The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton security supervisor received sweeping support on Tuesday after she claimed workplace discrimination.
HAMILTON - The security supervisor suing her hospital employer for allegedly discriminating against her for taking maternity leave and punishing her for breastfeeding after returning said she she's received sweeping support for her claims.
"I have received tremendous support from family, friends, colleagues and several
Adrianne Russo shown in a 2014 picture.support groups," Adrianne Russo, of Monroe, said in a statement Tuesday.
Russo has worked for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton since 2008. She sued the hospital in June in Middlesex County Superior Court.
"It certainly makes me feel better knowing I am not alone and I hope this brings more awareness to issues concerning working mothers," the statement said.
Bordentown resident and activist Alison Gary met Russo at a former breastfeeding support group run through RWJ Hamilton, which has since been shut down in conjunction with the closing of the hospital's maternity ward earlier this year.
"I think this speaks wonders to Robert Wood Johnson's general feeling toward women and breastfeeding," Gary said.
Gary organized the August protest for Browns Mill resident Ariana Gossard who was fired recently from the Hampton Inn Bordentown after they claimed they could not accommodate her breaks to breastfeed.
"Stay strong it's not the end of everything," Gossard said after reading about Russo's lawsuit on nj.com. "Don't push the support away. I just hope things work out for her for the best."
Gossard has not heard from the Hampton Inn Bordentown since she was fired on Aug. 7 but her former employer, Rita's Ice in Browns Mill, knew of the incident and offered her a job, for which she has since accepted.
Gossard said her daughter Sophie will be turning 5 months old on Friday and is still being breastfed, and she hopes to continue doing so until she is at least a year old.
Gossard encouraged Russo to keep breastfeeding and to find a job that will be accepting of her needs.
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Russo alleges that she was repeatedly sexually harassed over a two-year time period by the RWJ Hamilton's security director Dave Gordon, who she claims sent her sexually explicit text messages and emails and told her breastfeeding is "yucky," the suit claims.
After a meeting with Human Resources Director Rosemarie Frank, also named in the suit, and Gordon, Russo allegedly was told she must refrain from expressing breast milk in her private office and do so in a designated lactation room two buildings away.
Gary said RWJ Hamilton is imposing "ridiculous restrictions" on Russo for not allowing her to pump in her private office.
"The laws change after a child is a year old such that you are no longer protected from pumping at work," Gary said. "But there is no law explicitly forbidding Adrianne from pumping in her private office during breaks either."
Gary added that The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for up to two years of a child's life.
"Adrianne is simply trying to provide her daughter with the best nutrition she can while working full time," Gary said.
Russo's also claims that walking to the lactation room reduces the amount of breaks she can take to pump for her now 19-month-old daughter, her lawyer Matthew Luber said.
The suit alleges that after learning Russo was pregnant, Gordon made disparaging and unwarranted comments about her work performance. "For example, when defendant Gordon overheard a co-worker ask Plaintiff if she was planning on having another child, defendant Gordon stated to Plaintiff " 'then you will really be useless,' "
Gordon also allegedly remarked to Russo, "Now, now don't offer to dance naked, no one wants to see that anymore."
Gordon was fired from RWJ Hamilton in June 2015, Russo's suit says.
"There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding about breastfeeding out there, but you would expect better from a hospital like Robert Wood Johnson," Gary said.
RWJ Hamilton officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
