Kitani v. City Of New York

Background

Mikiko Kitani worked as a civil engineer for New York City Transit in its Maintenance of Way Division. She had chronic migraine disease and received approval for intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) during several twelve-month periods beginning in 2014. She later took continuous FMLA leave, vacation leave, and bereavement leave. Disputes arose over her leave records, travel documentation, work assignments, required overnight inspections, and compliance with an order to undergo an ability-to-perform medical evaluation.

After Kitani refused to attend the medical evaluation, New York City Transit suspended her and brought disciplinary charges. An administrative law judge found most of the charges established and recommended a forty-day unpaid suspension. Later, Kitani had additional disputes concerning sick-leave documentation, placement on a Chronic Sick List, and further disciplinary charges. A second administrative law judge found the later charges should be sustained and recommended a thirty-day suspension. Kitani resigned in October 2019.

Kitani’s current Third Amended Complaint asserted FMLA claims against New York City Transit, Craig Costa, Anthony Cassella, and Pierre A. Syldor. It also asserted a New York Labor Law claim alleging that defendants deducted money from her wages without permission. After discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.

FMLA claims

Kitani alleged both FMLA interference and retaliation. She identified alleged interference involving timesheets, continuous leave, accommodation forms, work assignments, training, overtime, and her 2017 suspension. She identified alleged retaliation involving overnight assignments, an absent-without-leave classification, the medical evaluation, a requested medical form, and disciplinary charges.

The court held that the FMLA claims based on conduct ending by January 2017 were untimely. The ordinary limitations period was two years, and the court found no evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that defendants acted willfully or recklessly, which would have allowed a three-year period. The court rejected Kitani’s arguments that defendants’ repeated conduct, provision of accommodation forms, handling of timesheets, suspension, or treatment of work assignments established willful violations. The court also noted that Kitani continued to use intermittent FMLA leave during much of the relevant period.

The court separately considered retaliation allegations based on events after February 1, 2017, even though Kitani had not addressed all of them in her opposition brief. These allegations concerned the forty-day suspension, counseling memoranda, placement on the Chronic Sick List, and disciplinary proceedings begun in February 2019. The court assumed for purposes of its analysis that Kitani could establish an initial retaliation case, but held that defendants offered legitimate, nonretaliatory reasons for each action, including findings from administrative hearings and Kitani’s alleged failures to follow work and sick-leave procedures. Kitani did not present evidence showing that those explanations were a pretext for retaliation. The court therefore granted summary judgment to defendants on the timely FMLA retaliation claims as well.

New York Labor Law claim

Kitani alleged that defendants violated New York Labor Law section 193 by deducting wages in October or November 2016. The court held that New York City Transit qualified as an exempt government agency under section 190(3), which excludes governmental agencies from the law’s definition of covered employers. It therefore concluded that Kitani could not maintain the wage-deduction claim and entered summary judgment for defendants on that count.

Disposition

Judge Jennifer L. Rochon granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment, directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment in defendants’ favor, and directed that the case be closed.