Breastfeeding Mom Wins Settlement, Saying NJ Employers 'Retaliated' For Time Off

NEW JERSEY — A mother who complained that her North Jersey-based company made things difficult during and after her maternity leave has won a $195,000 settlement from the state's Division on Civil Rights, officials said Wednesday.

The mom charged that, among other things, the North Bergen manufacturing company tried to deny her time off for disability and maternity leave, then made it hard afterward for her to work there as a breastfeeding mom — in one case scheduling a two-week trip for her to China and India.

When the mom declined to take the trip because she was breastfeeding, she says, she was fired.

The state Attorney General's office said Wednesday that the company offered to pay for the woman's newborn to travel with her, along with a childcare provider, but the baby's pediatrician recommended against it. The company, VCNY, ultimately fired her for her “inability or unwillingness to perform an essential function of job.”

Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced Wednesday that the Division on Civil Rights had obtained the $195,000 settlement on behalf of the woman, who was a former corporate marketing director.

The woman had claimed she was "retaliated against" for taking her maternity leave and was "seeking a reasonable accommodation related to breastfeeding."

According to the complaint, when the woman was on maternity leave in 2018, she advised VCNY that once her disability-related leave time for her pregnancy under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was concluded, she planned to start an additional 12 weeks of leave available under the New Jersey Family Leave Act.

According to the Attorney General, VCNY responded with a letter in March 2018 advising that federal FMLA and state Family Leave Act time run concurrently.

The letter directed her to return to work on June 18, 2018, and warned that if she failed to do so, the company would view it as her resignation.

But under New Jersey law, an employee who gives birth and first uses federal FMLA leave time to recover from child birth does not exhaust the additional leave time available for bonding available under New Jersey’s Family Leave Act.

An employee can begin taking leave under the Family Leave Act when the employee’s leave time under federal law concludes.

The woman filed her complaint with the Division of Civil Rights in April 2018. Following the complaint, VCNY permitted the employee to use the leave she was entitled to under the New Jersey Family Leave Act.

She was back at work months later, but was then fired in October 2018.

She subsequently filed an amended complaint with the DCR alleging that her firing, and workplace actions that preceded it, had been retaliatory.

Besides the two-week trip, the amended complaint alleged that when she returned to work after giving birth, VCNY deliberately excluded her from projects and meetings in which she had previously been involved.

During the DCR’s investigation, VCNY officials acknowledged having reduced her role after her return from pregnancy leave in the summer of 2018. They also acknowledged excluding her from some meetings and events, but attributed the changes to a marketing department “restructuring."

According to the Attorney General's Office, "The settlement resolves the ex-employee’s claim that her employer violated both the New Jersey Family Leave Act and the Law Against Discrimination in its treatment of her."

In addition to the monetary payment to cover lost wages, emotional distress, and punitive damages, the settlement requires VCNY to ensure its employees are advised of their rights to accommodations related to breastfeeding and pregnancy, and to provide anti-discrimination training for all human resources employees, supervisors, managers and owners, among other reforms.

“In New Jersey, we are committed to protecting the right of workers to have both a job and a family,” Platkin said. “No one should be forced to choose between having children and earning a living."

To view a Fact Sheet on pregnancy and breast-feeding-related rights under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, see: https://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/downloads/fact_BRST.pdf.

Those who believe their rights to family leave or breastfeeding accommodations have been violated can file a complaint with DCR within 180 days of the act by visiting njcivilrights.gov or by calling 973-648-2700.

DCR is the state agency responsible for preventing and eliminating discrimination and bias-based harassment in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation (including places open to the public like schools, businesses, hospitals, etc.) by enforcing the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the New Jersey Family Leave Act and the Fair Chance in Housing Act.

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