Davis v. Bombardier Transp. Holdings, No. 14-289 (2d Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn 2002, knowing that Plaintiff‐Appellant Natasha Davis was a Type I diabetic, Defendant‐Appellee Bombardier Transportation Holdings (USA) Inc. hired her as a Customer Service Agent (later renaming the position as an Air Train Agent or "ATA"). In 2007, Davis went on disability leave for diabetic retinopathy. Davis underwent at least six eye surgeries during her leave. In August, Davis notified Bombardier that she was prepared to return to work, and submitted to a physical. Bombardier informed Davis that she failed the physical and eye exams, but Davis contended she passed. Bombardier thereafter determined that Davis could no longer operate as an "ATA II." On September 1, 2007, Bombardier “demoted” Davis to the ATA I position, which paid 75 cents less per hour than the ATA II position. Davis filed suit against Bombardier, bringing claims of disability-based employment discrimination and retaliation. The district court granted Bombardier's motion for summary judgment, finding (in relevant part) that Davis' demotion-based claim was time barred. On appeal, Davis argued that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 applied to and revived her claims. The Ledbetter Act made it unlawful to apply a discriminatory compensation decision to an employee and starts a new statute of limitations clock with each paycheck that reflected that decision. Davis argued that Bombardier’s demotion decision was made with disability‐based discriminatory intent and, as a result, reduced her compensation. Thus, she contended that her claim was timely when measured from her last paycheck and not the date of her demotion. After review, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed judgment in favor of Bombardier, concluding that the Ledbetter Act did not encompass a claim of a discriminatory demotion decision that results in lower wages where, as here, the plaintiff had not offered any proof that the compensation itself was set in a discriminatory manner. A plaintiff must plead and prove the elements of a pay-discrimination claim to benefit from the Ledbetter Act’s accrual provisions.
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