TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A New Jersey court has reversed an order that dismissed a former employee's complaint against Pfizer over an arbitration clause in a religious discrimination suit.
Judge Jack Sabatino, on the bench of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division, issued a 35-page ruling on Jan. 16, reversing the New Jersey Superior Court Law Division decision in the lawsuit filed by Amy Skuse against Pfizer Inc., John Witzig, Paul Mangeot and Connie Corbett.
The Appellate Division reversed the Law Division decision that compelled arbitration and dismissed the case without prejudice.
"The plaintiff employee never expressed in written or electronic form her explicit and unmistakable voluntary agreement to forego the court system and submit her discrimination claims against her former employer and its officials to binding arbitration," Sabatino wrote.
Skuze sued Pfizer and the other defendants over allegations of religious discrimination concerning vaccination and over a supposed agreement that required that disputes should be resolved through arbitration.
"In November 2017, plaintiff Amy Skuse filed a complaint in the Law Division against her former employer Pfizer," the ruling states, claiming that the pharmaceutical company violated "the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination based on religious discrimination, and a failure to provide reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs."
Skuse was working as a flight attendant for the company's private flights at Pfizer's West Trenton airport. As a practicing Buddhist, per the ruling, Skuse "does not, and never has as an adult, received any injections that contain any kind of animal protein."
Due to her position, Skuse was required to receive a yellow fever vaccine, and she received an ultimatum from officials Witzig and Mangeot on April 17, 2017, saying that she would be terminated if she did not get vaccinated in 30 days.
Despite her claims of having a yellow card allowing her to travel without the vaccination, Skuse filed a request for accommodation for her beliefs, which was denied by Corbett.
After an appeal to human resources, Skuse was terminated from her employment on Aug. 11, 2017. She sued the company, which responded that Pfizer had a "mandatory binding arbitration policy," which was in a training module for employees.
Pfizer also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and compel arbitration, which was granted by the law division.
Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division case number A-3027-17T4