Burlington Co. Woman Wins $30,500 In Discrimination Case: Official

TRENTON, NJ — America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses must pay a former female employee from Burlington $30,500 as part of a settlement that resolves her allegations of pregnancy-related workplace discrimination, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said.

In addition, America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses must also pay the State Division of Civil Rights $10,000, according to officials. The company must also conduct anti-discrimination training geared exclusively towards New Jersey managers and supervisors and provide the division with bi-annual reports that describe "pregnancy-related accommodation requests and serious pregnancy discrimination complaints" that company employees make over the next three years, according to officials.

Also, America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses was ordered to review and revise its pregnancy and breastfeeding policy to ensure it is consistent with the law and then distribute a copy of it to all its New Jersey employees and the State's Division of Civil Rights, officials said. The company must also develop and implement an additional training module within the next year that covers and trains all New Jersey employees on the company's policies on anti-discrimination, pregnancy and lactation and on the laws against discrimination for all employees working within the Garden State, officials said.

The former employee filed her complaint in 2019, claiming that after she returned from maternity leave, the America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses provided her with a frequently-used supply closet to express breast milk and often advised her to "hurry up and finish" when she was doing so since customers were waiting for service, according to officials. Three months after the woman returned from maternity leave, the company finally installed a lock on the door, officials said.

In addition, the former employee alleged that after returning to work from maternity leave, America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses reduced her hours so that she went from full-time to part-time status, according to officials. The company also later reneged on a promise to let her work at a different location that would allow her to resume the full-time status she had before maternity leave, according to officials. Her post-maternity leave part-time status — which was verified with time cards, officials said — made the woman ineligible for health insurance coverage, according to officials said.

"This case should send a clear message to employers throughout New Jersey: We will not tolerate discrimination against workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding," said acting Attorney General Matthew J. General Platkin. "Companies, managers, and supervisory personnel need to understand that they have a legal responsibility to protect the rights of those workers."

America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses did not immediately return Patch's request seeking comment on the former employee's allegations and acting attorney general's office orders.

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