TRENTON
-- Division on Civil Rights Director Chinh
Q. Le announced today that the Division
has issued a Finding of Probable Cause against
a chiropractic treatment center accused
of subjecting a female employee to harassment
in the form of sexual advances from a patient
that went unaddressed. The Division also
found probable cause that the center unlawfully
discharged the worker as retaliation for
complaining about being harassed.
Named
as Respondent in the Finding of Probable
Cause is the Wendel Family Wellness Center
of Woodbridge, Middlesex County. The center
is accused of allowing a male patient to
repeatedly harass the alleged victim, former
chiropractic assistant Giselle Ramsingh,
by making numerous physical and verbal advances
toward her while she treated him throughout
an eight-month period in 2004.
Ramsingh,
of Parlin, Middlesex County, was discharged
from her job in early September 2004, approximately
one month after she submitted a formal memorandum
complaining about being sexually harassed
by the patient -- the second one she had
submitted in a year regarding the same patient.
Her dismissal also came less than two weeks
after a meeting in which, Ramsingh told
State Investigators, she advised her employer
she did not feel her concerns had been dealt
with appropriately, and that she was contemplating
calling the police.
“The allegations in this case are
disturbing,” said Director Le. “Employers
have a duty under the law to ensure the
workplace is harassment-free, and workers
have a right under the law to report harassing
conduct without fear of reprisals. When
an employee reports that she or he has been
subjected to harassment, the employer is
obligated to investigate the matter and
take the appropriate steps to address it
and prevent such conduct from taking place
in the future.”
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, Ramsingh
was subjected to acts of sexual harassment
by the same patient during numerous visits
for treatment at Wendel Family Wellness
Center during the months spanning January
through August 2004. Among other things,
Ramsingh reported that the patient smacked
her on the buttocks with a clipboard during
one visit. On other occasions, she charged,
he grabbed her ankles and moaned her first
name while undergoing a chiropractic massage,
grabbed and twirled her hair and, in one
instance, told her she was “very sexy”
and that “you don’t know all
the fun I can have with you if we go out.”
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, Ramsingh
not only submitted her memorandums complaining
about the patient’s conduct, but also
complained directly to Dr. David Wendel
and his office manager, Tara Montalvo, to
little avail.
The
Finding of Probable Cause refers to an anecdote
provided by Montalvo in which she described
filling in for Ramsingh and treating the
harassing patient on one occasion in June
2004. Montalvo described entering the room
and beginning to massage the patient without
him realizing it was Montalvo, not Ramsingh,
providing treatment. Montalvo told State
Investigators the unwitting patient began
to moan and groan Ramsingh’s first
name, “Giselle,” which Montalvo
said she found “very gross.”
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, Dr. Wendel
confirmed to State Investigators that Ramsingh
brought her situation to his attention,
and that in response he had taken over treatment
of the patient. However, the state’s
investigation yielded “sufficient
evidence to support a reasonable suspicion”
that Ramsingh was, in fact, asked to continue
treating the patient on at least a few occasions
after submitting her August 2004 memorandum,
and that she continued during these sessions
to be sexually harassed.
A
Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve
a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means
the state has concluded its preliminary
investigation and determined there is sufficient
evidence to support a reasonable suspicion
the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
(LAD) has been violated. The 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. The LAD also provides
for other remedies, including compensatory
damages and injunctive relief, such as changes
in the employer's policies and management/staff
training. Now that the Division has issued
a Finding of Probable Cause, the case will
be referred for a process known as Conciliation.
If Conciliation is not successful, the matter
will be referred to an Administrative Law
Judge (ALJ) for a hearing on the merits,
which is a non-jury trial. The ALJ will
then issue a written Initial Decision.
Director
Le thanked State Investigator Elbia Concepcion
and Division on Civil Rights managers Atley
Tyler and Lorraine LeSter for their work
on the Wendel matter.
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