Rinaldi v. Quality King Distribs., Inc.

29 F.Supp.3d 218

Philomena Cindy RINALDI, Plaintiff,

v.QUALITY KING DISTRIBUTORS, INC., Defendant.

No. 12–CV–141 (PKC).

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed June 26, 2014.

Paul L. Dashefsky, Smithtown, NY, for Plaintiff.

Rory McEvoy, Andre K. Cizmarik, Katherine Dianne Watson, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

PAMELA K. CHEN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Philomena Cindy Rinaldi (“Rinaldi”) brings this action against her former employer Quality King Distributors, Incorporated (“Quality King”) for terminating her employment in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), and for interfering with her rights under, and retaliating against her in violation of, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Plaintiff alleges that she was discouraged from using FMLA leave, and terminated based on her use of such leave and because of her disability. Quality King defends its actions primarily on the basis that Plaintiff's chronic unexcused absenteeism rendered her unable to perform the essential functions of her job, and constituted a non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory justification for her termination.

Presently before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. Because the undisputed facts demonstrate that Plaintiff's excessive and unpredictable absenteeism prevented her from performingthe essential functions of her job, with or without reasonable accommodation, Rinaldi has failed to make out a claim of disability discrimination. Further, because Rinaldi was never discouraged from taking, or penalized for taking, FMLA leave, her claims for interference and retaliation under the FMLA also fail.

Accordingly, Quality King's motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 30) is granted, and Rinaldi's cross-motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 29) is denied.

BACKGROUND

I. Relevant Facts

The following facts are undisputed except where otherwise noted.

A. The Actors

Quality King is a company that sells health and beauty products to retailers throughout the United States. (Def. 56.1 ¹ ¶ 1.) ² GSN Trucking (“GSN”) is a Quality King subsidiary that employs the truck drivers who deliver Quality King's products. ( Id. ¶ 2.) Some time prior to 2005, ³ Rinaldi applied for and was hired as an assistant payroll clerk at GSN. ( Id. ¶ 3.)

B. Rinaldi's Employment at Quality King

In 2005, while at GSN, Rinaldi was promoted from assistant payroll clerk to payroll manager. ( Id.) After her promotion, Quality King consolidated the GSN payroll department with the Quality King payroll department and Quality King became Rinaldi's employer. ( Id. ¶ 4.) Despite the consolidation, Rinaldi's job functions remained unchanged; she was still the payroll manager for all GSN employees, but she reported to the Human Resources Director at Quality King, Olga Lancaster (“Lancaster”). ( Id. ¶ 5.) In addition to Rinaldi and Lancaster, the payroll department at Quality King had two other employees. ( Id. ¶ 6.) One was Phylis Calderone (“Calderone”), Quality King's payroll manager, who was responsible for coordinating payment to over 1,000 Quality King employees. ( Id.) The other was Linda Semelrath (“Semelrath”), whom Quality King hired to serve as an “assistant” to Calderone and as a “backup” to Rinaldi. (Pl. Tr.⁴ 22–23; Cal. Tr.⁵15–16.) Rinaldi trained Semelrath to perform Rinaldi's job function during Rinaldi's absences from work. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 7.)

Rinaldi managed the weekly payroll of about 100 GSN trucking employees. ( Id. ¶ 8.) Rinaldi's job duties included processing the driver route logs for all truckers and calculating the mileage pay, delivery pay, pickup pay, case count, breakdown pay, layover pay, and training pay to which each trucker was entitled for the previous week. ( Id. ¶ 9.) During a typical week, Rinaldi processed between 115 and 120 route logs. ( Id. ¶ 10.) Although route logs were continuously submitted to the payroll department, the payroll department began processing these logs on Thursday afternoon. ( Id. ¶ 11.) From Thursday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon, Rinaldi processed route logs one at a time. ( Id. ¶ 12.) Beginning on Wednesday morning, Rinaldi entered the information she obtained from the logs into the payroll processing software. ( Id. ¶ 13.) This information had to be submitted by 1 p.m. on Wednesday in order for a register to be created for Rinaldi to review and approve by 3 p.m. ( Id. ¶ 14.) If Rinaldi did not meet these deadlines, GSN employees would not get paid. ( Id. ¶ 15.) On Thursday mornings, Rinaldi personally stuffed paychecks into envelopes for GSN employees, and in the afternoon, she once again began processing route logs. ( Id.)

In addition to payroll, Rinaldi also handled health insurance for all GSN employees, processed cash advance requests, kept track of vacation, sick time, and absences, and submitted monthly reports to the Accounting Department. ( Id. ¶ 16.)

C. Quality King Discrimination and Retaliation Policies

When Rinaldi began working at Quality King, she received a copy of the Employee Handbook (the “Handbook”), which contains policies on discrimination, the FMLA, and attendance. ( Id. ¶ 17.) Rinaldi signed a document acknowledging receipt of these policies, and, in connection with this litigation, has testified that she understood them. ( Id. ¶ 18.) The Handbook sets forth Quality King's policy prohibiting all forms of employment discrimination, including disability discrimination. ( Id. ¶ 19.) The policy “related to all terms and conditions of employment, including ... discipline, ... leaves of absence, ... and other working conditions.” ( Id. ¶ 20.) The Handbook invites employees with disabilities to alert Quality King of the need for an accommodation and further states that Quality King would “be happy to work with [employees] to make [their] job[s] easier and more productive in full compliance with any applicable legal requirements to make reasonable accommodations....” ( Id.) The Policy states that employees “are encouraged to bring these [questions or concerns] to the attention of their immediate supervisor and the Human Resources Department.” ( Id. ¶ 21.) Quality King's policy also prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about discrimination, and the Handbook assures employees that they “can raise concerns and make reports without fear of reprisal.” ( Id. ¶ 22.)

D. Quality King's FMLA Policy

Quality King employees who worked over 1,250 hours the previous year are eligible for a maximum of 12 weeks of medical leave pursuant to Quality King's FMLA policy. ( Id. ¶ 23.) The policy also states that “[u]npaid leave must be granted for ... a serious health condition that make[s] the employee unable to perform the employee's job.” ( Id. ¶ 24.) At either “the employee or employer's option, certain kinds of paid leave may be substituted for unpaid leave.” ( Id. ¶ 25.) Further, “[t]he employee may be required to provide advance leave notice and medical certification” and “leave may be denied if requirements are not met.” ( Id. ¶ 26.)

The FMLA section of the Handbook also states that employees will be “restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.” ( Id. ¶ 27.) It further states that the “FMLA makes it unlawful for an employer to: interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of rights provided under FMLA; discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.” ( Id. ¶ 28.)

Rinaldi testified that she understood her right to take time off under the FMLA, not only because she read the Handbook, but also because she processed FMLA forms for other employees as part of her job functions. (Pl. Tr. 85–86.) She also understood her obligation to obtain certification from her doctor, and knew that the only employees ever terminated after exercising their FMLA rights were those that took more than the statutory 12 weeks. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 30.)

E. Quality King's Attendance Policy

Quality King's attendance policy requires that if an employee is “absent for three consecutive days or more due to an illness or injury, [she is] required to bring a ‘fitness for duty’ letter from a physician in order to return to work.” (Pl. Tr. 71, Ex. 9 to Pl. Tr. (Dkt. 31–1 at 59).) However, whether or not an employee is, in practice, required to bring a “fitness for duty” letter may be at the discretion of management. (Lanc. Tr.⁶ at 47–58.)

F. Rinaldi's FMLA Leave Between March 17, 2011 and April 25, 2011

On March 17, 2011, Rinaldi did not attend work because she was suffering from anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. (Def. 56. 1 ¶ 33.) Rinaldi called Calderone to report that she could not make it into work. ( Id. ¶ 34.) Rinaldi was admitted to the hospital for eight days beginning on March 17, 2011, and her husband notified Quality King of Rinaldi's hospitalization. ( Id. ¶ 35.) Rinaldi stayed in contact with Calderone while she was in the hospital, and told Calderone that she was out due to depression. (Def. 56. 1 ¶ 36.) Quality King designated Rinaldi's time out as FMLA leave. ( Id. ¶ 37.)

On April 4, 2011, Lancaster sent Rinaldi a letter describing her rights under the FMLA and attaching the forms necessary for approval of Rinaldi's leave. ( Id. ¶ 39.) The leave was approved and lasted for five weeks and two days, through April 22, 2011. ( Id. ¶ 40.) Quality King paid Rinaldi her normal salary for the first three weeks of her leave and used all but one day of her vacation/sick time to continue paying her for the remainder of the leave. ( Id. ¶ 41.) Rinaldi returned to work on April 25, 2011. ( Id. ¶ 43.)

G. Rinaldi's Absences Between May 13, 2011 and July 29, 2011

After returning from her leave, Rinaldi was absent from work on ten occasions between May 13, 2011 and July 29, 2011. ( Id. ¶ 44.) On eight of those days,...