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King v. Career Training Specialists9/26/2001
This is an appeal by plaintiff Tony King from a judgment granting summary judgment in favor of defendant Career Training Specialists, Inc. (CTSI). For the following reasons, we reverse and remand.
FACTS
This is an action for damages due to the alleged retaliatory discharge of Tony King from his employment as a maintenance worker with CTSI after King asserted a workers' compensation claim. Because this matter was decided on a motion for summary judgment, the facts are developed from depositions.
King was hired in November 1998 to work at CTSI for 40 hours per week. CTSI is a training facility with approximately 8 classrooms, 10 or 12 offices, 4 restrooms and between 100 and 175 students. King's job duties included general cleaning and maintenance, and he was apparently the only person assigned those duties.
King stated that on Thursday, December 9, 1999, he injured his rib cage:
One of the students was entering through the back door at the hall and I reacted in a -- in a manner -- well, I twisted my whole body and it was in an awkward position and it caused me to pull my rib cage out of place.
King returned to work on Monday, December 13, 1999. King said that he went to see the school director, John Wayne Childers, and that Mr. Childers told him to see a doctor. Mr. Childers could not recall if Mr. King reported the incident that day but did recall that King told him that he had hurt himself and that he (Childers) told Mr. King to see a doctor.
On December 29, 1999, Mr. King brought a "doctor's excuse" from his chiropractor to work to explain why he had not been at work for a few days. Mr. Childers was out of town, so King brought the excuse to Dean Susan Linkford instead. As King left Linkford's office, CTSI Director of Admissions Warren Wallace asked King to come into his office and then told Mr. King that his employment with the school was terminated. King said that he would take that up with Mr. Childers upon Childers' return.
On January 3, 2000, Mr. King spoke with Mr. Childers. Mr. Childers also told Mr. King that he was terminated. According to Mr. King, Mr. Childers said that the termination "came from the corporate office" due to a budget cut. Mr. Childers said that the school terminated Mr. King's employment because he (Childers) determined that the maintenance of the school was not a "40 hour a week necessary position" in light of budget cuts required by the corporate owner of the school. Childers said that after Mr. King's injury and before his termination, the school used an 18-year-old employee for cleaning and maintenance. The employee worked at night and would "come in a few hours earlier" and was paid by the hour. After this employee left, the school hired another maintenance worker who "does the clean-up at night and on weekends." Childers said that this employee sometimes mopped or waxed the floors and that the school sometimes hired an outside contractor to do this. The school now has an individual, Willie Linkford (a relative of Dean Linkford), that maintains the floors.
On January 4, 2000, CTSI reported Mr. King's accident in an "Employer Report of Injury / Illness" form for the Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation. Mr. Childers further said that he spoke to representatives of CTSI's workers' compensation insurance carrier by telephone and that CTSI mailed the insurer some information. Childers' deposition contains a form from the insurer dated January 4, 2000, reflecting that Childers had reported King's injury on that date.
Mr. Childers further said in his deposition and by affidavit that other CTSI employees were terminated due to budget cuts. These o
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