As COVID-19 infections surged in April, Abbe Dolobowsky said, she was given a hard choice.
The 66-year-old human resources manager from Fair Lawn has asthma and kidney disease, she said. But according to Dolobowsky, her request to work remotely at St. Mary s General Hospital in Passaic was met with an ultimatum: Report to the office, or take an unpaid leave of absence.
She eventually would be granted sick leave. But in early January, Dolobowsky pushed back: She sued for discrimination, saying the hospital had violated state law.
She s not the only one going to court over workplace conditions during the pandemic: This month, a factory worker for Sealy Mattress Co. in Paterson alleged he was fired in retaliation for filing a grievance over allegedly lax face mask rules.