The entrance of the Union County Administration building in Elizabeth is seen Thursday, March 24, 2022. The county is defending a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former sheriff's office sergeant.
UNION COUNTY, NJ — A former sergeant at the Union County Sheriff’s Office claims the agency violated a state whistleblower law when it terminated her after she reported discriminatory behavior by other officers, including differential treatment toward an African American transgender woman.
Beverly Figueroa, of Westfield, was terminated from her position at the county sheriff's office in March 2021, after her suspension without pay started in November 2019, according to her lawsuit filed in state Superior Court by Sparta-based attorney George T. Daggett.
Before she was fired, Figueroa reported several incidents and was repeatedly told by supervisors not to file reports or document negligent or discriminatory actions, according to her complaint.
“I was unjustly terminated,” Figueroa told TAPinto.
Through a county spokesperson, the sheriff's office declined to comment.
Figueroa said she and her attorney also believe the sheriff’s office behavior was retaliatory. The complaint outlines how Figueroa’s supervisors responded to incidents after Figueroa was promoted to sergeant and before her termination.
Figueroa’s immediate supervisor directed her not to file an incident report in 2018 after Figueroa observed a county sheriff’s officer “ignoring and failing to render aid to an elderly...
Indian-origin urologist Jitesh Patel will have to pay $14 million to settle allegations against him that he defrauded healthcare programs by performing unnecessary procedures on his patients. An e...