Sessin v. Thistledown Racetrack, LLC, 187 F. Supp. 3d 869

Background

Plaintiff Joseph Sessin, an Accounting Supervisor at Thistledown Racetrack (hired Feb 2013), has Meniere’s disease and wears visible hearing aids; he never disclosed the condition to his employer.
Sessin alleges Finance Director Lynn Shoda made comments about his hearing (e.g., “I can never tell if you are hearing me,” and asking why he was not looking at her if he read lips).
Around April–May 2013 Sessin was effectively removed from supervising staff; co-worker Rebecca Ivey became the primary supervisor and Shoda’s handwritten notes stated Sessin was “transitioned out of supervisor role.”
Sessin complained to General Manager Rick Skinner on May 29, 2013; he resigned on June 4, 2013, citing a hostile/offensive work environment and that his disability never affected job performance.
Sessin sued under the ADA and Ohio law for disability discrimination, hostile work environment, constructive discharge, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The court denied summary judgment on the disability discrimination claim but granted summary judgment for defendants on hostile work environment, retaliation, constructive discharge, and IIED.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Disability discrimination (ADA & Ohio)	Sessin says he was demoted/removed from supervisory duties because of his hearing disability (supported by Shoda’s notes and Ivey’s testimony).	Defendants argue no adverse employment action occurred (title and pay unchanged) and challenge causation.	Denied summary judgment for defendants: triable issue whether duties were significantly diminished and whether disability was the cause.
Hostile work environment (disability)	Shoda’s comments, denial of training, and reassignment created a hostile environment.	Isolated comments, training decision by corporate (not aware of disability), and reassignment not severe or pervasive.	Granted for defendants: objectively not a severe or pervasive hostile work environment.
Retaliation (ADA & Ohio)	Sessin reported Shoda’s comments to GM (protected activity); adverse action followed.	Any demotion occurred before the complaint to GM; post-complaint actions were not materially adverse.	Granted for defendants: plaintiff failed to show adverse action causally connected to protected complaint.
Constructive discharge	Resignation was due to intolerable conditions (demotion/reduced responsibilities).	Changes were part of operational restructuring during opening; not intentionally intolerable or forcible.	Granted for defendants: no evidence conditions were objectively intolerable or deliberately imposed to force resignation.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)	Employer’s conduct caused serious emotional harm (depression, anxiety, etc.).	Conduct (two comments + role change) not extreme or outrageous; no expert/medical support for severe distress.	Granted for defendants: plaintiff failed to show conduct so extreme as to be actionable and provided no medical/third-party corroboration.

Key Cases Cited

Killion v. KeHE Distribs., LLC, 761 F.3d 574 (6th Cir. 2014) (summary-judgment standard under Rule 56)
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (Supreme Court) (movant’s initial burden on summary judgment)
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (Supreme Court) (viewing evidence in light most favorable to nonmoving party)
Broska v. Henderson, [citation="70 F. App'x 262"] (6th Cir.) (shift in duties insufficient where only minimal evidence)
Momah v. Dominguez, [citation="239 F. App'x 114"] (6th Cir.) (employee’s subjective preference insufficient to show adverse action)
Harris v. Forklift Sys., 510 U.S. 17 (Supreme Court) (severity/pervasiveness test for hostile work environment)
Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (Supreme Court) (limitations on hostile-environment claims and relevance of discrete acts)
Yeager v. Local Union 20, Teamsters, 6 Ohio St.3d 369 (Ohio) (IIED standard; conduct must be outrageous)