Reference no: EM131707563

Case: Ex-Johnson & Johnson employee files suit citing discrimination over age and disability. A former Johnson & Johnson employee has claimed in a lawsuit that she was fired because of her age and medical disability, and wrongly accused of fraud in maintaining company records. The former employee, Sylvia Santos, filed the complaint against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., a division of the New Brunswick-based company, last Thursday in Superior Court. The complaint says “the facts of this matter suggest that the ‘true’ reason for Ms. Santos’ termination was her age, 56, as well as her medical condition.” Santos also is accusing the division of defamation, because certain employees have been spreading rumors of her being fired for engaging in illegal conduct, including shredding company documents, the complaint states. Valerie Fasolo, an attorney representing Santos, did not respond today to messages seeking comment. Samantha Lucas, a spokeswoman for the Johnson & Johnson division, said today it was the division’s policy to not comment on pending litigation. Santos, who worked for Johnson & Johnson and its predecessor company for 14 ½ years, has “a rare and incurable blood disorder” called systemic amyloidosis, the complaint states. Company officials were aware of Santos’ disability, according to the complaint. The complaint states that Santos had an “exemplary” performance record with Johnson & Johnson until May 2012, when she was falsely accused of back-dating a log dealing with an internal clinical research study. Santos, who was 56 at the time, was the oldest employee in her group, according to the complaint. As the principal investigator on the study, Santos was responsible for making entries in the log to document when she delegated assignments to other employees, the complaint states. Company officials argue that date entries on the log should reflect when the entry was made, but Santos’ understanding was that the date entries should show when she delegated the assignments, according to the complaint. Santos claims the way she dated the log “was exactly how the log has, in fact, been completed for the past 12 years,” the complaint states. She was never told she was under investigation for alleged fraud, and consequently, she didn’t have an opportunity to defend herself, the complaint states. But Santos “was terminated for allegedly ‘willfully making [a] false statement’ on company records – when other younger employees have completed the Log exactly as Ms. Santos has done, and followed the same legacy Pfizer process, without being terminated, or even disciplined,” the complaint states. Read and understand the case or question assigned. Show your Analysis and Reasoning and make it clear you understand the material. Parties [Identify the plaintiff and the defendant] Facts [Summarize only those facts critical to the outcome of the case] Procedure [Who brought the appeal? What was the outcome in the lower court(s)?] Issue [Note the central question or questions on which the case turns] Explain the applicable law(s). Holding [How did the court resolve the issue(s)? Who won?] Reasoning [Explain the logic that supported the court's decision]