Dollar General Manager Called Learning-Disabled Brick Man 'Too Slow': Lawsuit Alleges

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township man has filed a lawsuit against Dollar General, saying he was forced to leave his job as a stocking clerk after he was repeatedly discriminated against due to his disabilities.

Eric Sica of Brick was born with spinal meningitis that left him with learning disabilities and damaged his hearing and vision. He receives Social Security Disability Income, according to his lawsuit, filed April 14 in Superior Court in Ocean County.

The lawsuit alleges violations of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. He is seeking back pay and damages, and for Dollar General to revamp their anti-discrimination training and policies.

Sica had been hired as a stocking clerk at Dollar General in Point Pleasant in October 2020. On his application, Sica said, he explained his disabilities and said he could not work shifts that would require him to drive in the dark because of his vision impairment.

Sica said he was repeatedly berated by the store manager, who said "You’re taking too long, it shouldn’t take that long!" and telling Sica "You’re too slow," according to the lawsuit.

The store manager also accused Sica of stealing company time because he had to use the restroom frequently during the day, which he had explained was a result of his disabilities.

Sica, in the lawsuit, alleged that while the store manager reprimanded him frequently, she "allowed other, non-disabled employees to take naps during their shifts and use their cell phones for extended periods of time with no repercussions."

After he filed a formal complaint about a hostile work environment and spoke with the district manager about it, the store manager began to retaliate against him, the lawsuit said.

The retaliation culminated on Dec. 11, 2021, with the manager coming into the store and screaming at Sica in front of other employees and customers, saying "You don't do anything on Sundays," when the store manager wasn't there.

Sica said he told her "I’m doing the best I can," and asked her to look at the security camera footage to see Sica was doing his work, but the manager responded: "I don’t care anymore, other employees are complaining about you not doing anything. This is b----, I can’t stand this s---," according to the lawsuit.

It was at that point, feeling humiliated, that Sica quit the job, the lawsuit said.

Dollar General officials did not respond to a request for comment as of Monday night.