 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Medley v. Valentine Radford Communications7/19/2005
asonable).
Further, Ms. Medley has not suggested what type of accommodation would have allowed her to perform any functions of her job, let alone the essential ones. While it is true that her final emails requested being allowed to work part-time or from home, she had already missed five weeks without any sort of formal leave. And although she asked to work a modified schedule until she got back, she did not give Valentine Radford a possible return time, she merely said that she was going back to Dr. Reynolds the following week to discuss other medical options. Mr. Huggins stated in his deposition that her job was not a part-time or an at home job. She needed to be in the office to use the specialized software for her job. Ms. Medley did media buys for her clients, so she needed to be in the office and available to speak with her clients and the companies from whom she was making the buys. This could not be done from home, particularly when she was apparently so sick that she spent the majority of her time in bed and sle eping. See Spangler, 278 F.3d at 850 (plaintiff needed to be at work because her position required her to take daily phone calls, answer inquiries from other banks, complete transactions in a timely manner, and member bank customers relied on her for their daily cash needs). So her suggested accommodation did not enable her to do the essential functions of her job; it merely postponed her return. And Valentine Radford had already been accommodating up to the time that it terminated her.
Based on the facts, as Valentine Radford knew them in January 2002, there was no reasonable accommodation that would allow Ms. Medley to do her job. So Ms. Medley was not disabled under the MHRA and thus failed to prove an element of her claim. She did not satisfy her burden to show that with reasonable accommodation she could perform her job. City of Clayton, 821 S.W.2d at 529.
Further, even if Ms. Medley had met her burden and established her prima facie case, Valentine Radford offered a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for her termination. Id. at 528. Valentine Radford fired Ms. Medley because of her excessive absences without any type of doctor's excuse, and it appeared that this problem would continue indefinitely. Although her excessive absenteeism was related to her health problem, she still missed a lot of work without following company policy and providing a proper doctor's note. It was reasonable for Valentine Radford to be concerned at that point that this would continue indefinitely. So this reason is legitimate and non-discriminatory. And Ms. Medley cannot, and did not, show that this reason is pretextual.
Therefore, Valentine Radford was entitled to summary judgment.
B. Retaliation
Ms. Medley also claims that Valentine Radford retaliated against her when it did not rehire her after its attorney told her that she could reapply. The prima facie case for retaliation requires the employee to show that (1) she complained of discrimination; (2) the employer took adverse action against her; and (3) the adverse action was causally linked to the discrimination complaint. Thompson v. Western-Southern Life Assurance Co., 82 S.W.3d 203, 207 (Mo. App. E.D. 2002). If the employee meets this burden, the burden then shifts to the employer to show a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its actions. Id. If that burden is met, then the employee must present evidence showing that the employer's reason is a pretext for retaliation. Id.
Ms. Medley meets the first two elements of her prima facie case. She complained of discrimination after she was fired when her lawyer accused Valentine Radford of violating the MHRA. And not be
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Missouri Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|