Lavern Sanders v New Jersey Department of Children and Families
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Transcript of Lavern Sanders v New Jersey Department of Children and Families
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7/23/2019 Lavern Sanders v New Jersey Department of Children and Families
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LO
d
FilE .
(tijStliMEfl
E R \ I I C F ~
LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ.
L W OP.FICES
OF LOUIS
A. ZA.
lAS,
L.L.C.
890 I Kennedy Boulevard, s h Floor
AR 0 6 ZU1J
SUPERIOR COURT OF
N6V E R S ~
COUNTY OF HUDSON
North Bergen, N.J.
07047
(201)
977,2900 .
Counsel
for
the
Plaintiff
LAVERN SANDERS
Plaimiff,
v.
DIVISION
OF CHILDREN
AND FAMIL
l
t;:(lRVfy-ES
and
JONATBAN
RElD
Defendants.
ClV L
DIVISION
:i
) SUPERJOR
COURT OF
NEW JERSEY
) LAW DIVISION: HUDSON COl)NTY
)
.
Docket No.: , ;
// / .6 /3
)
)
COMPL INT
)
The
Plaintiff,
LAVERN SANDERS,
by
and
through her
attorney LOUIS A.
ZAYAS
of the
LAW OFFICES OF LOUIS A. ZAYAS,
L.L,C,
alleges
the
following
based on information and
belief:
FACTS
I PlalntlffLavem Sanders is a female resident
of
Jersey City, he County of
Hudson,
nnd the Stllte
of
New Jersey,
2.
Defendant Division of Children
and
Family Services
(hereinaftel
"DYFS") is a public entity
organized by the
virtue of New Jersey law. Defendant DYFS
is sue
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4. In
2006, the DYFS hired
Sanders
as Family Service
Specialist.
At
all
times, Sanders performed her
job
duties satisfactorily.
5. During Sanders
first three
years
as
Family Service Specialist at DYFS, she
received.
good
performance evaluations and had no issues with any of the supervisors.
6. In
2007,
Sanders
began
a
1:omantic relationship
with one o
her department
supervisors,
Jonathan
Reid. After
a few months Sanders en.ded the relationship.
Reid
did
lOt sit well with the brake up and continuo1.1sly
insisted
they got
back
together, When
Sanders refused,
Reid retaliated against her by falsely accusing her. of credit card
fraud
and identity theft.
7. On October
10,
2008,
Sanders
was arrested
at her job for
false
allegations
made by Mr
Reid and on October
24,
2008, Sanders
was suspended
fro.in work
without
pay due to the criminal charges filed against her.
8. On
March
5, 2009,
while the
criminal
case
was still
peDding and Sanders
was supposed to be
presumed
irmocent, Sanders received
another disciplinary
action
from
for ~ o n d u t of unbecoming of a public employee
. 9.
On .March
23, 2009,
Sllnders
had a bench ttial and was acquitted
on all
charges. However,
on
April
7, 2009, DYFS
terminated Sanders
for failure to request a
hearing
regarding the disciplimuy
actions given to
her
for an
unresolved criminal
case.
lO, On July 2009, Sanders
had
depat1mental
he.1ring
regarding her
-lennination. Sander
was
offered her job back with retroactive pay
from March
2009.
Sanders
refused the offer because she
was
entitled
to get pay
frum the
fist
time
she
was
-
suspended
and
the
case was scheduled for
Arbitration.
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II.
On
December 30, 2009, DYFS contacted Sanders via telephone to
reinstate. her emplo)'1llent
as
o January
4,
2010, with
retroactive
pay from my
suspension
date.
12.
On
Jl\JluaJ'Y 14, 2010, Sanders retu111ed to work and before being assigned
ta.bel: department sh l was given yet another disciplinary action pending termination and
was
suspended for
having a s\lspended driver s license.
l3, Llpon
Sandern'
return,
DYFS' supervisors
began retaliating against
Sanders by creating a stressful and hostile work environment, isslting baseless
disciplinary
~ i o n s ;
denying
her training
and
the
possibility
o
getting
a
SJ.>RU
position
and by .trying to get her fired .
. 14.
On
t\pri\2010, Case Worker, Pam Miller, rep 'imanded Sanders in two
occasions
due to
the dress
code.
Although Sanders had been working at D'{l'S
for
approximately four
yeais
without
having this
issue, Miller stated that
Sanders
did not
dress properly.
15. . Ap.ril 29, 2010, Yolanda
Sterling
5ent an
e-mll.il
to everyone n
the
-department QXept .Sanders, regarding an opening for an investigatoi position {SPRU
.
positiJJn), This
is, a position
for
investigators
who
want to work after
5
p.m.
lli d
weekends. SPRU workers sometimes make more
on
this second job then their first
.regular morning jobs.
rt
is a great opportunity which was purposely denied to Sanders.
16. :M,ay 17,2010,
Sanders found
out about the SPRU position andsubmitted
her
resume to Ms. Sterling
to
be
considered.
When Sanders Clllled
to
find out i
Ms.
Sterling bad
received her resume she said she never
did
because here-moil was
down.
-
Two
days later Sanders resent
the
e-mail and I followed up Sterling who told her that her
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resume was received late
and
I would
not
be considered for the job. Weeks later other
employee
r e e i v ~ letters
to
begin training.
\7.
On
May 18,2010, Loric
Sanders, L
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to. wl'ite
.false
m t m ~ t s stating that she had g Ye l the
vehicle
to Sanders.
Another
clear
attempt
io get.Sanders fiw: .
22. On Npvember 8 2010, Sanders received a memo from supervisor Tyson
Moon,
saying
that per Labor Relations, Sanders wus not t have any contact with
- Mr a.s a 16 year
old
who used to be on Sanders C ~ U e
load
and took a
like
to her.
Althougb was
no
longer on
Sanders'
caselond,
he
communicated with her
,;,d
she had
i lterest
ln
adopting
him.
. Sanders boyfriend
decided
to adopt Mr.
-
On December 6, 20
I
0,
111omas
Hooten, C:asework Supervisor,
told
Sanders boyfriend
that she previously had
nnd currently
~ a s
pending
charges against
her
and
that the child T
ould
not
be
left llle wiU1
Sal)ders
at any time. This defaming inrormation
was plaCed
into the child
case
re
waiting for
you
to mess UP,
so \vlty nre
you
giving them ammo".
25. On January 2011, Sanders' doctor decided
to give her
short tenn disability
. undlfehruary 28,
20J I How
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i
L
d
signed
it
thl}m on
February 8,
2012.
Sanders' doctor
indicated
on the
final
document that .
Sanders. could possibly return to work on April 4, 2011,
. .
27.
February
28,
2011,
Trisha King from Human
Resources, terminated
Sanders'
pay
stating sl)e had requested
for
lea-ve
without pay.
Sanders
never
made such
request ..
28.
On March
30, 2011, Sanders received a disciplinary notice saying that she
was
being terminated effective March 7,
2011 for
not returning
to work on
February 28,
2011.
29
On April
I,
20 ll,
Sanders
applied
for
SLI
(Sick Leave
ln}ury)
and Hummt
Resourcys.replied ~ n y i n g her request
for
extended
leave due
to pending disciplinary
actions,
. 30. .Finally on
May 21,
2011, Sanders
Sllbmitted
a request
to be
a Follter
Parent
for a
teenager.
s a
DYFS worker you
must complete
an
Outside Activity
Questionoaire by NJ State Ethics Commission.
he
ronn must be given to the Local
.Offie
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CQllN tJ
UNLAWFUL
TERMlNATlON
N,J, ).A,
10:5-l
et seq.
32.
Plaintiff repeats andre-alleges
the
alleglltions setf0)1h above
as
if fully
set
forth
herein.
33.
Plaintiff,
as
a
female, belongs to
a
protected class.
34.
t
ail times throughout her employment,
Plaintiff
performed her duties
and responsibilities in a satisfactorytnanner.
35, l a i n t i f f w ~ s constructively tenninated while
she
was on
medicnlleave,
36, The
actions of Defendant
were taken in violation of the New
Jersey
Law
Against Discrimination,
N.J,S.A.
10:5-l
et seq.
which
prohibits discrimination based on
sex
and have caused
Plaintiff to suffer
economic,
emotional and psychological
damages
in
an amount to be determined by a
jury,
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendants,
jointly
and
.severally,
for
following
relief:
a. Compensatory Damages;
b.
Punitive
Damages, including treble damages:
c.
Attorney s fee
and ccsts of
suit;
.
d. Such.otl1er and further rel ief that the Court deems equitable nnd just.
CO
UNTil
UNLAWFUL RET ALIATlON
NJLA:O N.J.S.A.lO:l-1, ei
seq.
37. All of the l ~ e g t i o n s
in each
of the foregoing paragraphs are incorporated
by refe(ence
as
.if
fully set
fotth
herein.
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38.
Because
Plainttffeoded her
romnntic
relationship with JonathM Reid, a
supervisor at l ~ i n t i f f s
employment
who had been employed with DYFS'for
10
years,
Plaintiff
was subjected to retaliation,
hartlssment
and
a
hostile work environment.
39.
Plaintiffwas tenninated
the first time
due
to
the
false c h r t ~ e s
filed
by
Reid.
Plaintiff
had to be reinstated by
D
YFS because she was terminated after being
acq\iitWd of hlliges.
40. After DYFS reinstated plaintiff, DYVS supervisors began to harass,
embarrass, ostracize .ind otherwise retaliate against Plaintiff
.41. Instead of taking remedial
action
to stop the
harassment,
DYFS retaliated .
by firing
Plaintiff
while she was out on
medical
leave.
42. .As o qirect
and
proximate re5ult o Defendants' actions,1 laintiffhas
suffered and will continue
to
suffer
economic, emotional
and
psychological
dmnages in
anamount
w
e determined by ajuty. Because of Defendants
wil\fu1 and mn iclous
.conduct,
Plaintiff.seeks
punitive damages in Defendants individual capacities
in
an
.amount to l)e ~ e t e r m i n e d by a
jury.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendants for the following
relief:
a. .ComP.ertsatory
Damages;
b. Punitive Damages;
c. Attorney s fees;
d. Such other and
further
rellefthat the Court
deems
equitable and just.
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COUNT
l l
NJLAD
HOSTlLE WORK ENVlRONMEN f
N.J.S.A. 10:1-1 i seq
43.
Plalntiff repeats
and realleges the
alle11ations set
forth above as if fully
set
forth
herein.
44. y
reason of the foregoing, Plaintiff, was
denie
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COY)NTIV
COlYIMUN
LAW STATUTE
MALICIOUS PROSECU1 10N
47.
All.
of the allegations
in each
of
the foregoing paragraphs
are
incorporated
hy
reference
as if
fully
set
forth
herein
.
. 48. Defendant Jonathan
Reid
charged Plaintiff
with
indictable offenSes.
49. Reid lacked any probable cause to believe t ~ t Plaintiff committed any of
the
crimes chatged .
.
SO.
Reid filed
the above ~ h a r g e s maliciously,
in
order
to retaliate against
Plaintiff for having ended tl1eir
romantic relationship.
51. nie criminal
charges
were
dismissed in favor
of Plaintiff, As a
result
of
the
foregoing,
Plaintiff
has
suffer great anxiety, humiliation, embarrassment,
economic.
damages
and
other related injul'les,
which
Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to
suffer in an runotint to be determined by a jury,
Wl{EREFORE,
Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendants, jointly and
~ v c i a l l y
for
the following
relief:
e,
Compenslltor)
damages;
f.
Punitive damages, including
treble damages;
g. Attorney s
fee
atid costs of suit;
h
S lch other
and
further relief that the Cowt
deems
equitable and just.
COUNTV.
ABUSE
OF PlWCESS
REID
52 All ofthe allegations in
each
of the foregoing paragraphs are incorporated
by
reference
as lf
fully set forth
hel'ein.
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53.
Defendant Reid
caused to
be
filed
a crlminnl complaint against
a n d ~ r s
for
an
illegitimate Pllljlose, to
wit,
to retaliate against Sanders,
54,
As a direct
and
proximate C31 SC
of the
aforementioned, Plaintiff was
deprived of
her
constitutional
r i h ~
as alleged herein.
A s
nresult ofthe foregoing,
- Plalntiffhils suffered and
will
continue
to
suffer economic, emotional.and psychological
damages in an
amount to be
determined
by
a jury, Because of Chemas' willful and
rilali'cious conduct, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages in his individual capacity
to
be
: determined
by a jury,
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff
demands
judgment against Defendants, joWly
and
; severally, for the following:
a, Compensatory damages
iu
an amo\mt
to
be detemlined by a
jury.
b.
Interest from the date of entry of udgment at a rate of percent per arurom;
c. Punitive
damages;
d. Costs of suit; and
e.
Any
other and further reliefthat
the
court considers proper.
COUNT VI
New Jersey Civil Rights Act
N.J.S.A. l 0:6-2
New Jersey Constitution, Section 6
Free
Spwch
55.
Plirlntlffrepeats
and
realleges the allegations set forth above as if fully set
forth herein.
56
Plaintiff
exercised his right
to
freedom of speech guaranteed
by
t h ~ New
Jersey Constitution, Art. 1
6, by
complaining about defendants wropgdoing.
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57. As a e s u l t of Plaintiffs complaints, DYFS tenninated plaintiff
while
she
was out on
medical
leave.
~ S .
As
n result oflhe foregoing, Plaintiffhas suffered, and continues
to
suffer
~ ~ g e s
in an
amount to
be
detennined by a jury. Because of Defendant's willful
and
niaHciops
c o n ~ \ c t , Plaintiff seeks p\Ulitive damages in Defendant's i n d i v ~ d u a l e a p a c i t y in
an amount to be' detennined by ~ t J u r y .
COUNT VII
New Jersey
Civil
Rights Act
N.J .S.A. Hl:6-2
New
Jersey Constitution, Section 18
Petition for Redl'ess of G 'itvance
59.
Plaintiff repents and realleges
the
allegations
set
forth above as
if fully
set
forth herein
.
.60. l'laii1tiff exercised her right to petition the government for redress of
grievances when she requested an administrative hearing and arbitration the
ijrst
time she
was
illegally termipated by DYFS due to Defendant Reid's false charges.
61. As a result of Plaintiff's complaints she
was
reinstated
and
DYFS
s.uperv\spfi l)cgan.to iurrass, embarrass, ostracize and otherwise retaliat6 against Plaintiff
by
depriving \ er
of
favorable work assigrunents, Creating 8 hostile environment and given
her baseless
disciplin'ary actions.
62. s
a result of the foregoing, Plaintiff has suffered,
and
contin\les
to
suffer
damag.es
in
an amount
to
be determined by a jury. Because of Defendant's wi lful8Ild
ii,a(icious conduct, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages in Defendant's individual capacity in
an amount
to
be
determined
by
a jury.
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COUNT VIII.
UNLAWFUL
TERMINATION
l' .J.S.A.,
10:51 e seq
DISABlLITY
63.
'The PlaintifTrepeats
and
reatleges
the
allegation$
set
forth
above
as
i
riioni fully
set
forth
heir(lln.
64. As alleged in the complaint, Defendant discritninated
against
Plaintiff in
by
terminating her employment while she
was
on disability.
65.. .
Defendants'
actions
were
taken
in
violation ofNew Jersey Law Against
J)iscriniinatioti, N J.S:A., I 0:5-I et seq. and have caused Plaintiff to suffer economic,
e notioiu
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PESIQNA
TION
OF TRIAL COUNS &L
LOUIS A ZAYAS, ESQ., is designated as
trial
counsel in this ~ a t t e r .
DATED,:
March
6,
2013
DEMAND FOB rRODUCfiON OF N S U R t \ N ~ AGMEMENTS
Pursy.ant
toR 4:10-2(b),
demand is hereby made that you
disclose
to
the
Jinders_igned
~ h e t l e r
there
are
any
insurance
agreements or
policies
~ d e r
which
ony
person or
tirrp
carrying on
an insurance
business may be
liable
to satisfy a ' or part ofa
j u d ~ e n t which may be entered in the
action
or to indemnify or reimbll se for p y m e n ~
innde
to satisfy the judgment.
lf
so, please attach a
copy
of each,
or
nltermitlve state,
imder
oath and certification:
(a)
policy number;
(b)
name and address ofinsurer,
(c)
incept.ion
arid
expiration date; (d)
names and
addresses of all persons insured thete\inder;
DATED: March6, 2013
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LOUIS A. AYAS, ESQ.
Counsel
fo the Plaintiff
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:.'ERTIFICATIONPURSUANT
O
R 4:5-1
I certify that
the matters
in controversy in this action arc not subjet of any other
actlonpendirig in
ny
other court
or
of
a
pending
arbitration
proceeding
.imd
thilt no
other .
.
action. or arbi1ration proceeding is contemplated
DATED: Maroh 6, 2013
LOUIS
A.
~ AS
ESQ.
Counsel for ilie\laintlff