Plaintiff, a nurse and acknowledged alcoholic, filed a complaint in the Law Division alleging defendants discriminated against her because of her alcoholism, and an amended complaint alleging defendants retaliated against her for filing the complaint, in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, (LAD) N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -50. Alcoholism is a disability under the LAD.
The trial court granted defendants' motion to dismiss. The court reversed and remanded because: (1) plaintiff was not required to bring her LAD claims in an administrative hearing, nor exhaust administrative remedies; (2) the trial court misapplied Beaver v. Magellan Health Services, Inc., 433 N.J. Super. 430 (App. Div. 2013), as plaintiff's complaint was not a collateral attack on an administrative agency decision, nor an attempt to divest the court of its jurisdiction; and (3) the Board did not have primary jurisdiction after the correct application of the factors provided in Muise v. GPU, Inc., 332 N.J. Super. 140 (App. Div. 2000).