Pennsylvania State Troopers Ass'n v. Miller

621 F.Supp.2d 246

PENNSYLVANIA STATE TROOPERS ASSOCIATION and Bruce A. Edwards, Plaintiffs v. Colonel Jeffrey B. MILLER, individually and in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 1:06-CV-1079.

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

September 30, 2008.

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Gary M. Lightman, Richardson Todd Eagen, Lightman Welby Stoltenberg & Caputo, Michael L. Harvey, Office of Attorney General, Harrisburg, PA, for Plaintiffs.

Michael L. Harvey, Office of Attorney General, Harrisburg, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER, District Judge.

This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief and challenges the sick leave policy of the Pennsylvania State Police under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213. Plaintiffs Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and its president, Bruce A. Edwards, (collectively "PSTA") allege that the policy violates the ADA because it requires police officers to disclose the nature of their illness when requesting sick leave. PSTA contends that the policy may result in officers divulging information about disabilities, thereby contravening the ADA's prohibition on medical inquiries. Defendant Jeffrey B. Miller ("Miller"),¹ who is commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, ("PSP"),² counters that the inquiry is essential to PSP's operation because it enables police supervisors to plan for adequate shift coverage and to ensure that officers are fit for duty upon return from leave. PSTA and Miller have filed cross-motions for summary judgment (Docs. 40, 44). For the reasons that follow, both motions will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Statement of Facts³

PSTA is a labor organization that represents all officers, also known as members, of the Pennsylvania State Police except senior management. (Doc. 41 ¶¶ 3-4; Doc. 53 ¶¶ 3-4.) PSTA challenges a portion of PSP's sick leave policy that requires members to report the nature of their illness when using leave. The challenged provision has been in effect since January 13, 1975 and appears in PSP Field Regulation ("FR") 1-2.11(A). (Doc. 44-3 ¶ 17.) FR 1-2.11(A) provides:

Notification of Illness or Injury (Off Duty): Members who know that they will be unable to report for duty due to illness or injury they incurred while off duty shall immediately notify their supervisor (or ensure such notification) of the nature of the injury or illness, where they will be recuperating, and the expected date of return to duty. Supervisors shall also be advised of any changes in the above which may occur after the original notification was given.

(Doc. 42, Ex. A at FR 1-2.11(A) (emphasis added)). The only component of this regulation challenged by PSTA is the notification clause. (See Doc. 43 at 2.)

PSTA also attacks section 4-5.07(C)(1) of PSP's Administrative Regulations ("AR"), which incorporates FR 1-2.11(A) by reference. (Doc. 42, Ex. B at AR 4-5.07(C)(1)). AR 4-5.07(C)(1) requires that "[n]otification [of an officer's intent to use sick leave] shall be made ... in accordance with the provisions of FR 1-2." (Id.) Members may use sick leave for several purposes, including an illness, disability, bereavement, routine medical or dental appointments, and illness or medical appointments of an immediate family member. (Id. at AR 4-5.07(B)(1)-(4)).

On May 26, 2006, PSTA commenced the instant action, the sole issue in which is whether the notification clause of FR 1-2.11(A) violates the ADA by requiring members to inform supervisors "of the nature of the[ir] injury or illness." (See Doc. 1 ¶¶ 13-14 & pp. 9-10.) Miller contends that PSP supervisors utilize the information provided by members to arrange for shift coverage during a member's absence and to ensure that an ill member is fit for duty upon return to work. He therefore asserts that the illness notification clause furthers a business necessity and is lawful under the ADA. PSTA alleges that the asserted business necessities do not require implementation of a generally applicable illness notification policy and that several unchallenged PSP regulations adequately address Miller's concerns. The parties have fully briefed these issues, which are now ripe for disposition.

II. Standard of Review

Through summary judgment the court may dispose of those claims that do not present a "genuine issue as to any material fact," and for which a jury trial would be an empty and unnecessary formality. See FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). It places the burden on the non-moving party to come forth with "affirmative evidence, beyond the allegations of the pleadings," in support of its right to relief. Pappas v. City of Lebanon, 331 F.Supp.2d 311, 315 (M.D.Pa. 2004); FED. R. CIV. P. 56(e)(2); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). This evidence must be adequate, as a matter of law, to sustain a judgment in favor of the non-moving party on the claims. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250-57, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-89, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); see also FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c), (e). Only if this threshold is met may the cause of action proceed. Pappas, 331 F.Supp.2d at 315.

The court is permitted to resolve cross-motions for summary judgment concurrently. Cf. Assicurazioni Generali, S.P.A. v. Pub. Serv. Mut. Ins. Co., 77 F.3d 731, 733 & n. 2 (3d Cir.1996) (observing that district court may dispose of case through cross-motions for summary judgment); see also 10A CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT, ARTHUR R. MILLER AND MARY KAY KANE, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 2720 (3d ed. 1998). When doing so, the court is bound to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party with respect to each motion. FED. R. CIV. P. 56; United States v. Hall, 730 F.Supp. 646, 648 (M.D.Pa.1990).

III. Discussion

PSTA alleges that FR 1-2.11 violates § 102 of the ADA, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 12112. Section 12112(d)(4) prohibits an employer from "requir[ing] a medical examination ... [or] mak[ing] inquiries of an employee as to whether such employee is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability unless such examination or inquiry is shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity." See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(4)(A). To establish a prima facie case under § 12112(d)(4), the plaintiff must demonstrate that (1) the plaintiff is an employee of the defendant and (2) that the policy either requires a medical examination or requires disclosure of information regarding a disability or that "may tend to reveal a disability."⁴ Conroy v. N.Y. State Dep't of Corr. Servs., 333 F.3d 88, 95 (2d Cir.2003); Green v. Joy Cone Co., 278 F.Supp.2d 526, 538 (W.D.Pa. 2003) (holding that a non-disabled plaintiff may challenge an employer's policy requiring medical examinations and inquiries); accord Fredenburg v. Contra Costa County Dep't of Health Servs., 172 F.3d 1176, 1182 (9th Cir.1999); Griffin v. Steeltek, Inc., 160 F.3d 591, 593-94 (10th Cir.1998). An employee challenging a medical examination policy need not demonstrate that he or she is a qualified individual with a disability, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8). See Conroy, 333 F.3d at 95 ("[A] plaintiff need not prove a disability in order to challenge a medical examination or inquiry."); Green, 278 F.Supp.2d at 538 (holding that a plaintiff seeking to challenge a medical records inquiry "need not prove to the court that she is a qualified individual with a disability"); see also Fredenburg, 172 F.3d at 1182. A policy that requires the employee to provide a general diagnosis or description of a medical condition constitutes a prohibited inquiry under § 12112(d)(4). Conroy, 333 F.3d at 95; Green, 278 F.Supp.2d at 530, 538, (holding that employment policy requiring job applicants to execute a release of their medical records was actionable under § 12112(d)(2) and (d)(4)).

If the employee presents a prima facie case, the employer incurs the burden of vindicating the challenged policy by demonstrating that it is "job-related and consistent with business necessity." § 12112(d)(4)(A); see Ward v. Merck & Co., 226 Fed.Appx. 131, 141 (3d Cir.2007) (quoting Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98). This requires the employer to demonstrate that the policy is related to the plaintiff's employment and "is vital to the business" of the employer. See Ward, 226 Fed. Appx. at 140 (quoting Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98). Safeguarding occupational safety, curbing excessive absenteeism, and ensuring that employees are emotionally and physically fit to perform their duties illustrate the types of justifications that qualify as business necessities. Id. at 140-41 (quoting Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98); see also Tice v. Centre Area Transp. Auth., 247 F.3d 506, 517-19 (3d Cir.2001) (holding that a municipal transportation authority did not violate § 12112(d) when it required an employee driver, whose medical condition interfered with his driving ability, to undergo an examination). The challenged medical examination or inquiry must "genuinely serve[] the asserted business necessity and [must be] no broader or more intrusive than necessary" to further it. Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98; see also Gajda v. Manhattan & Bronx Surface Transit Operating Auth., 396 F.3d 187, 188-89 (2d Cir.2005); see also Ward, 226 Fed.Appx. at 139 n. 20 (quoting Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98) (reiterating that a fitness-for-duty inquiry requires the employer to possess legitimate concern that the employee may fail to discharge his or her employment responsibilities). "The employer need not show that the examination or inquiry is the only way of achieving a business necessity, but the examination or inquiry must be a reasonably effective method of achieving the employer's goal." Conroy, 333 F.3d at 98.

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