A patrol officer with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday claiming discrimination over medical issues from his military service.
Sheriff’s Officer Raymond Aste, a decorated Marine veteran, claims in court papers he was targeted after he disclosed he wears hearing aids and developed other medical issued from overseas deployment.
The 121-page lawsuit, filed in Superior Court of Bergen County, alleges violations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act.
Daniel E. Zwillenberg, chief counsel for the sheriff’s office, said Thursday the office had not yet been served with the complaint and does not comment on pending litigation.
The sheriff’s office denied Aste’s doctors access to his medical records and test results, according to his attorney, Eric V. Kleiner, of Englewood Cliffs.
He called the denials “ethically indefensible and unlawful.”
There was a coordinated effort to interfere with Aste’s treatment and manipulate the disciplinary system to force his termination, Kleiner said.
He declined to elaborate on his client’s medical conditions, which are not detailed in the lawsuit.
Aste, who served in Afghanistan, contends that his status as a disabled veteran made him a target for systemic discrimination.
Aste, who earns about $134,000 a year, was unfairly suspended for 15 days, according the lawsuit. Kleiner said his client worries he’ll soon be terminated....
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