Teacher Suit Claims Edison Schools Fired Her For Taking Medical Leave

EDISON, NJ — A former middle school teacher has filed a lawsuit against Edison Township Public Schools claiming the district fired her after she took medical leave.

Casey Chrapuch Gaetani filed a lawsuit against the school district on Feb. 28 in the Superior Court of Middlesex County. She was let go from her position at Woodrow Wilson Middle School at the end of the 2022-23 term, the lawsuit said.

Chrapuch Gaetani joined the school district in 2019 and in 2020 became a full-time teacher.

In 2019, Chrapuch Gaetani was involved in a significant accident when the floor in her apartment collapsed. The accident left her with “substantial and permanent physical and psychological disability,” including significant orthopedic injuries, panic attack disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the lawsuit.

Due to her medical condition, Chrapuch Gaetani applied for and was approved for intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave beginning in the 2021-22 school year. She was approved again the following year.

In the first year, Chrapuch Gaetani went 12 days above and beyond her allotted sick time and in the following year, she went four days over, according to the lawsuit.

In her suit, Chrapuch Gaetani claims she was reprimanded for her absences by her supervisor and was told to “keep an eye on [her] absences.”

In one instance, Chrapuch Gaetani also had her medical condition questioned when she was told, “Everyone has 24 hours in the day, why can’t you get it together?” about her needing occasional time off, the lawsuit claims.

Chrapuch Gaetani claims in her suit that she generally received positive evaluations throughout her employment, but in April 2023, she was negatively cited for her use of sick days in her evaluation. The evaluation went on to say that her “presence as a teacher is essential to support the continuity of instruction for her students.”

Around the same time, Chrapuch Gaetani was informed by her school principal that the district would not renew her contract for the 2023-24 school year.

When asked whether the non-renewal was because of her medical condition absences, she was told “yes”, the lawsuit claims.

The district allowed her to “involuntarily” resign so her employment record would not be affected, according to the lawsuit.

Chrapuch Gaetani is seeking full compensation for back pay and benefits with full remuneration, with interest; compensatory damages; consequential damages; liquidated and/or punitive damages under the FMLA; attorneys’ fees and costs; and such other relief.

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