NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has dismissed a Gonzales man's lawsuit against his former employer, a LaPlace industrial steel manufacturer that he alleges fired him three years ago when he refused a medical and psychological exam.
In his 25-page order and reasons issued March 27, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman of the Louisiana Eastern District granted a motion for summary judgment filed by BD LaPlace LLC. Feldman also denied a motion to strike filed by the plaintiff, former BD LaPlace crane operator Paul J. Tanner.
Tanner didn't do enough to avoid dismissal of his case, Feldman said in his order.
U.S. District Court Judge Martin L.C. Feldman
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"The mere argued existence of a factual dispute does not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion," the order said. "In this regard, the non-moving party must do more than simply deny the allegations raised by the moving party."
Tanner filed his complaint in May 2018 against his former employer, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Louisiana Wage Payment Act. Tanner said he was fired after he refused to take part in a medical and psychological exam.
Tanner, a crane operator in the company's steel mill for almost a decade before he was fired in March 2016, alleged his former employer retaliated against him after he file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tanner also said BD LaPlace failed to pay him wages due upon discharge.
BD LaPlace has argued Tanner's discharge was a voluntary resignation for "job abandonment," according to Feldman's order.
Tanner's discharge followed a human resources investigation into "several complaints of Tanner's erratic workplace behavior," the background portion of Feldman's order said.
"BD LaPlace's investigation confirmed that coworkers had similar concerns regarding Tanner's behavior and workplace safety," the order said. "The coworker's concerns included instances where Tanner prayed aloud for people at work, threw rosary beads at a worker, told a supervisor 'you're not my boss' in response to a request to wear a safety vest, told a co-worker he would get him arrested if he didn't turn off his music and slapped the coworker's hand down during the confrontation, and that Tanner operated his crane too close to other cranes."
On May 1, 2017, seven months after the EEOC complaint, Tanner applied for Social Security benefits, alleging he became disabled the month he was discharged from BD LaPlace.
"In related filings with the Social Security Administration [SSA], Tanner submits that a neck injury, ankle injury, and tissue damage cause him pain, he stopped working March 1, 2016, and the reason he stopped working is due to his medical conditions," the order said. "Tanner affirmed that all information in connection with his claim for benefits was true and that he understood that making false statements or representations was a criminal offense."