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North Jersey Dermatology Center will have to pay the ex-employee to resolve allegations it unlawfully discriminated by firing the woman for “job abandonment” after she went out on maternity leave, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said Wednesday.
The center is also required to arrange anti-discrimination training for all employees, review and revise its Leave of Absence Policy to ensure state compliance with discrimination law and the Family Leave Act (FLA), and undertake additional reforms.
“The fact is that our state and federal laws protect pregnancy," Porrino said.
Employers have to ensure their policies and handling of situations involving pregnant workers reflect those laws, he said.
North Jersey Dermatology operates multiple locations in northern New Jersey, including one in Rockaway, where the former employee who became pregnant was hired as a Certified Physician’s Assistant in April 2011.
The state Division on Civil Rights is withholding the former employee’s name to protect her medical privacy.
North Jersey Dermatology has denied the allegations made by its former employee, and makes no admission of wrongdoing, the AG's office said.
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