Hansen v. Middlesex County

Gregory S. Schaer, a Monmouth County based New Jersey Employment Attorney located in Manalapan, represented the employee in a lawsuit against their employer alleging claims of handicap discrimination.

Following an eight (8) day trial, on December 17, 2003, a Superior Court jury rendered a verdict against the County of Middlesex and against David Papi, who was the Deputy Director for the Middlesex County Department of Public Health and is currently the Director, finding them liable for violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

The jury awarded the plaintiff, Eloise Hansen, $96,000 in damages for lost pay and pain, suffering and emotional distress for her claims. The verdict ended an almost three year court battle in which Hansen, who had been employed with the Health Department from August 1999 through June 2000, asserted that she was subjected to discrimination when she informed her employer that she suffered from a medical condition involving her foot.

Hansen asserted that her employer refused to provide her with certain reasonable accommodations that she had requested and that her supervisors, including Papi, retaliated against her because she had requested medical accommodations and because she had complained of her supervisor’s behavior toward her over her medical condition.

Hansen asserted that as a result of her request for accommodations and her complaints, Papi together with her other supervisors, threatened her with disciplinary action and created a situation that was designed to force her to resign, which she ultimately did.

To speak with an experienced New Jersey Employment Law Attorney, contact the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer, LLC, conveniently located in Monmouth County, New Jersey.