McIntyre v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.

NATAHSA MCINTYRE, Plaintiff v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant

Civil Action No. 17-2007 (CKK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

May 15, 2019

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This is a disability discrimination and retaliation case brought by an employee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA").¹ Plaintiff Natasha McIntyre alleges that she was denied an accommodation for her disability and that she was retaliated against for engaging in protected activity related to her disability. Plaintiff brings this lawsuit against Defendant under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 29 U.S.C. § 794.

Before the Court is Defendant's [21] Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant claims that it is entitled to summary judgment on both of Plaintiff's claims. Upon consideration of the pleadings,² the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion. First, the Court finds that summary judgment is appropriate on Plaintiff's Count 1 claim for failure to accommodate because Plaintiff's requested accommodation, involving a late work arrival and a change in work days, was not reasonable and would imposean undue hardship on Defendant. Second, the Court finds that summary judgment is appropriate on Plaintiff's Count 3 retaliation claim as Plaintiff has failed to allege any adverse employment action that is causally connected to a protected activity.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was hired by Defendant WMATA as a Special Police Officer in 2008. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶ 1. In 2010, Plaintiff was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, Special Police. Id. at ¶¶ 2-3. Originally, Plaintiff worked the night shift, but in 2014 Plaintiff selected to work the day shift, which runs from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Id. at ¶ 5. Once on the day shift, Plaintiff reported to Lieutenant Denise Craig. Id. at ¶ 10.

The parties dispute whether or not Plaintiff selected the day shift as part of a "bona fide seniority system." Defendant argues that it has a seniority system to determine the shifts and days which sergeants work. The most senior sergeants pick their shifts first, with the picks continuing down the line of sergeants according to seniority. Id. at ¶¶ 6-8. Plaintiff agrees that "[o]nce a year, the Sergeants choose among themselves based on their seniority as to who gets what shift." Pl.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 24, ¶ 2. However, Plaintiff contends that the seniority system is not "bona fide" as it is not implemented by management and there are exceptions to the seniority system for issues like overtime and holiday work. Id. at ¶ 1-2.

Defendant has a drug and alcohol testing policy for employees. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶ 11. In February 2016, Plaintiff's drug test revealed the presence of amphetamines. Id. at ¶ 16. The presence of amphetamines in Plaintiff's system was caused by the prescription drug Adderall which had been prescribed by her doctor to treat her Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Id. at ¶ 18. Defendant found that Plaintiff had failed to follow the mandatory reporting procedures for prescription drugs. Id. at ¶ 19. Plaintiff disputesthis finding and argues that she reported her prescription drug use according to her supervisor's instruction. Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 24, ¶ 19. As a result of Defendant's finding that Plaintiff had failed to report her prescription drug use in a satisfactory manner, Plaintiff was placed on a mandatory Employee Assistance Program enrollment for approximately fifteen days in March 2016. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶¶ 21-23.

Following Defendant's finding that Plaintiff had failed to report her prescription drug use, in March 2016, Plaintiff contacted Defendant regarding possible accommodations for her disability of ADHD. Id. at ¶ 24. Plaintiff met with Ada Posey, the Acting Chair of Defendant's Employees with Disabilities Panel. Id. at ¶ 25. In response to her discussions with Ms. Posey, Plaintiff submitted a letter from her doctor. As accommodations for Plaintiff's disability, her doctor recommended: "1) Approval for prescription drug use—Adderall XR [] 2) Flex time—employee choosing time to start and leave work daily, within limits 3) Short, frequent breaks throughout workday 4) Advice on breaking down large projects into smaller pieces 5) Written instructions and email reminders 6) Frequent performance reviews/regular feedback." Exhibit 5, ECF No. 21-6.

On April 7, 2016, the Employees with Disabilities Panel met with Plaintiff to discuss her request for accommodations. There is some dispute as to what accommodations Plaintiff requested pertaining to a change in her work schedule. Plaintiff contends that she requested an accommodation only "for the occasional times that her medication had a negative effect on her sleep." Pl.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 24, ¶ 3. Plaintiff explains that she did not request a permanent schedule change. Defendant contends that Plaintiff requested that her start time be changed from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. and that her weekly scheduled workdays be changed from Friday through Tuesday to Monday through Friday. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶¶ 33-34.

On May 13, 2016, the Panel issued its decision on Plaintiff's accommodations request. Defendant offered its "full support" in accommodating Plaintiff by providing "1) advice on breaking down large projects into smaller pieces; 2) written instructions and email reminders; 3) short, frequent breaks throughout the workday; and 4) frequent performance reviews/regular feedback." Exhibit 8, ECF No. 21-8. Defendant indicated that it was already providing Plaintiff with some of these accommodations and that it would continue to do so. Id.

However, Defendant denied Plaintiff's request "to change [her] start time from 6:00 am to 8:00 am or 9:00 am, and [her] weekly scheduled work days from Friday through Tuesday to Monday through Friday." Id. Defendant indicated that this would be an unreasonable accommodation. According to the denial letter "[g]ranting this accommodation would require [Defendant] to breach the SPO (Special Police Officer) bona fide seniority system; and it would require a number of changes in work schedules of other staff members to compensate for gaps in coverage." Id. Moreover, as Plaintiff had been working the day shift for two years, Defendant "[w]as confident in [Plaintiff's] capability to meet this current schedule and further suggested that if [Plaintiff] wished to change [her] schedule to any of the other standard shift times, [she] could do so via the 'picking system' (the bona fide seniority system...)." Id. Following Plaintiff's initial denial for a scheduling accommodation, Plaintiff contacted Ms. Posey regarding an appeal of the denial. However, in late May 2016, Plaintiff's request was again denied. Exhibit 5, ECF No. 24-5.

The parties disagree on whether or not Plaintiff's requested scheduling accommodation was reasonable. The parties agree that Plaintiff's day shift runs from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶ 40. In addition to Plaintiff, there are generally four other sergeants assigned to the day shift. Id. at ¶ 45. The next shift runs from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and the night shift runs from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Id. at ¶¶ 41-42. The parties also agree that the officers whom Plaintiff supervises on her day shift report at 6:45 a.m. for their 7:00 shifts. Id. at ¶ 43. Once the sergeants report to the station in the morning, approximately 20 officers who are assigned to the 7:00 a.m. shift will call in by phone. Id. at ¶ 47. At the beginning of the shift, sergeants are responsible for roll call, updating officers about any information they need to be aware of, debriefing previous officers, and providing assignments for some alternative officers reporting for duty. Id. at ¶ 48. The parties also agree that the sergeants are not responsible for preparing only for the officers whom they supervise. Instead, typically two of the five sergeants on Plaintiff's shift will perform the initial administrative duties for all of the officers. Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 24, ¶ 49. The remaining three officers may provide assistance or complete their own work.

In addition to denying her request for a scheduling accommodation, Plaintiff further contends that Defendant retaliated against her for engaging in protected activities relating to her disability. Plaintiff's allegations of retaliation center on her supervisor Lieutenant Craig. Plaintiff first started working for Lieutenant Craig when she transferred to the day shift in March 2014. Plaintiff contends that she was a "target" of Lieutenant Craig ever since she arrived on the day shift. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶ 53.

In November 2016 and February 2017, Plaintiff filed complaints with Defendant's internal Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO") office alleging that she was being retaliated against by Lieutenant Craig and others. Plaintiff made many allegations concerning perceived unfair treatment and favoritism towards certain officers. For example, Plaintiff alleged thatLieutenant Craig publicly criticized her, called her a "cancer," disciplined her for tardiness, and allowed others to treat her negatively. Exhibit 6, ECF No. 24-6. And, Plaintiff further alleged that Lieutenant Craig had attempted to embarrass another officer by asking him to spell something aloud. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. 21, ¶¶ 63-64.

Based on the denial of her requested disability accommodation and the alleged retaliation, Plaintiff filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on May 23, 2017. Exhibit 8, ECF No. 24-8. The EEOC provided Plaintiff with a right to sue letter on June 13, 2017, and Plaintiff...