TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
and the Division
on Civil Rights announced today that
the State has issued a Finding of Probable
Cause against an Essex-County tire business
and its owner for allegedly discriminating
against a female employee by subjecting
her to sexual harassment and a hostile
work environment, and for firing her as
an act of reprisal after she complained.
Named as a Respondent in the Finding of
Probable Cause document is L & C Tire
Services and its owner, Leonardo Albarracin,
of Newark. Complainant Marilyn Flores,
also of Newark, alleges that, while employed
as a receptionist for L & C Tire,
her supervisor, Albarracin, routinely
asked her out, attempted to kiss her,
and fondled her. Flores also alleges that
she was fired in retaliation for rejecting
Albarracin’s overtures, and for
complaining about the harassment. The
conduct at issue allegedly took place
between October 2003 and February 2004.
A Finding of Probable Cause means the
State has completed its investigation,
and has determined there is sufficient
evidence to support a reasonable suspicion
that the actions of L & C and its
owner violated the New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination (LAD).
“The
conduct alleged in this complaint is demeaning,
and a direct affront to working women.
Moreover, it constitutes a violation of
the law, ” said Attorney General
Harvey. “Employers must understand
that people do not forfeit their right
to be treated with dignity and respect,
and to be free of harassing behavior,
once they report for work.”
According to Harvey, Albarracin has acknowledged
to Division on Civil Rights investigators
that he asked Flores for a kiss, and also
slapped her buttocks.
In addition, the Attorney General said,
an interview by Division investigators
with another employee of L & C Tire
provided corroboration of Flores’
allegations.
“Sixty
years after New Jersey established the
nation’s first state anti-discrimination
law, we are still fighting the same basic
fights,” said Division on Civil
Rights Director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo.
“We are committed to ensuring that
all New Jerseyans know the time has come
for this kind of unlawful discrimination
to end.”
Now that a Finding of Probable Cause has
been issued, the case moves into a phase
known as Conciliation, a form of Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) in which the
parties make a final attempt to resolve
the matter.
If it is not resolved at Conciliation,
the matter will be referred to the New
Jersey Office of Administrative Law, where
an Administrative Law judge will hold
a formal hearing or non-jury trial on
the merits of the case, and issue an Initial
Decision.
The
New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
(LAD) provides that each Respondent
found to have committed a violation is
subject to a penalty of up to $10,000,
provided he or she has not been convicted
of a previous violation within the past
five years. Respondents who have violated
the LAD within the past five years are
subject to a penalty of up to $25,000,
while those who have been convicted of
two or more violations within the past
seven years are subject to a penalty of
up to $50,000.
The Division on Civil Rights is responsible
for enforcing the LAD and the Family Leave
Act. Specifically, the Division investigates
allegations of discrimination in employment,
housing, places of public accommodation
and credit. Its offices are located in
Atlantic City, Camden, Jersey City, Newark,
Paterson, and Trenton. Further information
about the Division is available on its
Web site www.NJCivilRights.org.
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