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French v. Hawaii Pizza Hut9/30/2004
claims of gender, race, and national origin discrimination because they were not raised in her "Charge of Discrimination" filed with the HCRC, (2) evidence submitted by Appellant was not sufficient to establish a prima facie showing of disparate treatment based on age, (3) Appellant improperly grouped together fifteen managers as one class to establish disparate treatment, and (4) Appellant did not meet her burden of properly authenticating certain documents appended to her motion in support of her age discrimination claim.
As to Appellant's motion to compel discovery, Appellant maintains that the court erred: (1) in limiting production of documents relating to employee medical leaves, employee transfers, sales volume, and Stadium Mall shift schedules and (2) in denying production of documents regarding the personnel files of all Stadium Mall employees from July through December 1995 and (3) documents related to the termination or resignation of Stadium Mall employees between July 1995 and July 1996, on the ground that there were less invasive means of discovery.
IV.
As to points (1) and (2) of Appellant's disability claim, we consider whether a twenty-five-pound lifting restriction is a disability within the meaning of HRS § 378-2. HRS 378-2 makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice "for any employer to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or discharge from employment, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" because of a person's race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, or arrest and court record. HRS § 378-2(1)(A). In line with HRS § 378-2, HAR § 12-46-181 (1995) prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because of his or her disabilities.
The Hawaii statutes and HAR prohibiting discrimination based on disability are textually similar to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101. Because of the similarities between the ADA and our own HRS chapter 378, we adopt the analysis for establishing a prima facie case of disability discrimination under HRS § 378-2 that was established in Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999). In Sutton, to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA, a plaintiff has the burden of establishing that: (1) he or she is an individual with a "disability" within the meaning of the statute; (2) he or she is otherwise qualified to perform the essential duties of his or her job with or without reasonable accommodation; and (3) he or she suffered an adverse employment decision because of his or her disability. Id. at 477-78, 481.
As to the determination of "disability," HRS § 378-1, similar to the ADA, defines disability as "the state of having a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities." See 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2) (defining disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual"). Hence, a "physical or mental impairment" is a disability if the impairment "substantially limits" a "major life activity." HRS § 378-1.
In Bitney, we applied a three-part test derived from Epstein v. Kalvin-Miller Int'l, Inc., 100 F. Supp. 2d 222, 225-26 (S.D.N.Y. 2001), to determine whether a plaintiff meets the disability requirement under the ADA. 96 Hawaii at 251, 30 P.3d at 265. Although the plaintiff in Bitney based her claim on violations of the ADA, the test in that case is relevant in the instant case because HRS § 378-1 contains similar language found in the ADA. We have noted that when cons
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