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Tynan v. Vicinage 13 of the Superior Court of New Jersey5/31/2002
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
Submitted May 1, 2002
Defendant Vicinage 13 of Superior Court terminated plaintiff Jeannette Tynan from her position as Hunterdon County Superior Court Jury Manager when she failed to return to work after an eleven-month leave. Tynan appeals from the trial court's summary judgment dismissing her entire complaint against the vicinage and several individual supervisors including the count charging that defendants failed to accommodate her medical condition in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-2 to - 42,(LAD). We affirm dismissal of most of the counts of plaintiff's complaint, but conclude that a factual dispute was present regarding whether defendants reasonably accommodated Tynan's disability and reverse and remand on that basis.
I.
We recount the pertinent facts from plaintiff's perspective, Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520, 540 (1995), followed by the relevant procedural history. Tynan began working as the Jury Manager of Vicinage 13 Hunterdon County in May 1987. As jury manager, Tynan was responsible for providing the vicinage with both criminal and civil trial juries. For several years, the vicinage appeared to be satisfied with her performance and Tynan was happy with her working conditions.
In December 1993, however, defendant Angela Pardo became "Administrative Assistant/Court Operations for Vicinage 13" and Tynan's immediate supervisor. While Pardo has had several title changes, throughout the relevant period of this dispute she remained Tynan's supervisor. Tynan's difficulties with Pardo began in the summer of 1995. On July 18, 1995, Pardo issued Tynan a written performance warning for unauthorized absence from the workplace on July 3, 1995 and submission of a time sheet that did not reflect that Tynan left work in the middle of the day for an extended period of time. In addition, the warning was issued because Tynan failed to bring to Pardo's attention an error in the processing of juror payments from an invalid account and was covering up her mistake.
According to Tynan, she had broken her eyeglasses and because she was working late that evening she went to the mall to get them fixed. Tynan states that she submitted a time sheet that accurately reflected the hours she worked. It should be noted that this was not a time sheet that reported the specific activity being performed throughout the working day at particular time intervals. Instead, Tynan was merely obligated to report the total hours worked for the day.
With regard to the invalid account charge, the warning itself noted that by the time Pardo became aware of the problem, Tynan "had already contacted the County and negotiated an arrangement to have the checks covered.. .." Pardo wanted Tynan to advise her in the future of such problems so Pardo could provide direction. According to Tynan, Pardo grossly exaggerated the incidents and unjustifiably accused Tynan of misrepresentation, "dishonesty and poor judgment" and conduct "unbefitting the high level of responsibility and trust inherent in the position of Jury Manager." Further disciplinary action including termination was threatened if Tynan failed to improve her performance.
Tynan notified Pardo that these untrue accusations were aggravating and exacerbating her existing physical conditions. She provided Pardo with an MRI documenting an abnormal cranial condition causing migraine headaches. Tynan also told Pardo that her colitis and depression were aggravated by this disciplinary overreaction. Tynan asked that Pardo stop harassing her.
It should also be
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