she also supervised CSAs. (Dent Decl. (Dkt. No. 34) ¶ 3).

Between 2008 and 2017, Limoli requested FMLA leave on several occasions. (Compl. ¶¶ 15-17; Cabantog Decl., Ex. C ("Pl.'s Resps.") at 10). She did so for a variety of reasons. Most often, it was to permit treatment of her chronic sinusitis and to care for her stepdaughter, who suffers from a chronic kidney disease. (Compl. ¶¶ 9-17; Cabantog Decl., Ex. B ("Limoli Dep.") at 21:13-22:12; Pl.'s Resps. at 10-11). She also occasionally suffered from other illnesses and work-related injuries. (Pl.'s Resps. at 10-11).

On nearly every occasion that she requested FMLA leave, it was approved. (Limoli Dep. at 22:21-24). The only time Delta denied her request was when she had exhausted the maximum period to which she was entitled under the statute. (Id. at 23:1-16). In total, Delta approved more than 1,400 hours of FMLA leave for her between 2012 and 2017. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. D).

Between July 2013 and March 2016, Limoli was disciplined several times by Delta. Each time, she received a written disciplinary report. In July 2013, she was disciplined for failing to lock a storage room. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. E). In August 2014, she was disciplined because she had failed to show up for work on three separate days. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. F). She then requested FMLA leave retroactively for those three days, which Delta approved. (Limoli Dep. at 66:13-67:5; Cabantog Decl., Ex. D at DELTA_00001830). In March 2016, she was disciplined for allowing a passenger to board an international flight without the appropriate visa, for which Delta was fined $2,000. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. H).¹

Pursuant to Delta policy, each of those written disciplinary reports remained on Limoli's record for 18 months. (See Cabantog Decl., Exs. E, F, H). After 18 months, the record of each disciplinary incident would expire unless she received additional discipline within that period. (Id.). Her last written disciplinary report was on March 5, 2016, which meant that it would expire on September 5, 2017, absent additional discipline. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. H).

On September 19, 2016, Limoli returned to work after taking a period of FMLA leave. (See Pl.'s Resps. at 12). That FMLA leave was due to a work injury. (See id.). Upon her return, she had a meeting with her immediate supervisor, Gabriella Spagnolo. (See Pl.'s SMF (Dkt. No. 40), Ex. A). According to the complaint, the purpose of the meeting was to ensure that Limoli felt ready to return to work. (Compl. at ¶¶ 22-25).

2. Delta's Policies on Employee Time Records

As a Red Coat, Limoli was expected to show up on time for the start of her shifts. (Limoli Dep. at 26:1-6, 29:4-10). Red Coats who are late are marked "tardy" and may be disciplined. (Id.). Delta requires Red Coats to punch in at the start of a shift and then punch out at the end of it. (Id.; see also Dent Decl. ¶ 8). At Logan Airport, Delta employees punch in and out by swiping their employee badge at a computer station, which is located in the employee break room behind the Delta ticketing counter in Terminal A. (Dent Decl. ¶ 8).

Delta expects its employees to maintain accurate timekeeping records. In its employee handbook, Delta prohibits "[f]alsifying records, including time cards, work records, or business expense reports." (Rogers Decl., Ex. B at DELTA_00002081). It considers misrepresenting time a terminable offense. (Rogers Decl. ¶¶ 9-10). If an employee punches in and then leaves to park her car, that counts as misrepresenting her timekeeping records. (Id.). Between 2014 and 2017, approximately 34 employees were terminated for timekeeping violations, including seven for punching in before parking. (See id.; Rogers Decl., Exs. C-H).

3. The Events of March 30, 2017

On March 30, 2017, Limoli had a headache due to a medical condition. (Limoli Dep. at 29:15-16). She was scheduled to work her usual shift, which ran from 12:00 noon to 8:30 p.m. (See id. at 26:1-3, 29:15-21). She planned to miss work due to her illness, but a friend convinced her to come in for her shift. (Id. at 29:15-21).

Although she usually took the bus to work, she decided to drive because she was running late. (Id. at 29:22-24). By the time she arrived at the airport, it was only a few minutes before noon. (See id. at 30:1-14). She parked her car in front of the terminal, went into the employee break room, and punched in at 11:56 a.m. (Id. at 30:8-24). On her way, she saw Kim Dunn, a Delta CSA whom she knew. (Id.). Limoli told Dunn that she would be back shortly. (Cabantog Decl., Ex. I; Rogers Decl., Ex. L). She then parked her car and ran to the terminal. (Id. at 58:21-59:14). She kept her parking ticket, which was time stamped 11:58:32. (Limoli Dep. at 58:18-20; Rogers Decl., Ex. L). She was late to a briefing at the start of her shift. (Id. at 155:11-13).

Mykal Dent is an Operations Service Manager ("OSM") at Delta. (Dent Decl. ¶ 2). That day, he was scheduled to work the same shift as Limoli—12:00 noon to 8:30 p.m. (Id. ¶ 9). Beth Cerqueira, another OSM, was also scheduled to work that shift. (Id.). Spagnolo, Limoli's direct supervisor, was off that day. (Id.). Shortly before the shift-briefing started, Dunn informed Dent and Cerqueira that she had seen Limoli in the lobby and that Limoli had said "I will be back." (Id. at ¶ 10). Dent then saw Limoli arrive late to the shift-briefing at approximately 12:04 p.m. (Id.).

Near the end of Limoli's shift, Dent confronted her. (Id. at ¶ 10; Limoli Dep. at 45:1-15). He asked her why she had arrived late. (Id.). She said that she had punched in on time, and he asked why she was late to the shift-briefing. (Limoli Dep. at 45:9-15, 45:23-46:5). She admitted that she had parked out front, punched in, and then parked her car afterwards. (Dent Decl. ¶ 10; Limoli Dep. at 45:23-46:5). Dent told her that was not allowed, but she insisted that other Delta employees commonly did it. (Id.). He asked her to write a statement about what had happened, but she said she was too upset to do so and went home. (Dent Decl. ¶ 10; Limoli Dep. at 48:7-9).

4. Limoli's Termination and Appeal

Dent prepared a statement of the incident and e-mailed it to his manager, Michael Morrison. (Dent Decl. ¶ 10, Ex. A). The next day, March 31, 2017, he forwarded his statement to Eve Rogers, a Senior Human Resources Manager at Delta. (Dent Decl., Ex. A; Rogers Decl. ¶ 12). He suggested that Limoli receive a written disciplinary report and demotion to CSA, and asked whether that was an appropriate punishment. (Dent Decl. ¶ 12, Ex. A).

Rogers replied that Limoli's actions constituted "time theft and the recommendation[] is typically termination." (Rogers Decl., Ex. J). Based on that information, Dent then recommended to Rogers that Limoli be terminated. (Dent Decl. ¶ 12, Ex. C). His recommendation mentioned Limoli's written disciplinary report from March 2016. (Dent Decl., Ex. C). It also mentioned her September 2016 meeting with Spagnolo to discuss her return from FMLA leave. (Id.). Dent wrote that at that meeting, she had been "verbally coached about her unacceptable reliability," specifically her attendance. (Id.).

That same day, Limoli e-mailed a statement about the incident to Cerqueira. (Rogers Decl., Ex. L). She admitted that she arrived late to the airport, punched in at 11:56, and then parked her car. (Id.). She also attached her parking ticket, which was time stamped at 11:58:00 a.m. (Id.).

On April 7, 2017, Rogers recommended to Josh Jessup, the General Manager of Human Resources, that Limoli should be asked to resign or, if she refused, terminated. (Rogers Decl., Ex. K). Rogers concluded—based on the statements by Dent, Dunn, and Limoli—that Limoli had deliberately falsified her timekeeping records by punching in before she parked her car, and it was Delta's policy to fire employees for such behavior. (Rogers Decl. ¶ 16). In her memorandum to Jessup, she shared that Dent, too, had recommended that Limoli be fired. (Rogers Decl., Ex. K). She also noted the March 2016 disciplinary action against Limoli, which remained on record at the time. (Id.). She did not, however, mention Limoli's September 2016 conversation with her supervisor about returning from FMLA...