Law Firm Of NJ Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin Sued, Accused Of Violating Family Leave Law He Champions

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A paralegal who used to work for New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin is accusing his law firm of violating the very Family Leave law he champions.

This month, Coughlin's private law firm was sued by a paralegal who used to work there. Coughlin is a partner at Rainone, Coughlin and Minchello LLC, located on Rt. 1 south in the Iselin section of Woodbridge.

The paralegal is Dorota Ferraro, who lives in Laurence Harbor, according to the lawsuit, which you can read here, hosted by the New Jersey Monitor. She says Coughlin's law firm first tried to limit how often she could work remotely, and then fired her after she asked for time off to care for her mother-in-law, who had suffered a stroke.

Ferraro says she worked as a paralegal in Coughlin's law firm starting in 2023 until she was fired in September 2024.

She said that in August 2024, she asked for intermittent time off from work to care for her mother in law, who had suffered a stroke and could not move or was very weak on the the left side of her body. Specifically, Ferraro asked for approximately one to two days off per week to care for her mother-in-law.

Prior to this, she said the law firm had allowed her to work from home for two days per week.

"However, after Plaintiff inquired about family leave, (her manager) told her she could no longer work from home at all," her lawsuit alleged. "On or about September 18, 2024, (the law firm) abruptly terminated plaintiff’s employment."

Ferraro said that prior to being terminated, she never received any verbal or written warning from the law firm.

"A determinative and/or motivating factor in Plaintiff’s termination was her exercise and/or attempt to exercise her right to unpaid leave under the New Jersey Family Leave Act," read her lawsuit.

Coughlin is currently speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. He has actually been the longest-serving Assembly Speaker in the state’s history.

As Patch reported, Coughlin is also one of the lawyers for the Woodbridge town Council. He attends all Woodbridge Council meetings and he advises the Council and town on legal matters. He lives in Woodbridge.

Coughlin is a fierce champion of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which prevents employers from retaliating against workers who ask for time off to take care of a new baby or an ailing family member. In fact, just this past January Coughin sponsored a bill that would make an additional 400,000 workers in the state eligible for the law. His bill expands the NJFLA to apply to people who work at small businesses with fewer than 15 employees.

A spokesman for New Jersey Assembly Democrats said this lawsuit has nothing to do with Coughlin's work as a lawmaker and referred all inquiries to his law firm, Rainone, Coughlin and Minchello. Coughlin was not immediately available at his law firm Thursday. Neither he nor Ferraro's lawyer commented to other media outlets this week about this lawsuit.

Ferraro's law firm seeks lost wages, back pay and damages.

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