MVC Humiliated Brick Woman With Breast Cancer Over Head Scarf: Lawsuit

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township woman who is fighting breast cancer is suing the state Motor Vehicle Commission after she says an MVC employee humiliated her by demanding she remove her head scarf when she tried to change her address on her driver's license.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Jennifer Giordano says the incident happened June 14 at the MVC office in Eatontown. Giordano was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in February, according to the lawsuit filed by Moorestown attorneys Richard Schall and Patricia Barasch. The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in Monmouth County on Tuesday, Schall said.

Giordano underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy over 16 weeks to treat the cancer. The treatments ended in mid-June, but Giordano lost her hair as a result of the treatments, according to the lawsuit.

On June 14, Giordano stopped at the MVC office in Eatontown to update her address, and after filling out the forms was called to the counter by an MVC employee who demanded three times that she remove the scarf for a photo, the lawsuit said.

"You have to take that thing off," the lawsuit quotes the employee as saying, despite Giordano's attempts to explain it was due to cancer. Giordano broke down in tears, the lawsuit said, and the incident was witnessed by 40 to 50 members of the public in the office, it said.

Finally, another MVC employee intervened and helped Giordano get her license updated without having to take a new photo, the lawsuit said. While Giordano was waiting, she was approached by another MVC customer who had been in line behind her. The customer, who witnessed the whole interaction, told Giordano that after the other MVC employee intervened, the first one turned to someone else and said, "Can you believe that b----? Does she think she is the only person whoever had cancer?" the lawsuit says. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to the Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Giordano later received her updated license from a manager. According to the lawsuit, when she informed him that she was wearing the head wrap because she had lost her hair due to undergoing chemotherapy, the manager told her that "in the case of religious or medical reasons, applicants for a license do not have to remove a head covering."

She said the manager would not make eye contact with her while giving her the updated license. The lawsuit also says that when Giordano went back to the Eatontown MVC to get the names of the woman who humiliated her and the manager who finally gave her the updated license, she received the full name of the manager but only the first name and last initial of the employee. Neither were identified by name or initials in the lawsuit.

According to the state Motor Vehicle Commission website, "Any person undergoing medical treatment for an illness, whose physical characteristics have been temporarily changed due to medical treatment, may request an extension of the stored photo on their driver’s license. This extension shall not exceed one year from the expiration date of their current driver’s license."

The lawsuit, which claims disability discrimination under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, seeks to have MVC employees retrained, policies updated and unspecified compensation for Giordano's humiliation.

Giordano is due to have surgery for the breast cancer in August, according to the lawsuit.

Photo by Karen Wall