Toliver v. City of Jacksonville

ALPHONSO TOLIVER, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, Defendant.

Case No. 3:15-cv-1010-J-34JRK

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

March 31, 2017

ORDER

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant City of Jacksonville's Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 20; Motion), filed on July 7, 2016. On July 25, 2016, Plaintiff Alphonso Toliver filed his response in opposition to the Motion. See Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to Defendant City of Jacksonville's Motion for Summary Judgment and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Doc. No. 24; Response).² Accordingly, this matter is ripe for review.

I. Standard of Review

Under Rule 56, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule(s)), "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Rule 56(a). The record to be considered on a motion for summary judgment may include "depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials." Rule 56(c)(1)(A).¹ An issue is genuine when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in favor of the non-movant. See Mize v. Jefferson City Bd. of Educ., 93 F.3d 739, 742 (11th Cir. 1996) (quoting Hairston v. Gainesville Sun Publ'g Co., 9 F.3d 913, 919 (11th Cir. 1993)). "[A] mere scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party's position is insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment." Kesinger ex rel. Estate of Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F.3d 1243, 1247 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252 (1986)).

The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of demonstrating to the court, by reference to the record, that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be determined at trial. See Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir. 1991). "When a moving party has discharged its burden, the non-moving party must then go beyond the pleadings, and by its own affidavits, or by depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox, Inc., 64 F.3d 590, 593-94 (11th Cir. 1995) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Substantive law determines the materiality of facts, and "[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248. In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, a court "must view all evidence and make all reasonable inferences in favor of the party opposing summary judgment." Haves v. City of Miami, 52 F.3d 918, 921 (11th Cir. 1995) (citing Dibrell Bros. Int'l, S.A. v. Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro, 38 F.3d 1571, 1578 (11th Cir. 1994)).

II. Background³

Plaintiff Alphonso Toliver (Toliver) brings this case against Defendant City of Jacksonville, Florida, (the City) for disability discrimination based on disparate treatment in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), Pub. L. No. 110-325, 112 Stat. 3353 (2008) (Count I), and the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), Chapter 760, Florida Statutes (Count II). See generally Complaint (Doc. No. 1; Complaint) at 7-11. Toliver also alleges violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. See id. at 11-14. Specifically, he alleges a claim for interference with his rights under the FMLA (Count III), and an FMLA retaliation claim (Count IV). See id.

Toliver began his employment as a corrections officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO), a division of the City, on December 15, 2000. Complaint ¶ 14. Pursuant to JSO's Corrections Officer Physical Abilities Test Policy (City Ex. 6; JSO CO PAT Policy), all corrections personnel are required to maintain "a satisfactory level of health and physical fitness" that is evaluated annually via completion of JSO's Physical Abilities Test (PAT).⁴ City Ex. 6. According to the JSO CO PAT Policy, in order to have the opportunity to complete the PAT, a corrections officer must first be cleared to be working at full duty capacity. See id. In other words, a corrections officer may not attempt to complete the PAT if he or she has been placed on temporary limited duty, also referred to as light duty, for any reason. See id. Per JSO's General Order XXI.17(21) (City Ex. 14; Leave Policy), to return to full duty, an employee must obtain a physician's release statement indicating that the employee is cleared to do so. City Ex. 14. According to both the JSO CO PAT Policy and the terms of the City's Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police (City Ex. 8; Collective Bargaining Agreement) - which also applies to corrections officers - failure to complete the PAT within one year of the last successful attempt, after having been given a reasonable opportunity to do so, results in the possibility of removal from one's position as a corrections officer. See City Ex. 6, City Ex. 8. Notably, between 2000 and 2011, Toliver successfully completed the PAT at every required interval. See Office of the Sheriff Consolidated City of Jacksonville Corrections Physical Abilities Test Score Sheets (City Ex. 7).

On December 18, 2012, Toliver was involved in an automobile accident, resulting in serious injuries to his right leg which required surgery. See Complaint ¶ 16. While recuperating, Toliver successfully submitted a request for FMLA leave commencing on December 18, 2012, and ending on March 12, 2013. See Toliver's FMLA Leave Requests (City Ex. 11; FMLA Leave Request(s)). At the conclusion of his approved FMLA leave, Toliver remained limited in his ability to walk or stand for extended periods of time due to his injuries. Complaint ¶ 17. As a result, following his return from FMLA leave, Toliver requested to be placed on light duty beginning on March 22, 2013. See Toliver's Request for Temporary Medical Limited Duty (City Ex. 12). JSO's Leave Policy defines light duty as a "duty assignment required by a medical . . . impairment that debilitates an employee to such a degree that a treating medical provider states [] that the affected employee can no longer perform the duties required of his job description." City Ex. 14. For an officer to qualify for light duty, his impairment must be both treatable and of "limited duration," or existing for not more than one year. See id. Due to his injuries, Toliver requested an assignment limiting his work-related duties to those that did not involve: (1) prolonged standing; (2) squatting; or (3) lifting more than ten pounds. See Documentation Supporting Light Duty Request (City Ex. 13). JSO granted Toliver's request and assigned him to work regular shifts in the "pod" control room at the City's correctional facility. Complaint ¶ 21. Although control room assignments are allocated among both full and limited-duty corrections officers, JSO traditionally designates this assignment for officers on light duty. See Deposition of Tara Wildes (City Ex. 3; Wildes Dep.) at 9-10. As part of this assignment, JSO required Toliver to visually oversee segments of the inmate population; however, JSO did not permit him to have any direct contact with general population inmates, and did not allow him to leave the control room for any reason.⁵ See Deposition of Janice Plucknett (City Ex. 9; Plucknett Dep.) at 120-22.

On December 18, 2013, Toliver's physician provided the City with a medical update informing his supervisors that Toliver should remain on light duty for an additional three months, and also that Toliver needed to undergo additional surgery to remove a rod from his injured leg. See Medical Update (City Ex. 13). In preparation for this surgery, Toliver submitted an additional successful FMLA Leave Request to commence on January 22, 2014, and end on February 4, 2014. See City Ex. 11. Following his return from FMLA leave, Toliver's physician requested - in a note dated February 27 - that Toliver remain on light duty with the anticipation that he would be cleared to return to full duty by April 22, 2014. See UF Health Doctor's Notes (City Ex. 20; Doctor's Note). In an e-mail dated February 7, 2014, JSO's Occupational Health Manager, Stephanie Harris (Harris), acknowledged another request by Toliver to work no more than five days a week. See Harris E-mail (City Ex. 33). Notably, Harris informed Toliver that if this latter request was denied, then he would be required to utilize his remaining FMLA leave in the event he was scheduled to work more than five days in a given week. See id.

In March of 2014, Harris notified then-JSO Chief of Personnel Janice Plucknett (Plucknett) that Toliver's one year period of light duty was set to expire around the end of the month, and that he had yet to complete the PAT as required. See Plucknett Dep. at 11-12; 25; see also Limited Duty Spreadsheets (City Ex. 17). In response, Plucknett set a meeting with Toliver on April 4, 2014, to discuss the expiration of his light duty status as well as his potential options moving forward. See Plucknett Dep. at 13-14. Recognizing Toliver's "physical issue," see id. at 33-34, Plucknett provided him with a packet of documents containing information which included the City's policy on requesting accommodations under the ADA, see Deposition of Alphonso Toliver (City Ex. 2; Toliver Dep.) at 81-82. In doing so, Plucknett explained to Toliver that he would be unable to remain in the corrections officer position due to having exhausted his one year period of light duty without taking the PAT. See Plucknett Dep. at 119. Plucknett contends that she did not discuss any actual...