964 F.3d 298
5th Cir.2020Background
- Lyons worked at Katy ISD (Mayde Creek Jr. High) from 2007–2018 as a PE teacher and coach; she had coaching assignments each year.
- In summer 2014 Lyons underwent lap-band surgery and informed the principal she could not attend summer camps and had medical restrictions.
- On July 21, 2014 the principal left a voicemail reassigning Lyons from PE to the in‑school suspension (ISS) teacher and said this would allow someone else to coach basketball (so Lyons would not have to).
- Lyons filed a level‑one grievance on August 5, 2014 complaining the reassignment was disability‑based; on August 12 she was listed as coaching only track (removed from basketball). She filed an EEOC charge on November 3, 2014.
- The district court granted summary judgment to Katy ISD on Lyons’s ADA "regarded as" discrimination and retaliation claims; Lyons appealed.
- The Fifth Circuit affirmed: it held Lyons’s perceived impairment from the surgery was objectively transitory and minor, and although she made a prima facie retaliation showing based on temporal proximity for the basketball removal, she failed to show pretext.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Regarded as" disability discrimination | Lyons says she was "regarded as" disabled because of her lap‑band procedure and was reassigned/treated because of it | Katy ISD contends any impairment from the procedure was transitory and minor (≤6 months), so ADA "regarded as" protection does not apply | Held for Katy ISD: impairment was objectively transitory/minor (Lyons admitted restrictions were 6–8 weeks), so no "regarded as" claim can succeed |
| Retaliation under the ADA | Lyons says filing the level‑one grievance (Aug 5) and the EEOC charge (Nov 3) were protected activity and the subsequent removal from coaching basketball (Aug 12) and later reassignment to tennis (Aug 2015) were adverse acts | Katy ISD says removals/changes were based on non‑retaliatory reasons (belief she preferred not to coach basketball) | Held: Prima facie retaliation established as to basketball removal (one‑week proximity), but Lyons failed to show the district’s stated reason was pretextual; summary judgment for Katy ISD affirmed. Basketball→no pretext; tennis reassignment too remote (9+ months) to support causation |
Key Cases Cited
- McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (establishes burden‑shifting framework for discrimination/retaliation claims)
- Clark Cty. Sch. Dist. v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268 (2001) (temporal proximity must be "very close" to support causation for retaliation)
- Nall v. BNSF Ry. Co., 917 F.3d 335 (5th Cir. 2019) (elements and McDonnell Douglas application for ADA retaliation)
- Porter v. Houma Terrebonne Hous. Auth. Bd. of Comm’rs, 810 F.3d 940 (5th Cir. 2015) (six‑and‑a‑half weeks held sufficiently close for causation)
- Medina v. Ramsey Steel Co., 238 F.3d 674 (5th Cir. 2001) (causal‑connection requires employer knowledge of protected activity)
- Budhun v. Reading Hosp. & Med. Ctr., 765 F.3d 245 (3d Cir. 2014) (discusses transitory‑and‑minor exception to "regarded as" disability)