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TRENTON
– Division on Civil Rights Director
Chinh Q. Le announced today that an Essex
County metals company has paid a former
employee $24,000 to resolve allegations
it denied the woman leave time to be with
her husband following his knee replacement
surgery, then unlawfully retaliated against
her for taking the time.
Under
terms of the settlement agreement, United
Support Solutions of Cedar Grove paid former
company-employed welder Dorothy Williams
$24,000, and paid the Division on Civil
Rights for administrative costs related
to the matter, and fees in lieu of a statutory
penalty. The Division intervened in the
case as a Complainant earlier this year.
Williams
was hired as a welder by United Support
Solutions, a metal works and parts manufacturer,
in February 2007. She was terminated on
March 16, 2010 after taking “unscheduled”
days off to care for her husband, and after
being reassigned to an evening work shift,
which she alleged was in retaliation for
taking the days off.
“This
is a fair settlement that resolves troubling
allegations of retaliation against an employee
who took time off – as was her right
-- to help care for her spouse in the wake
of a major surgical procedure,” said
Director Le. “It is important that
companies know their obligation under the
Family Leave Act, and that they help their
employees – especially those with
authority to approve or deny leave time
– to understand the law as well.”
In anticipation of her husband’s surgery
and subsequent convalescence – and
unaware of her rights under the Family Leave
Act – Dorothy Williams submitted a
written request for vacation time to be
with her husband between March 15 and March
19, 2010. That vacation request was granted.
However, when Williams learned the operation
on her husband was scheduled for March 10,
Williams asked for that day off as well,
and received approval.
Then on March 11, Williams’ husband
experienced post-surgical complications.
Williams called her supervisor that morning
to report that she could not work because
she needed to be at the hospital both that
day and the next day, March 12.
Williams’ supervisor told a State
investigator he did, in fact, speak with
Williams on March 11. He said he advised
Williams to contact the company office,
because he was not authorized to approve
more than one day of unscheduled absence.
Williams, however, did not follow up because
she believed her discussion with her supervisor
had served as adequate notice of her need
to take off March 11 and 12. (In addition,
the office was closed at that hour.)
In the aftermath of Williams having taken
two “unscheduled” days off on
March 11 and March 12, United Support Solutions
reassigned Williams to the company’s
second work shift, which meant working from
3 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- instead of her prior
straight day shift of 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
A company management executive told the
Division he contacted Williams by phone
on March 15 – the first day of her
approved vacation – to advise her
of the reassignment. According to the executive,
Williams rejected the move -- she denied
doing so in an interview with a Division
investigator – and was terminated
the next day.
A
Finding of Probable Cause, issued by the
Division on Civil Rights in January of this
year, found that United Support Solutions
failed to meet its obligation to Williams
under the Family Leave Act. Among other
things, the Division found that, when Williams
submitted her written request for “vacation”
leave to care for her husband, the company
had a duty to explain to her that she was
entitled to take family leave time for the
purpose instead.
The
Division also found that Williams’
phone call to her supervisor the morning
of March 11 – the morning of her husband’s
post-surgical complications – was
“reasonable oral notification of an
emergent situation” under the law.
Finally, the Division found that, despite
an assertion by United Support Solutions
that Williams was an employee with an erratic
attendance record, the decision to reassign
her to a later shift – a decision
that led to her ultimate termination –
was retaliatory.
Director
Le thanked Division Investigator Barry Simmons,
Newark Office Manager Lorraine LeSter, Legal
Specialist Benn Meistrich and Conciliator
Ana Limo-Magras for their work on the Williams/United
Support Solutions matter.
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