Named as Respondent in the Finding of Probable Cause is the Wendel Family Wellness Center of Woodbridge, Middlesex County. The center is accused of allowing a male patient to repeatedly harass the alleged victim, former chiropractic assistant Giselle Ramsingh, by making numerous physical and verbal advances toward her while she treated him throughout an eight-month period in 2004.

Ramsingh, of Parlin, Middlesex County, was discharged from her job in early September 2004, approximately one month after she submitted a formal memorandum complaining about being sexually harassed by the patient — the second one she had submitted in a year regarding the same patient. Her dismissal also came less than two weeks after a meeting in which, Ramsingh told State Investigators, she advised her employer she did not feel her concerns had been dealt with appropriately, and that she was contemplating calling the police.

“The allegations in this case are disturbing,” said Director Le. “Employers have a duty under the law to ensure the workplace is harassment-free, and workers have a right under the law to report harassing conduct without fear of reprisals. When an employee reports that she or he has been subjected to harassment, the employer is obligated to investigate the matter and take the appropriate steps to address it and prevent such conduct from taking place in the future.”

According to the Finding of Probable Cause, Ramsingh was subjected to acts of sexual harassment by the same patient during numerous visits for treatment at Wendel Family Wellness Center during the months spanning January through August 2004. Among other things, Ramsingh reported that the patient smacked her on the buttocks with a clipboard during one visit. On other occasions, she charged, he grabbed her ankles and moaned her first name while undergoing a chiropractic massage, grabbed and twirled her hair and, in one instance, told her she was “very sexy” and that “you don’t know all the fun I can have with you if we go out.”

According to the Finding of Probable Cause, Ramsingh not only submitted her memorandums complaining about the patient’s conduct, but also complained directly to Dr. David Wendel and his office manager, Tara Montalvo, to little avail.

The Finding of Probable Cause refers to an anecdote provided by Montalvo in which she described filling in for Ramsingh and treating the harassing patient on one occasion in June 2004. Montalvo described entering the room and beginning to massage the patient without him realizing it was Montalvo, not Ramsingh, providing treatment. Montalvo told State Investigators the unwitting patient began to moan and groan Ramsingh’s first name, “Giselle,” which Montalvo said she found “very gross.”

According to the Finding of Probable Cause, Dr. Wendel confirmed to State Investigators that Ramsingh brought her situation to his attention, and that in response he had taken over treatment of the patient. However, the state’s investigation yielded “sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion” that Ramsingh was, in fact, asked to continue treating the patient on at least a few occasions after submitting her August 2004 memorandum, and that she continued during these sessions to be sexually harassed.

A Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means the state has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) has been violated. The LAD provides that each Respondent found to have committed a violation is subject to a penalty of up to $10,000, provided he or she has not been convicted of a previous violation within the past five years. The LAD also provides for other remedies, including compensatory damages and injunctive relief, such as changes in the employer’s policies and management/staff training. Now that the Division has issued a Finding of Probable Cause, the case will be referred for a process known as Conciliation. If Conciliation is not successful, the matter will be referred to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for a hearing on the merits, which is a non-jury trial. The ALJ will then issue a written Initial Decision.

Director Le thanked State Investigator Elbia Concepcion and Division on Civil Rights managers Atley Tyler and Lorraine LeSter for their work on the Wendel matter.

Contact a New Jersey Civil Rights attorney

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