The Mark | Lavigne Law Firm has filed suit in federal court on behalf of Dr. Rachel Pruncho, a Director of Research for the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging and Professor of Medicine who had been named among Rowan University’s top five scholars. The suit claims illegal age discrimination and retaliation for protected activities.
In 2019, at the age of 65, Dr. Pruncho informed her supervisors that she intended to retire “in the not-so-distant future.” Because of this, she advised them that the university should consider hiring a successor to take over the years-long grant writing process, which was never part of her job description but which she had undertaken with great success. It was decided that the university lacked the funds to hire a successor while she was still working. To avoid having to abandon grant projects before their completion, Dr. Pruncho and her supervisor jointly developed a work plan that focused on writing scholarly papers, developing a book, and supporting grant writing activities of other Rowan faculty.
When a new chair took over Dr. Pruncho’s department in 2021, he took issue with the fact that she was no longer writing grants, although it had never been part of her job description. She reiterated the need for a successor in order for her to continue this work, but there will still no funds available for this, so with the agreement of her new supervisor, Dr. Pruncho continued to follow her work plan.
Just a few months after receiving a favorable performance review under this work plan, however, Dr. Pruncho was called to a meeting where she was demoted and informed that her pay would be cut by more than 30%. She was given just 11 days’ notice of the pay cut, causing disruption to her life and financial hardship.
We reached out to the university, issuing a letter complaining about the demotion and salary reduction and informing them of our belief that these amounted to illegal age discrimination. A few months later, the university offered Dr. Pruncho a six-month sabbatical, effectively delaying her pay cut. To take advantage of the offer, however, she would have to waive any age-related claims against the University.
We filed an age discrimination complaint in state court in 2024. In retaliation for Dr. Pruncho’s complaints and legal actions, the university confiscated her ergonomic furniture and moved her office to a storage closet. They further retaliated by adding teaching an in-person class to her work duties for the following term, although she had never taught this class before and was not qualified to do so. In 2025, we amended our complaint to include a claim of illegal retaliation and refiled in U.S. District Court.
If you believe you’ve been subjected to unfair treatment at work due to your age, the attorneys at the Mark | Lavigne Law Firm can help. We can evaluate the facts of your case and advise you of the best next steps to secure your rights and ensure you receive the full pay and benefits you deserve.
[1] NJ Rev Stat § 34:19-3 (2016)
[2] Dzwonar v. McDevitt, 828 A. 2d 893 (NJ Supreme Court 2003).