Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 857088.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 857088.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/857088.pdf ↗

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and shifted customers away from Jaggers and to the younger employee. In

response, Bittner e-mailed Costello, “Not . . . sure what I am to do further with my

oldest rep who has hit his goals? . . . I will put him on notice if that is what you

want. I just don’t think it is right and would need to navigate properly to avoid any

view of discrimination against myself or Chuck.” Bittner told Jaggers privately that

he opposed Symetra’s efforts to “manag[e] him out” and that Jaggers should seek

legal advice because “if something happens to me, I hope you know your rights.”

Bittner also voiced his concerns during a phone call with Ward that Jaggers was

being subjected to age discrimination.

In early October 2019, Freestone, Costello, and Ward decided to terminate

Bittner’s employment with Symetra at a scheduled phone call on October 17. On

October 15, Bittner submitted, and Symetra approved, a request for a medical

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For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
No. 85708-8-I

leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 3 When Bittner

did not attend the phone call the following morning, Ward initiated Bittner’s

termination paperwork, but he later “pulled the term[ination] back” when he learned

that Bittner had taken a leave of absence. While Bittner was on leave, Ward cut

off Bittner’s access to Symetra’s systems “because we were going to terminate his

employment,” and Symetra executives placed another employee, Sean Cooley, in

Bittner’s position on an interim basis.

On January 3, 2020, Symetra learned that Bittner’s doctor had cleared him

to return to work on February 14. But on January 13, shortly after Bittner’s FMLA