Employee's age discrimination lawsuit was not brought in bad faith, judge says.
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Steven Siegler, Esq., an attorney who reviewed the case of Alice Michael v. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Michael Zegar, MID-L-10599-02, after the hospital withdrew its appeal, had this to say: "I was shocked to hear that a large, respected public institution like RWJ Hospital would be so aggressive and, quite frankly, vindictive, towards one of its employees. Although Ms. Michael's claim was ultimately unsuccessful, there was no evidence that she brought it in bad faith. It seems to me that the hospital and its attorneys spent a lot of time and money trying to make an example out of Ms. Michael. In my opinion, they were trying to dissuade other employees who may feel they have been discriminated against from complaining. I am glad that the court saw through their plan and denied them the fees they were seeking. This case turned out to be a positive one for employees in New Jersey. It shows that employees will never be forced to pay their employer's legal fees, unless the case is completely off-the-wall."
Ms. Michael added: "Once the court decided that I had to pay the hospital's attorneys' fees, the hospital kept pressuring me to quit my job. Only then would Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital drop its claim for attorney fees against me. If one good thing can come out of this lawsuit, it is my hope that no other employer will come after their employee for attorneys' fees."
About The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq.:
The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq. represents New Jersey's professional and executive workforce in all areas of employment law, including discrimination on the basis of age, gender, pregnancy, race, religion, or disability, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, severance package negotiations, breach of contract, non-compete agreements, wage and hour claims, and civil rights violations. For more information visit www.njemploymentattorney.comor www.njemploymentlawyerblog.com.
Contact:
Steven Siegler
The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq.
(732) 214-2648 www.njemploymentattorney.com
Media Contact
Alice S Michael, RWJ New Brunswick, 1 17329238445, [email protected], https://www.rwjbh.org/
SOURCE RWJ New Brunswick
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