Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino
JULY 14, 2015, 6:23 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015, 6:39 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A Ridgewood woman has sued a state administrative law judge, claiming the judge has been violating her right to due process as she contests her dismissal from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office.
The federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Newark by Alexis Fitzsimmons, an advanced practice nurse laid off from the Sheriff’s Department in the spring of 2011. Days after losing her job, Fitzsimmons — who’d been working as the department’s chief nursing officer — challenged her dismissal, contending it was “illegitimate” and political retaliation, the suit reads.
Fitzsimmons’ lawsuit, filed June 15, claims she lost her job soon after Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino assumed office. The suit claims Saudino’s move was sparked by “groundless rumors” he had been told claiming Fitzsimmons was romantically involved with his predecessor as sheriff, Leo McGuire. Fitzsimmons’ suit further claims she was given 20 days’ notice prior to her dismissal and not 45 as is required by law.
Months later, the Civil Service Commission cleared the way for Fitzsimmons to appeal her layoff. The matter was assigned to New Jersey Office of Administrative Law Judge Irene Jones. Jones is named as a defendant in Fitzsimmons’ suit, as is Judge Laura Sanders, who oversees the administrative law office.
In February of 2013, Fitzsimmons’ suit claims, she filed a motion to compel the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office to provide discovery as well as answers to several questions. For nearly eight months, Jones declined to rule on the motion, reads the suit. Then, a two-page order issued September 30, 2013 denied the motion without offering any explanation for the opinion.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-woman-sues-judge-in-challenge-of-layoff-1.1374091
