TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – The Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division dismissed a woman’s sexual harassment claims against a former employer, backing on Aug. 23 a lower court’s ruling that an arbitration agreement is enforceable.
The ruling was approved for publication Sept. 24. The appeals court said the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Law Division in Bergen County ruled correctly when it dismissed Milagros Roman’s case against Bergen Logistics LLC and Gregg Oliver, citing that Roman had already agreed to settle her allegations through arbitration.
The appeals court did change the lower court’s ruling and allowed Roman to raise her punitive damages claim in arbitration.
“In our view, a contractual provision barring an employee’s access to punitive damages under the LAD (New Jersey Law Against Discrimination) violates public policy by eliminating a remedy the Legislature expressly declared is available to all victims of discrimination under the statue,” the Superior Court stated in its ruling.
It added that barring punitive damages under the LAD gives an employer’s upper management the green light for discriminatory conduct without being afraid of any consequences.
According to the ruling, Roman worked as a human resources generalist for the company from September 2015 through the end of 2015. She said during that time, Oliver, who was the human resources director and her immediate supervisor, sexually harassed her. She also alleged he created a sexually hostile work environment. She said she was fired in December 2015 in retaliation against her decision to reject his alleged advances.
The defendants filed a motion to dismiss saying she signed an arbitration agreement when she was hired. While Roman said the agreement “was unenforceable as against public policy because it barred her recovery of punitive damages,” according to the ruling, the lower court granted the motion to dismiss.
The Superior Court affirmed it, with the modification to the punitive damages claim, and made it clear the arbitration is enforceable despite the plaintiff’s claims she didn’t get a chance to read the agreement before she signed it.
Judges Francis J. Vernoia, Amy O'Connor and Allison Accurso concurred in the opinion.