Fair Lawn DPW Worker Sues Town, Claiming Hostile Work Environment

FAIR LAWN, NJ - A Fair Lawn department of public works employee who was driving a truck when his co-worker fell off and died has sued the town, claiming he’s been harassed by colleagues ever since the accident.

According to a lawsuit filed in Bergen County Superior Court, in 2015, Bryan Ferlanti was operating a sanitation truck, when a co-worker fell off the back, hit his head and died, the suit says.

He was then diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder “as a result of his co-workers repeatedly calling him ‘killer’ following the accident, the complaint says.

Ferlanti said he repeatedly complained to supervisors that he was being harassed and subjected to a hostile work environment and also informed them he was being treated for PTSD, the complaint said. He also told supervisors he “could not handle the day to day stress and confrontations associated with his co-workers harassing him at work,” the lawsuit says.

In April 2018, the borough manager sent Ferlanti a letter advising him his complaints were being investigated. In July, he was placed on administrative leave and told he was not allowed “to enter any municipal building and/or facility.”

As a result of the administrative leave, Ferlanti said he was forced to miss his son’s basketball games at the Fair Lawn Community Center, taking his kids to the Fair Lawn Library, attending his sons’ baseball practices and games at municipal fields and visiting borough playgrounds with his family, the complaint said.

Ferlanti’s grievance was denied and he returned to work, however the complaint says he’s “suffered additional retaliation as a result of complaining about his supervisors and managers.”

According to the lawsuit, Ferlanti “suffered and/or will continue to suffer substantial loss of income; diminishment of career opportunity; loss of self- esteem; disruption of his personal and family life; physical and mental pain; emotional trauma and distress; pain and suffering; and other irreparable harm.”

Ferlanti's suit names the Department of Public Works, along with several supervisors and alleges violations of the state's law against handicap discrimination and cites his PTSD as a protected health condition.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Kurt Peluso said the borough could not comment on any pending litigation.