Pregnancy Discrimination Trial, April 2015: Part 1

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CMH OCR RMR CRR FCRR
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - X
VERONIKA CHAUCA, :
10-CV-5304(ENV)
Plaintiff :
-against- : United States Courthouse
Brooklyn, New York
PARK MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS,
LLC, et al., :
April 13, 2015
Defendant. : 11:45 o'clock a.m.
- - - - - - - - - - - - X
TRANSCRIPT OF TRIAL
BEFORE THE HONORABLE ERIC N. VITALIANO
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE, and a jury.
APPEARANCES:
For the Plaintiff: LAW OFFICE OF ANNE DONNELLY BUSH
8 Main Street
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706-1646
BY: ANNE DONNELLY BUSH, ESQ.
For the Defendants: ARTHUR H. FORMAN, ESQ.
98-20 Metropolitan Avenue
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Court Reporter: Charleane M. Heading
225 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York
(718) 613-2643
Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography, transcript
produced by computer-aided transcription.

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(In open court; outside the presence of the jury.)
THE CLERK: Case on the calendar is Chauca versus
Park Management LLC, case number 10-CV-5304, on for a jury
trial.
Will the attorneys please note their appearance
beginning with plaintiff's counsel.
MS. BUSH: Anne Donnelly Bush for the plaintiff
Veronika Chauca.
THE COURT: Good morning.
MR. FORMAN: Good morning. Arthur H. Forman for the
defendants.
THE COURT: Good morning.
Do we have housekeeping from counsel? The jury is
in the jury room.
MR. FORMAN: I just have, I have a copy of a
transcript I might be using for Veronika Chauca and a copy of
my trial exhibits.
THE COURT: Anything from you, Ms. Bush?
MS. BUSH: Just one exhibit for Ms. Chauca.
THE COURT: Here is what I propose to do since we
are this late. We certainly have Ms. Chauca's unexpected
run-in with a truck this morning. What we will do is, given
the hour, we will, unless this goes exceedingly fast, we will
just do my preliminary instructions to the jury and the
opening statements. Everybody has an opening statement.

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MR. FORMAN: Yes, I do.
MS. BUSH: Yes.
THE COURT: I am assuming. Okay.
Then we will do that. And should it really go like
a hot knife through butter, I might consider, I will meet with
counsel at side bar, but I probably would take the lunch break
and then come back and start fresh after lunch, because the
jury, obviously, has been here since before 10. So I am sure
they are chomping at the bit.
If there is nothing else, we will bring the jury in.
MR. FORMAN: Judge, is there any assistance that
Dr. Abraham can have for hearing?
THE COURT: In what sense, Mr. Forman?
MR. FORMAN: Is there any sort of devices for the
courtroom?
THE COURT: Other than the mic.
MR. FORMAN: Okay.
THE COURT: That I am aware of. Maybe William is
aware of things that I am not aware of. It is all amplified.
Sometimes we get a lot of feedback, but for the most part, it
works.
MR. FORMAN: The other thing, Your Honor, is I
believe that there's a witness in the courtroom. I would ask
that --
THE COURT: Yes. All witnesses, other than,

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Jury Instructions
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obviously, the parties should be excluded.
MS. BUSH: There's no witnesses.
MR. FORMAN: Okay.
(Jury enters.)
THE COURT: Counsel stipulate that the jury is
present, properly seated and is satisfactory?
MS. BUSH: Yes.
MR. FORMAN: And for the defendant, we do.
THE COURT: Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I
am Judge Eric Vitaliano. I will be privileged to preside over
this trial and I am going to ask our deputy William to swear
you in as jurors. Take the oath and respond.
THE CLERK: Raise your right hands.
(Jury sworn.)
THE CLERK: Thank you.
THE COURT: The jury has been sworn.
Ladies and gentlemen, we want to first of all not
only appreciate your service, but to apologize for the delay.
There are circumstances that are beyond our control. I want
to assure you, however, of our, and I mean all of us, our
commitment to try to make your stay as brief as possible, not
only overall, but during any day. If there are times when we
can excuse you early or there is still going to be things that
sometimes the lawyers and the judge do alone, we will do that.
We will try to give you as much notice about that as we can.

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Jury Instructions
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Everybody else can be seated.
As you might imagine, there are certain
contingencies that arise that prevent us from doing things
according to the schedule, that we plan to do them and so we
will apologize in advance, apologize retroactively and
prospectively for those kinds of delays.
Now, I first, again, want to congratulate you also.
America does its justice a little different than a lot of
places. We rely on ordinary people to make some of the most
important decisions both in civil cases like this one and
criminal cases as well.
Other countries that we would believe and denote as
democratic and free oftentimes rely exclusively on judges. So
we rely on ordinary people. So what that means is that our
justice system, the things that our flag stands for, the
things that our men and women have fought wars about are
reliant on people like you who are willing to put aside their
own business and accept service on a jury and make the system
work.
The system does not work without people doing
exactly what you are doing and I tell every jury, whether it
is in a civil case like this one or a criminal case the same,
that other than putting on a uniform and defending your
country in a time of war, there is no greater act of
citizenship and patriotism than to put aside your own personal

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Jury Instructions
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and business of work, put that aside and come and serve as a
juror. So we congratulate you on that.
Now, I am going to ask through my deputy clerk of
court and my law clerk, Amanda Elbogen, we are going to give
you some preliminary instructions before the trial actually
unfolds.
THE LAW CLERK: Members of the jury, we are about to
start the trial of this case about which you have heard some
details by Chief Magistrate Gold for jury selection. Before
the trial begins, however, there are certain instructions you
should have in order to understand what you will hear and see
and how you should conduct yourself during trial.
The plaintiff, Veronika Chauca, brings this action
against the defendants, Park Management Center, LLC, also
known as Park Health Center, Dr. Jamil Abraham and Ann Marie
Garriques, under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and
amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human
Rights Law.
Plaintiff claims the defendants unlawfully
discriminated against her when they failed to reinstate her
employment following her maternity leave. The defendants
claim they did so for nondiscriminatory, legitimate business
reasons.
At the close of the case, I will give you detailed

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Jury Instructions
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instructions about what the plaintiff must prove to establish
her claim and other applicable principles of law and those
instructions will control your deliberations and decisions.
But in order to help you follow the evidence, I will now give
you a brief summary of the elements which plaintiff must prove
to make her case.
To prevail on her claim that she was discriminated
against in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and
Title VII, plaintiff must prove two things to you by a
preponderance of the evidence. First, that the defendant,
Park Health Center, took an adverse employment action against
her. Second, that plaintiff's pregnancy was a motivating
factor in the defendants's action. Other factors may also
have been at play, but a motivating factor is one that plays
some part in the defendants's employment decision or practice.
The standard under New York State law is the same,
but it additionally allows Ms. Chauca to sue individual
defendants, here, Dr. Jamil Abraham and Ann Marie Garriques.
The standard under New York City law, which has a different
formulation not relevant here, still allows Chauca to prevail
on her discrimination claim if she can show that her pregnancy
was a motivating factor in the defendants's decision not to
reinstate her. It also permits Chauca to sue individual
defendants.
When I have completed these opening instructions to

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Jury Instructions
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you, the attorneys will make opening statements to you in
which each will outline for you what he or she expects to
prove. The purpose of such opening statements is to tell you
about each parties's contentions so that you will have a
better understanding of the evidence as it is introduced.
What is said in such opening statements is not evidence. The
evidence upon which you will base your decision will come from
the testimony of witnesses here in court, or in the
transcripts or depositions taken before trial, or in the form
of photographs, documents or other exhibits received in
evidence, or facts stipulated to by the parties, or noticed by
the court as uncontested.
Plaintiff makes an opening statement first and is
followed by defendant. After the opening statements,
plaintiff will introduce evidence in support of her claim.
Upon completion of the introduction of evidence, the
attorneys will again speak to you in a closing statement or
summation. In summing up, the lawyers will point out what
they believe the evidence has shown, what inferences or
conclusions they believe you should draw from the evidence and
what conclusions they believe you should reach as your
verdict.
What is said by the attorneys in summation, like
what is said by them in their opening statements or in the
making of objections or motions during the trial, is not

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Jury Instructions
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evidence. Summations are intended to present the arguments of
the parties based on the evidence. Under our system, the
defendant sums up first, followed by the plaintiff.
After the summations, I will instruct you on the
rules of law applicable to the case and you will then retire
for your deliberations. Your function as jurors is to decide
what has or has not been proved, and apply the rules of law
that I give you to the facts as you find them to be.
The decision you reach will be your verdict. Your
decision will be based on the evidence admitted before you
during the trial. You are the sole and exclusive judges of
the facts, and nothing I say or do should be taken by you as
any indication of my opinion as to the facts.
As to the facts, neither I nor anyone else may
invade your area of responsibility. I will preside
impartially and not express any opinion concerning the facts.
Any opinions of mine on the facts would, in any event, be
totally irrelevant because the facts are for you to decide.
On the other hand, and with equal emphasis, I
instruct you that in accordance with the oath you took as
jurors, you are required to accept the rules of law that I
give you, whether you agree with them or not. You are not to
ask anyone else about the law. You should not consider or
accept any advice about the law from anyone else but me.
The evidence from which you will find the facts will

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Jury Instructions
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consist of the testimony of witnesses, documents and other
things received into the record as exhibits, and any facts
that the lawyers agree to or stipulate to or that the Court
may instruct you to find.
After plaintiff has completed the introduction of
all her evidence, defendants may present witnesses and
exhibits. If they do so, plaintiff may be permitted to offer
additional evidence for the purpose of rebutting the
defendants's evidence.
Each witness is first examined by the party who
calls that witness to testify and then the opening party,
sorry, and then the opposing party is permitted to question
the witness. Certain things are not evidence and must not be
considered by you. I will list them for you now.
Statements, arguments and questions by lawyers are
not evidence. Questions put to the witnesses are not
evidence. It is the question, combined with the answer, that
is evidence. In addition to the lawyers's questions, I
occasionally may have asked questions for purposes of
clarification. Please do not assume that the questions are
evidence or that I hold any opinion on the matters to which
any questions may relate. Those questions are asked solely in
an effort or attempt to make something clearer.
Objections to questions are not evidence. Lawyers
have an obligation to their clients to make objections when

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Jury Instructions
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they believe evidence being offered is improper under the
rules of evidence. You should not be influenced by the
objection or by the Court's ruling on it. If the objection is
sustained, ignore the question. If it is overruled, treat the
answer like any other.
If you are instructed that some item of evidence is
received for a limited purpose only, you must follow that
instruction. Testimony that the Court has excluded or told
you to disregard is not evidence and must not be considered.
Anything you may have seen or heard outside the courtroom is
not evidence and must be disregarded. You are to decide the
case solely on the evidence presented here in the courtroom.
There are two kinds of evidence, direct and
circumstantial. Direct evidence is direct proof of a fact
such as testimony of an eyewitness. Circumstantial evidence
is proof of facts from which you may infer or conclude that
other facts exist. I will give you further instructions on
these as well as other matters at the end of the case, but
keep in mind that you may consider both kinds of evidence.
The law does not, however, require you to accept all
of the evidence I shall admit. In deciding what evidence you
will accept, you must make your own evaluation of the
testimony given by each of the witnesses and decide how much
weight you choose to give to that testimony. The testimony of
a witness may not conform to the facts as they occurred

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Jury Instructions
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because he or she is intentionally lying, because the witness
did not accurately see or hear what he or she is testifying
about because the witnesses's recollection is faulty, or
because the witness has not expressed himself or herself
clearly in testifying. There is no magical formula by which
you evaluate testimony. You bring with you to this courtroom
all of the experience and background of your lives.
In your every day affairs, you decide for yourselves
the reliability or unreliability of things people tell you.
The same tests that you use in your every day dealings are the
tests which you apply in your deliberations. The interest or
lack of interest of any witness in the outcome of this case,
the bias or prejudice of a witness, if there be any, the
appearance, the manner in which the witness gives testimony on
the stand, the opportunity that the witness had to observe the
facts about which he or she testifies, the probability or
improbability of the witnesses's testimony when considered in
light of all of the other evidence in the case, are all items
to be considered by you in deciding how much weight, if any,
you will give to that witness's testimony.
If it appears that there is a discrepancy in the
evidence, you will have to consider whether the apparent
discrepancy can be reconciled by fitting the two stories
together. If, however, that is not possible, you will then
have to decide which of the conflicting stories you will

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Jury Instructions
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accept.
This is a civil case and as such, the plaintiff has
the burden of proving the material allegations of her
complaint by a preponderance of the evidence. That means the
plaintiff has to produce evidence which, considered in the
light of all the facts, leads you to believe that what the
plaintiff claims is more likely true than not.
Those of you who have sat on criminal cases will
have heard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That
requirement does not apply in a civil case. Therefore, you
should put it out of your mind.
If, after considering all of the testimony, you are
satisfied that the plaintiff has carried her burden on each
essential point as to which she has the burden of proof, then
you must find for the plaintiff on her claims. If, after such
consideration, you find the testimony of both parties to be in
balance or equally probable, then the plaintiff has failed to
sustain her burden and you must find for the defendant.
If, upon the consideration of all the facts on the
issue of whether defendants discriminated against plaintiff,
you find that the plaintiff has failed to sustain her burden
of proof, then you should proceed no further and your verdict
must be for the defendants. If, however, you find that the
plaintiff has sustained the burden on this issue, then you
should proceed to consider the issue of whether defendant had

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Jury Instructions
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a legitimate business reason to act as they did.
In this regard, the burden is on the defendant to
establish the affirmative defense of a legitimate business
purpose. If you determine that the defendants have sustained
their burden of establishing the affirmative defense, then you
should proceed no further and your verdict must be for the
defendant.
If, however, you find that the plaintiff has
established the essential elements of her case and that the
defendants have not sustained their burden of the affirmative
defense, then you should proceed to consider the issue of
damages.
The purpose of the rules I have outlined for you is
to make sure that a just result is reached when you decide the
case. For the same purpose, you should keep in mind several
rules governing your own conduct during any recess, that is,
at any time you are not in the courtroom.
During the course of this trial, do not visit or go
by any location identified in testimony or documents. Also,
do not try to do any research or make any investigation on
your own about the case or any individuals or entities
involved in the case.
Do not read, listen or watch any accounts of this
case should it be covered by any media. Please do not discuss
the case either among yourselves or with anyone else during

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Jury Instructions
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the course of the trial. In fairness to the parties to this
lawsuit, you should keep an open mind throughout the trial,
reaching your conclusion only during your final deliberations
after all the evidence is in and you have heard the attorneys'
summations, and my instructions to you on the law, and then
only after an interchange of views with the other members of
the jury.
Please do not permit any person to discuss this case
in your presence, and if anyone does so, despite your telling
the person not to, report that to me as soon as you are able.
You should not, however, discuss with your fellow jurors
either that fact or any other fact you feel necessary to bring
to my attention.
Although it is a normal human tendency to talk to
people with whom one comes in contact, please do not, during
the time you serve on this jury, talk whether in or out of the
courtroom with any of the parties or their attorneys or any
witness. By this, I mean not only do not talk about the case,
but do not talk to them at all, even to pass the time of day.
In no other way can all parties be assured of the absolute
impartiality they are entitled to expect from you as jurors.
The description of trial procedure, the rules
governing your conduct and the legal principles I have
discussed with you will, I believe, make it easier for you to
understand the trial as it goes on and to reach a just result

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Openings - Bush
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at its conclusion.
We will now proceed with the next step in the trial,
which is the opening statement by the attorney for the
plaintiff.
THE COURT: Thank you, Ms. Elbogen.
All right. Ladies and gentlemen, we have completed
the first building block and we are now going to begin on the
next building block which is the set of opening statements.
Under our rules, the plaintiff proceeds first and can be
followed by the defendant.
So I call on Ms. Anne Bush, attorney for the
plaintiffs.
MS. BUSH: This is a case about pregnancy
discrimination. Plaintiff lost her job without notice while
she was out on maternity leave, and we will prove today that
she was fired from her job and that she was fired because she
was on maternity leave.
May it please the Court, Judge Vitaliano,
Mr. Forman, and ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The case
that the plaintiff will present today is compelling. She
worked for the defendants for three years as a physical
therapy aid. She got pregnant in 2009 and just about as she's
about to return back from maternity leave, she was fired by
the defendants. I represent the plaintiff, Veronika Chauca.
Opening statement is my chance to show and the

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Openings - Bush
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defendant counsel's chance to show what we think will be
proved in this case, and after you've seen all the evidence,
after you have heard from all the witnesses, after you have
seen all the exhibits, we'll speak to you again at the end of
the case in the summation.
Ladies and gentlemen, what do we expect to show in
this case? Well, the plaintiff expects to prove that she was
fired because she took maternity leave, that she was replaced
by a co-worker, and that the defendants had a pattern and
practice of firing other female employees while they were out
on maternity leave.
So we will expect to show that Veronika was fired.
Why was she fired? She was a good employee. She had been
working for the defendants for three years. She was a
certified physical therapy aid and she trained other
employees.
In 2009, in January, she got pregnant for the first
time at the age of 38. It was her first pregnancy and it's
produced her one and only child, Joshua.
Now, she was quite nervous about telling her
employers she was pregnant and she was taking maternity leave
because, as she will testify, she's previously witnessed them
try to fire other employees while they were out on maternity
leave. So Veronika was very careful to make sure she gave
written notice to her employers of her pregnancy, and she

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Openings - Bush
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wrote them a letter, and you will see the letter as an exhibit
in this case, and she told them that she would be taking
maternity leave and she would be returning in November.
Plaintiff's child was born in September 2009 and as
any new mother, she was thrilled to be, to have a baby,
however, when it came to returning to work, she called her
supervisor, Ms. Garriques, and her supervisor told her your
services are no longer needed. The plaintiff will testify
that she was fired from her employment just as she was about
to return from maternity leave.
The plaintiff tried to get her job back. She called
them in December and she called them again in January and in
February, and she called and she called and they would not
return her calls. And she never, in fact, got her job back.
The plaintiff became very depressed. She had a new
baby, she had no job. It was three weeks before the Christmas
holidays. She was so depressed that she went to see her
doctor and her doctor prescribed her sleeping pills and muscle
relaxants, and she began to get severe headaches, and Veronika
was referred to a neurologist because of her headaches. She
had MRIs and different scans, but they couldn't find anything
other than stress.
The second thing we expect the evidence to show is
that Veronika was replaced. She was replaced by a co-worker
named Debra. Her position was never eliminated. It was never

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Openings - Bush
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downsized. Her duties of the job remained the same, but the
job was given, lock, stock and barrel, to Debra by the
defendants.
We also expect to show that the defendants had a
pattern and practice of discrimination, and you will hear
plaintiff testify and the plaintiff's witnesses testify that
they had seen the defendants try to fire other women after
maternity leave.
Now, this case doesn't have a smoking gun. There is
no comments that have been made about Veronika's pregnancy and
Veronika will testify that she, that the defendants will claim
that she was fired for other reasons, for non-discriminatory
reasons. The defendants will claim that they fired her
because business was slowing down and because there had been
layoffs, and that staff were having their hours cut; however,
as you will see, the defendants have never produced one piece
of evidence to show that their business was slowing down, and
in fact, the only person who was laid off from the physical
therapy department was the plaintiff.
We also expect that the defendants will claim that
Veronika did not return any calls, did not call the defendants
after she, after the 2nd of December when she was fired, but
Veronika will testify that she did call and she called, but
they didn't return her calls.
In sum, ladies and gentlemen, the evidence will show

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Opening Statement - Mr. Forman
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that my client was fired because she was out on maternity
leave, that she was replaced by a co-worker, and that the
defendants had a pattern and practice of pregnancy
discrimination.
We also intend to show that the reasons given by
defendants for letting plaintiff go are pretext. They're
simply not true. And the real reason she was fired was
because she took maternity leave.
Now, the defendants expected Veronika to walk away
quietly, but she didn't, and that's why she's here today.
She's trying to fight for justice.
Ladies and gentlemen, we ask you to listen very
carefully to all the evidence and assess the credibility of
the witnesses, and I'm confident that you'll see that the real
reason she was fired was because she went out on maternity
leave.
Now, Veronika has been harmed. She was, she
suffered from depression, she was stressed, she had to seek
medical advice, and because she has been harmed, she should be
awarded damages.
At the end of the case, I'll speak to you again in
summation and I will be asking you for justice for Veronika in
this case, and I'll be asking you to return a verdict for the
plaintiff.
Thank you.

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Openings - Forman
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THE COURT: Thank you, Ms. Bush.
Arthur Forman will make an opening statement for the
defendants.
Mr. Forman.
MR. FORMAN: Your Honor, members of the jury. This
case is not about an employer treating an employee badly.
There's no law against that. The law is that you cannot
discriminate against employees because they're female. A part
of this case is also about gender discrimination and you
cannot discriminate against employees because they become
pregnant.
The plaintiff is suing for pregnancy discrimination
and gender discrimination. She's claiming that Park Health
Center and the two named defendants did not want to take her
back after she was on maternity leave because she had given
birth and taken time off, but there will be no proof that Park
Health Center does not want employees who are pregnant working
for them. There will be no proof that plaintiff's being
pregnant interfered with their business. Rather, the proof
will show that plaintiff took advantage of the fact that she
was pregnant while she was at work, so that she could stay
home with her newborn rather than come back to work, collect
unemployment, and sue Park Health Center for tens of thousands
of dollars.
Now, there's no direct proof that the defendant Park

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Openings - Forman
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Health Center or any of the individual defendants ever said
anything bad about employees being pregnant to anyone, but
there's lots of proof that they were fine with employees being
young, female, giving birth, leaving for a time to give birth
and coming back to work.
In fact, the plaintiff was a physical therapy aid,
worked with two other female employees, Debra and Jackie, both
of them gave birth around the same time as the plaintiff and
they are still there now. Plus, Park Health Center, of
course, has many female and young female patients. They get a
lot of income from young females around that age and pregnant,
and there's no reason why anybody at Park Health Center would
be embarrassed about any of the workers showing that they're
pregnant. Many of their patients are new mothers or potential
mothers and they do a lot of community outreach for young
mothers, mammograms, and for children they give scholarships.
The two individual plaintiffs, Dr. Jamil Abraham has
never been sued before for any type of discrimination,
although he's been at Park Health Center for many, many years.
(Continued on next page.)

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Opening Statement - Forman
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(continuing)
MR. FORMAN: Annmarie Garriques has worked at Park
Health Center also for many years, not only has never been
sued before for any type of discrimination, she herself was a
single working mother all her life.
There are three incidents that will be key in this
case. The first one will be a conversation with Dr. Jamil
Abraham and the plaintiff when the plaintiff claims that she
asked -- when she advises Dr. Abraham she will be taking off
for her pregnancy, that she's pregnant, and that in two months
she will be leaving with her pregnancy.
There will be no proof that after Dr. Jamil Abraham
knew that he was pregnant, that he took any adverse action
against her while she was still there at work. There was no
discussions about what day she wants to leave, whether she can
have three months to take off, whether she has to stay longer
than the time she wants to leave. Dr. Jamil Abraham was very
happy for her and whatever time she wanted, he said that would
be okay.
The second conversation is when the plaintiff wants
to return to work, that's around Thanksgiving, and she claims
that she talked to Annmarie Garriques and that Annmarie told
her in no uncertain terms that she was fired. The interesting
thing is that the conversation with Dr. Abraham, when
Dr. Abraham said everything was fine, take whatever time you

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need, the interesting thing is that the plaintiff
tape-recorded that entire conversation. The other interesting
thing is that when she claims that when Annmarie told her we
don't need you anymore, you're fired, that conversation was
not recorded. And you will hear testimony Annmarie, she never
told the plaintiff she was fired. Annmarie told her things
have slowed down in the physical therapy department, we're
fully staffed and keep in touch with us, we'd like to have you
back.
The third interesting incident is when the plaintiff
applies for Unemployment. She receives her Unemployment for
about a year-and-a-half, up until the time she gets another
job. So, for all that time, until she found another job, she
did receive Unemployment and was able to stay home with her
newborn.
Now, plaintiff will be asking you to punish the
defendants for what she alleges they did, for treating her
badly because of her pregnancy and that way, you will hear
that other employers and the Park Health Center will be
deterred from doing such things again in the future, but the
defendants will be respectfully asking you not to reward
Ms. Chauca for suing them. The defendants will show that
Ms. Chauca took advantage of her being pregnant when there was
no reason to believe that the Park Health Center, Dr. Jamil
Abraham or Annmarie Garriques had any ulterior motive or bad

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feelings about any employees who became pregnant at their
health center. Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Forman.
Ms. Bush, are you ready to call your first witness?
MS. BUSH: I would like to call the plaintiff,
Veronika Chauca.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Please raise your right hand.
(Continued on following page.)

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Chauca - direct - Bush
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V E R O N I K A C H A U C A,
called by The Plaintiff, having been
first duly sworn, was examined and testified
as follows:
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Please state your first and
last name spell.
THE WITNESS: Veronika Chauca -- V-E-R-O-N-I-K-A
C-H-A-U-C-A.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Thank you, have a seat.
THE COURT: Ms. Bush, you may inquire.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. BUSH:
Q Good morning, Ms. Chauca.
A Good morning.
Q Please, can you state your full name for the Court?
A Yes, Veronika Rosario Chauca.
Q How old are you?
A Forty-four.
Q What is your date of birth?
A January 12, 1971.
Q Where were you born?
A Peru.
Q When did you come to the USA?
A When I was six years old. I think it was '76, '77.
Sorry, '76, 1976.

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Q Where did you live when you came here?
A Our first house was in 138th Street and 91st Avenue and
Jamaica Avenue, Queens, New York.
Q And after that?
A After that, we moved to 117-19 93rd Avenue on
Jamaica Avenue also, in Queens.
Q Where do you live today?
A I live in New Jersey, 2115 Meadow Place, Linden,
New Jersey.
Q How long have you lived in New Jersey?
A About almost two years. It's going to be two years,
actually. Since October of 2013.
Q Who do you live with in New Jersey?
A My fiance and my son.
Q What is the name of your son?
A Joshua Carbonel (phonetic).
Q How old is he?
A Five.
Q What was his date of birth?
A September 9th -- September 2009.
Q Is he your only child?
A Yes.
Q Can you please tell the Court your educational
background?
A My public school, I went to IS -- I'm sorry, public

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school, I'm sorry, PS 82 on Jamaica Avenue and 130th Street in
Queens. Then I went to junior high school, which was Susan B.
Anthony on 180th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica. And I
went to Hill Crest High School, which is located on Parsons
Boulevard, Hillside Avenue, Jamaica.
Q Did you graduate from high school?
A No, I didn't. I actually left when I was in the ending
of my 10th grade and I went to satellite, which was on
165th Street to get my GED from there.
Q When did you get your GED?
A It was 1991, yeah, 1991.
Q Do you have any further qualifications or certifications?
A I went to Medical Universal School for physical therapy
aide and CPR.
Q When was that?
A That was in 2003, yeah, around 2003.
Q Can you tell us about your physical therapy aide course?
A Yes. I, it's basically to assist the physical therapist,
it's usually physical therapist, physical therapist assistant
and then the aide. Mainly as to set up the rooms for the
physical therapist, make sure all the rooms are set up for
them, assist them in doing exercise, do the exercise with
them, transporting patients from one place to another,
applying heat and cool packs or paraffin bath on hands or feet
or if they have Whirlpools or usually pool, we assist them

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with that.
Q Can you please tell the Court your job history, your
employment history?
A When I was in high school my first job was Dr. Jay's. I
used to go to school and after high school, I went to work in
Be-Bop, which was after school. From there, after I left
school, I went to J & J Auto Wreckings, which was a auto
wrecking place and I worked there as a receptionist for almost
four years. And from there, I went to Empire, which was
actually a big company back then, too. It was Empire on
Forest Hills and I was with them for almost four years also,
but they closed down the company. And after that, I went to
Avenue Medical, which was on Jamaica Avenue, 105th Street and
Jamaica Avenue. And I was with them for almost five years.
THE COURT: This was before your certification?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
A And after that, is when I went to Park Health.
Q At Avenue Medical, what were your duties?
A I was a physical therapy aide there, also. And then I
was trained there with a machine that the physical therapist
used to use, which is a range of motion machine. A lot of
companies started using them then, so they trained the staff,
which was the -- I was the only one, physical therapy aide,
how to use the machine. As long as the therapy was on the
premises.

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So it was a big deal, a big, you know, certificate
for the, if you were to learn the machine, so I wanted to
learn it and they trained me for it. And that's why when I
went to Park Health, Dr. Abraham asked me about the machine
and I told him yes, I know how to work it, and that was mainly
their concern. He really want to have to have somebody that
knew how to work the machine. Usually the therapist works it,
but they don't have the time to do it so that's why they train
the aid to do it.
Q Can you tell us how you came to work for Park Healthcare?
A Yes. When I was working in Avenue Medical, they started
cutting my hours, so I went from 40 hours a week to 20 hours a
week and I wanted to have a full-time job, so they didn't want
to give me my hours back. They said, you know, the time, it
was a small company. I was, okay, I need 40 hours, I need to
make more money. So I started looking for another job and
that's how I found -- I went through the, actually, drove down
the street, and I found a number, and I just called them, and
asked them for their fax number, and I faxed my resume, and a
few weeks later they called me.
Q Were you interviewed at Park?
A Yes. I was interviewed by Ms. Garriques, Annmarie
Garriques. When I went in, she put me in one of the rooms and
she interviewed me. She had my resume, she went over
everything and she said everything looks good. She said you

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know about this machine, the range of motion. I said yes, I
was trained in my previous job. She said okay, everything
looks fine, I like the resume. She said you speak different
languages? I said yes, I speak Spanish. She said great, that
I would be upstairs in the second floor, which is the physical
therapy department and she said I want you to meet Dr. Abraham
and I said okay. I waited for Dr. Abraham to come into the
room. He walked in, he introduced himself and he asked me
about the range of motion machine. He asked me if I knew how
to do it, which is all the parts, all the different parts of
your body, and I said yes, I know how to do it. He said okay,
when can you start. I say as soon as possible, I'm only
working part-time. So he said okay, he was like, okay, so do
you mind starting next week and I said no problem.
Q What was Ms. Garriques's job title at Park?
A She told me she was the office manager.
Q Did you ever have a supervisor at Park?
A Ms. Annmarie Garriques. She was the only supervisor
manager that everybody knew in the building.
THE COURT: Did that title ever change during your
time there.
THE WITNESS: Never.
Q Please, tell us the duties that you had at Park
Healthcare.
A To assist the physical therapist, making sure all the

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rooms were set up, applying heat and cold packs with all the
patients, assist them with exercise, Whirlpool, which they
had. Mainly just watching when they exercise, when they were
doing exercise and mostly, the range of motion machine, which
I which I focused on. That's really what he wanted me to
focus on, was the range of motion machine, because it was
billed separately than the physical therapy.
Q Did you have any other duties?
A I, yes. I also ordered the office supplies and I also
did receptionist work for them.
Q Were you the only physical therapy aide at Park when you
started?
A Yes.
Q Did there come a time when that changed?
A Yes. About three months, I think three months or four
months later, they hired Jackie Stern. She was working there
only on Fridays and Saturdays.
Q What was her job title?
A She also helped them with receptionist work upstairs and
if they needed her in the back, she would assist the
therapist. If he needed something, she would give it to him,
but she was mostly in the front.
Q Did you have any other co-workers in the physical therapy
department?
A No. It was just me, the therapist and Jackie Stern, when

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she was there.
Q Did anybody else join the physical therapy department?
A Yes. A few months later, Debra Mahearwanlal, she came
upstairs to work the receptionist job upstairs.
THE COURT: Was she downstairs?
THE WITNESS: Yes, she used to work downstairs and
she was a medical assistant downstairs on the first floor and
then, they put her upstairs on the second floor to do
receptionist work.
Q Do you know whether Jackie was experienced in physical
therapy aide when she joined Park?
A No. When we spoke, she told me she was there just doing
the front desk, filing, picking up the phones and sometimes
they would call her to the back, the therapist, because he was
usually alone unless I was there. They would call her to the
back and ask her for a heat pack or can you watch the patient
when he's on exercise, and that's what she would go back there
for.
Q Debra, was she experienced as a physical therapy aide?
A No, she wasn't. She was a medical assistant on the main
floor.
Q Did there come a time when you were involved in training
other staff at Park?
A Yes. A few months later, after Jackie and -- Jackie
actually became full-time. After a few months she started

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working upstairs with me in the back and Dr. Abraham and
Ms. Garriques asked me if I could train Jackie and Debra with
the range of motion machine. I told them fine, I'll do it.
He said the days that you're not here, at least they know how
to do it, would you be able to train them. I said yes, of
course, as long as there's a physical therapist, they're able
do it. And I trained Jackie and Debra with the range of
motion machine and with some of the duties in the back, how to
help them with the physical therapy room and how to set up the
rooms, put the heat packs, the cold packs.
Q Was there a time when you were working at Park when other
co-workers became pregnant?
A Yes. In the first floor, it was Sharene (phonetic), I
forget her last name, I'm sorry. Sharene, I don't recall, I
don't remember her last name right now. Anyway, Sharene, she
was pregnant and she came upstairs to tell us, everybody knew
each other in some way, we weren't close like the people
upstairs on the upstairs floor, but we all knew each other and
she came upstairs and she told us that she was pregnant and we
were happy for her. And a few weeks later, we found out that
she had a miscarriage, so she was out for a little while, and
when she came back, she came upstairs and she told us.
MR. FORMAN: Objection, Your Honor, as to hearsay.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q You had a conversation with Sharene?

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A Yes.
Q What did you understand was the result of that
conversation?
A They didn't want to take her back because she was out.
She had lost her baby and she was out and they didn't want to
take her back. They didn't want to take her back --
MR. FORMAN: Objection, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Not what she said. You can ask if she
came back.
Q Did there come a time when anybody else at Park became
pregnant?
A Yes. Debra Mahearwanlal, she was pregnant. She went out
on maternity leave and they didn't take her back. She came
upstairs and she told me --
MR. FORMAN: Objection, Your Honor; again, hearsay.
THE COURT: She just didn't come back. Then maybe a
follow-up question.
Q Did you have a conversation with Debra when she was
pregnant?
A Yes. I had a conversation with me and Jackie.
THE COURT: You had a conversation. You can't ask
what the conversation was.
Q What did you understand as a result of that conversation
with Debra?

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MR. FORMAN: Objection, Your Honor. No foundation.
THE COURT: For what? She asked if there was a
conversation.
MR. FORMAN: I understand that Debra came back.
What could she understand about that, other than what she said
Debra told her.
THE COURT: The question is, the appropriate
question is, did Debra come back.
Q Did Debra come back?
A No, she didn't.
Q Did you ever see Debra during her maternity leave?
A Yes. She came to the office when I was having lunch with
my other coworker, which is Jackie Stern the other aide, and
she was very upset. She told us --
THE COURT: You can't tell us -- that's called
hearsay. You can't repeat a conversation with another person
here in court.
Could you tell us, so I can catch up, put some dates
as to when she left and when she came back.
THE WITNESS: Oh boy. She left after her maternity
leave and she didn't come back.
THE COURT: Do you know when the maternity leave
was, approximately? When did she leave the employment to go
on maternity leave?

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THE WITNESS: To go on maternity leave? I don't
remember with a date that was. I think it was a few months
before I was pregnant, so that was...
THE COURT: It was before you became pregnant.
THE WITNESS: Before I became pregnant, yes. That's
when she went out and she didn't come back until after four or
five months.
THE COURT: Did she come back after you were still
pregnant or after you gave birth to Joshua?
THE WITNESS: No, after I was on maternity leave.
THE COURT: And you left on maternity leave in
approximately when in connection with when Joshua was born?
THE WITNESS: Let me see. I'm sorry, I forget
dates. I gave birth to Josh in September, so I had left on
maternity leave around August.
THE COURT: August of that year.
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: And when you left on maternity leave,
did this Debra person return yet?
THE WITNESS: No.
THE COURT: All right.
Q Did you have a second conversation with Debra when she
was out on maternity leave?
A Yes, we spoke on the phone.
Q What did you understand as a result of speaking to Debra

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on the phone?
MR. FORMAN: Objection, Your Honor, what could she
possibly understand other than what Debra told her?
THE COURT: Exactly.
Q Did there come a time when you found out that you were
pregnant?
A Yes. January 2009. That's when I found out I was
pregnant.
Q How old were you then?
A Thirty-eight.
Q Did you tell anybody at work that you were pregnant?
A Not for my first three to four months.
Q Why not?
A I tried for years to get pregnant and it never happened,
so when I did get pregnant, due to my age and my religion,
since I'm from Peru, we never really tell anybody we're
pregnant until after three or four months, I just wanted to
make sure everything was okay, that my pregnancy was going to
be all right before I told anybody. And I didn't, I just told
one of my co-workers, I was scared to tell Dr. Abraham,
Annmarie because of what they've done to two girls prior to
me.
Q What had they done?
A They didn't want to take Jackie or -- I mean, I'm sorry
Debra back to work. And she said she was going have a lawsuit

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on them. So, that's why they didn't want to -- I was scared
to tell them anything and so did Sharene. She threatened to
sue them also. Both of them threatened to sue them.
MR. FORMAN: Your Honor, note my objection to all
that testimony.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you want it stricken?
MR. FORMAN: No. They're going to testify later in
the trial.
THE COURT: Okay; so, subject to connection.
Q Did there come a time when you did tell your bosses at
Park?
A Yes. It was after fourth of July weekend. I went to
Dr. Abraham and I took a recorder and I wanted to record the
conversation because I was scared that they were going to fire
me. That's why I took so long to even tell them anything,
because I thought they would do the same thing to me. So, I
took the tape recorder in and I tape record our conversation
just to make sure that they knew that I was going to go on
maternity leave.
And I told them, I knocked on the door, I told him
hi, Dr. Abraham. He said hi, how are you. I said I need to
speak to you. He said have a seat. I said I don't know if
you heard, but I'm pregnant. He said really. I said yes, I'm
7 1/2 months pregnant. He says oh, wow, you're not showing,
you're small. I said, yeah, I'm pretty small. He said, oh my

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God, what's going on here; Debra, then you. I said, yeah, she
rubbed off on me, I guess everybody's getting pregnant now.
And he said, well, congratulations. And I said thank you.
And he said -- I told him, I said well, I just want
to let you know that I'll be going on maternity leave and I
just wanted to make sure that you know. He goes well, did you
tell Ms. Garriques. And I said no, I haven't told her but I'm
pretty sure she knows. Basically, everybody in the building
knows now that I'm pregnant and you know how rumors are. He
said okay, well just let her know and then you'll be fine.
And I said okay, no problem.
So I went upstairs. I was looking for Ms. Garriques
and I found her on the second floor. I told her can I speak
to you. She said no problem. We went into one of the rooms
and I told her, I said Annmarie, I'm pretty sure you heard but
I'm pregnant. She just looked at me, she said okay. I said
well, I spoke to Dr. Abraham and I told him that I'll be going
on maternity leave, I just wanted to let you know he said to
speak to you. She said, okay. And I said I just wanted to
let you know. She was like, okay. And that's how we left the
conversation.
Q Did you have a further conversation with anybody about
your pregnancy?
A I told Ms. Shirlie. Already everybody basically knew
that I was pregnant by then.

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Q Did you ever have a second conversation with Dr. Abraham?
A Yes. It was, I think it was August 20th. I, the night
before, which was the 19th, I typed up a letter telling him
that I was going to go on maternity leave, when I was leaving
and when I was due back, I would be out for the three months
then I would go back to work. The next day I went to his room
I knocked on the door again. He says yes, Veronika. I said
Dr. Abraham, I typed up this letter. I said, this is the
letter that I will be going on maternity leave. I said can
you read it, I said, and just tell me if everything is okay.
He took the letter, he put it on the desk and he
read it and he goes, oh, everything is fine, don't worry. I
said well, can you sign it, I just want to make sure
everything is okay. He said don't worry about it, he signed
it, he stamped it, he hand it back to me and he said give a
copy to Sheila from accounts payable. And that's it.
From there I went upstairs, I made a copy of the
letter and I went to Sheila that she did the paychecks,
accounts. I told Sheila, I said, Sheila I just spoke to
Dr. Abraham and he told me to give you a copy of this letter,
I'll be going on maternity leave. She said okay, have you
done all your papers to go on maternity leave. That's why I'm
here, to ask you for all my papers. She said okay, she helped
me fill out all the paperwork for maternity leave and she said
Veronika, this is -- she said this is Thanksgiving week. And

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I said yeah, but you guys are open on Friday. And she said
just come back on Monday, it makes no sense for you to come
back for one day. And I said okay, no problem, I'll be back
on Monday. So I gave her the letter, she put it in my folder
and from there on, I left.
Q I'd like to introduce an Exhibit that was pre-marked
Plaintiff's Exhibit 3.
THE COURT: Question. Was the tape recording that
you that you referenced, was that visible to Dr. Abraham?
THE WITNESS: No.
THE COURT: No. Okay.
Yes?
MS. BUSH: Your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Forman, you've seen this Exhibit?
MR. FORMAN: Yes, we have no objection to that
Exhibit.
THE COURT: It's going in as what number, Ms. Bush?
MS. BUSH: Plaintiff's pre-marked Exhibit 3.
THE COURT: Three. Three now in evidence, without
objection.
(Plaintiff's Exhibit 3 was received in evidence.)
THE COURT: You can describe it for the record, if
you want.
MR. FORMAN: For the record, it's a letter dated
August the 20th, 2009, to Dr. Jamil Abraham from Veronika

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Chauca.
Your Honor, can I approach the jurors, give them a
copy?
THE COURT: You have a copy of the letter?
MR. FORMAN: The letter.
THE COURT: Just pass one around, if you want and
then take it back.
(The above-referred to Exhibit was published to the
jury.)
THE COURT: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, at the
end of trial these Exhibits that, you will get them in the
jury room so you don't have to memorize them. This is sort of
to assist in your listening to the questions that Ms. Bush
will be asking of the witness that relate to the letter.
Q Ms. Chauca, can you please look at the letter, Exhibit 3.
A Yes.
Q And can you please read it to the Court for the record?
A Sorry, August 20, 2009, to Dr. Jamil Abraham. I will be
going out on maternity leave on August 27th, 2009, and I will
be out for two months. I will return to work on November 23rd
of 2009. Sincerely, Veronika Chauca.
Q Is that your signature?
A Yes.
Q What does it say underneath?
A CC Annmarie Garriques officer manager and the office

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stamp and Dr. Abraham's signature.
Q Thank you. What date did you go out on maternity leave?
A I left I think the following week.
Q What date was that, do you remember?
A Honestly, I really don't. I think it was August 27th.
Q When did you give birth?
A September, 2009. 10th, I'm sorry. September 10th, 2009.
Q Ms. Chauca, did there come a time when you stopped
working at Park?
A Yes.
Q Can you tell us about that. Plea?
A It was around Thanksgiving weekend, I was supposed to be
back to work the following week. I think Thanksgiving was the
27th, yeah the 27th. And I called them on Friday to let
them -- that same Friday I called them to let them know that I
would be back to work on Monday. When I called, I was
transferred to Sheila from accounts payable and I spoke to
her.
I said hi, Sheila, how are you, it's Veronika
Chauca. She said hi, how's the baby. I said everything's
fine. I said, I'm calling for Annmarie and Dr. Abraham but
they transferred me to you, but I'm calling to let you know
that I'll be back on Monday. She said you can't speak to me
about that, you have to speak to Dr. Abraham. I said okay.
She put me on hold then she put me through Dr. Abraham and he

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picked up. And I told him hi, Dr. Abraham, it's Veronika
Chauca. He said how are you. I said Dr. Abraham, I'm just
calling to let you know I'll be back to work on Monday. He
said you can't speak to me about that. I said what do you
mean. He said you can't speak to me about that, you have to
talk to Annmarie about it but she's not here, she is on
vacation. And I said well, I don't think I should speak to
anybody, I'm just calling to let you guys know I'll be back on
Monday. He goes no, you have to speak to Annmarie first. I
said okay. And I said well, when is she coming back. He said
she should be back in two days.
I waited until Monday, I called and she still wasn't
back. They transferred me back and forth again to
Dr. Abraham, he didn't pick up. Back to Sheila again. I
spoke to Sheila. I said, Sheila, what's going on. I said why
are they telling me I have to wait for Annmarie, I'm just
telling you guys I'm going back to work, what's the problem.
She said I don't know, you can't speak to me about this, you
have to wait for Annmarie to come back. I said okay.
I waited for the Tuesday, which was the 2nd, and she
was back already. And I spoke to her and when I told her, I
said Annmarie I'm just, I been calling you, they told me to
speak to you. I said, I was supposed to be back at work on
Monday but they told me you wanted to speak to me. She says I
don't know, you can't speak to me, you have to speak to

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Dr. Abraham. I said what's going on here. I said first is
Sheila telling me I have to speak to you, Dr. Abraham. Now
it's you telling me I have to speak to Dr. Abraham. What's
going on. She goes, I will call you back. I said okay.
She called me back a few hours later and when I
picked up the phone she said Veronika. I said yes. She said
Veronika, we no longer need your services. And I was like,
what? She said yes, we no longer need your services. I said
okay. I stood in shock. So she just hung up the phone. She
didn't give me a reason why she fired me, nothing. So, I of
course, I stood in shock for a while and I was like oh, my
God, have I been fired?
I tried calling back again later on. They didn't
pick up the phone. After that I tried calling back the
following day, which was December. I called back a few times.
I called back in January and in February, I kept trying to
call them to see what was going on and they would give me the
runaround. They wouldn't pick up my call. Every time I would
call, the receptionist would pick up the phone, which I knew
them and they would tell me hi, Veronika. Can you transfer me
to Annmarie? Sure. I would be on hold for 20 minutes,
sometimes 25 minutes. I would call back and say can I speak
to Dr. Abraham, and another ten minutes. Sometimes 20
minutes. I was getting tired of calling. I was like okay, I
guess I'm fired over here, what's going on here.

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I called my co-worker and she was like I don't know,
I don't know what's going on, you know, and I was like I don't
know what's going on, these people are not picking up the
phone on me. They're not returning my calls. I said, I said
Annmarie didn't even give me a reason why she was firing me.
I said all she said is we no longer need your services, and
that's it.
After that I just kept trying to call until
February. After that I realized I was fired because the only
reason that they had to fire me was because I was pregnant. I
never got any verbal notice during the three years I was
working with them, no verbal notice, no written notice that I
didn't do my job. They, if they trusted me to train other
co-workers, their receptionist work for them. When they
didn't have the therapist in the premises, I did the therapist
job that I wasn't supposed to do and I did it for them. So,
why would you fire me? There had to be a reason. It had to
be because I'm pregnant because that's the only reason they
fired me, when I was on maternity leave. Before that, they
never fire me. I never gave them any reason for them to fire
me.
Q What date were you fired, Veronika?
A The 2nd. December 2nd.
Q Did you try to get your job back?
A Yes, I called hem. I called them. I even have my call

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logs --
THE COURT: We've heard that testimony.
MR. FORMAN: Sorry.
A -- that I called them a few times.
THE COURT: No, we're waiting for another question.
THE WITNESS: Oh, sorry.
THE COURT: I don't know if we're changing topics.
Q All right. What happened next?
A After that, it's when I realized I was like okay, I guess
I'm never getting my job back and I knew that was illegal. I
knew that was illegal so you know what, I'm going to go make a
complaint. Everybody else would threaten to do it with then
and none of them ever did it. I wasn't the first one they did
it to. You know, I just, I had the courage to go and make a
complaint. Everybody else didn't do it. I made a complaint
with them and then I got an attorney because I knew what they
did was illegal.
Q Who did you make a complaint to?
A I went to the City, to the Board of, I forgot the name
of, what is it. The complaint department of the division of
complaint departments for employment, I forgot the name, I'm
sorry.
THE COURT: You can refresh.
Q Was it the New York State Division of Human Rights?
A Yes.

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Q What date was your complaint, do you remember?
A I think it was maybe about two months after I was fired,
so that must have been what, December January -- around
February, I think it was.
Q Why did you make a complaint?
A I was upset. I was upset that I was fired because I was
pregnant. That's the only reason they fire me, was because I
was pregnant.
Q So, after lost your job, did you look for another job?
A Yes. After, even though I still would call them here and
there, I would call my co-workers to see what was going on.
Then I found out that Debra had my position and I was, I was
like, wait a minute, why would she have my position.
Meanwhile, she started way three months after me, they should
at least call me back, you know, but none of them ever call me
back. I never received any calls from them. There's nothing
on my call logs that show any of their numbers, but my numbers
on the call logs calling them. So, I knew I was fired because
I was pregnant.
THE COURT: Ms. Bush, we are going to take a break.
I want to get a logical point to break since we are into the
lunch hour.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will take a lunch break.
In an ordinary day we would take a mid-morning break and we
will take a midafternoon break today. We will probably work

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to around 5:00, but again, sometimes we can finish earlier
because it doesn't make sense to move on to another witness.
The opposite sometimes is true, sometimes it makes sense to
continue to work past 5:00 to complete a witness, so there is
no set time for sure that I can tell that you we are going to
complete our work on any given day.
What I can tell you for sure, we are going to take
the break now and I want to repeat the instructions that you
received in the preliminary instructions that I prepared that
Amanda read to you.
When we take the break you are not to discuss this
case amongst yourselves or with anyone else. You are not to
use the time of the break to conduct any research about any of
the names, persons, places, personalities, statutes that are
involved in this case -- do that either electronically or the
old-fashioned way, by looking it up.
Also, to the extent that you are on social media of
any kind -- and I've lost track now of all the kinds there are
from Twitters to Instagrams to Vines to Facebooks to all of
this wonderful stuff that allows people to know
instantaneously what you're doing at any moment and what you
are thinking at any moment -- if you are on any of that stuff,
you are not to reference in any way, shape, manner or form, by
image or otherwise, that you are sitting as a juror or that
you are even coming to the United States District Courthouse

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in Brooklyn. There is absolute radio silence about that.
Fortunately, the weather is a little bit better, you
will be free to go out to one of the restaurants, one of the
luncheonettes in the area. You are not going to get lunch,
it's unfortunate, but our budget does not permit that, we
would love to be able to buy lunch for you, so you're on your
own for lunch. On future days, if you want to bring your own
lunch, we will find a place for you to eat it in the
courthouse if you don't want to go out for lunch, you are
certainly free to bring it in. We will ask you to try to get
back to the jury room at or around 2:15 and we will start as
close to 2:15 as we can.
So again, no social media, no discussions, keep an
open mind and we will see you about 2:15 after we hope you
enjoy a wonderful lunch. See you then. Thank you for your
patience and your cooperation.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: All rise.
(Jury exits.)
(Witness excused.) (Witness steps down.)
THE COURT: Okay, Counsel, here is what the ground
rules are, so that you will know. You are free to leave
anything you want to leave in the courtroom because William
will lock the courtroom during lunch, but if you think there
is something that you have that you think you might need

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during lunch, please take it with you. Otherwise, you can
leave anything you want in the courtroom because it will be
secured during the lunch hour, okay?
So, we'll see you around 2:15.
ALL: Thank you, Your Honor.
(Continued on following page with AFTERNOON
SESSION.)

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AFTERNOON SESSION
THE COURT: Any housekeeping before we bring the
jury in?
MR. FORMAN: One thing, Your Honor. I'll probably
be showing Plaintiff's Exhibit 4 on my cross-examination. I
didn't bring a copy but she should have it ready.
THE COURT: That's deemed admitted.
MR. FORMAN: Yes, stipulation.
MS. BUSH: Which exhibit is it?
MR. FORMAN: Plaintiff's Exhibit 4. I'll be using
that on cross-examination.
THE COURT: You are offering that, right, Ms. Bush?
Ms. Bush, you intend to offer 4?
MS. BUSH: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. So it is admitted.
MS. BUSH: Yes.
MR. FORMAN: Just copies for the witness and for the
jury.
(So marked.)
(Jury enters.)
THE COURT: Be seated, please.
Counsel will stipulate that the jury is present and
properly seated.
MS. BUSH: Yes.

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THE COURT: Mr. Forman, also, you acknowledge that?
MR. FORMAN: Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
All right. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed
your lunch. We are ready to resume. You will recall that the
plaintiff is on the stand.
VERONIKA CHAUCA ,
resumed, having been previously duly sworn, was examined
and testified further as follows:
THE COURT: You are still under oath.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
THE COURT: Still on the plaintiff's direct
examination by Ms. Bush.
And, Ms. Bush, you may proceed.

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DIRECT EXAMINATION (Cont'd)
BY MS. BUSH:
Q Ms. Chauca, after you stopped working at Park, did you
try to find another job?
A Yes, it was after February 9th. After I got fired, I
kept calling them and calling them, and since I didn't get any
return calls from any of them, I realized I was fired. So I
started looking for other employment.
Around that time, I was actually trying to move to
New Jersey with my fiancee, so I was trying to find something
in between. It was a little hard, but I put in my resume as
many places as I could.
When you're a physical therapist --
THE COURT: You have to wait for a question.
THE WITNESS: Oh, I'm sorry.
Q What kind of jobs did you apply for?
A For physical therapy aide or receptionist work, anything
I could find. But usually when you're a therapist or physical
therapist assistant, it's harder to find a job because you
have to go to college for at least four -- for two years and
it's easier to get a job as a physical therapist or a physical
therapist assistant.
As an aide, it's harder because usually everybody
takes them really fast, as soon as they get out of school. So
I tried to apply as many jobs as I could. I got called for a

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few of them, I went for the interview.
One of them --
THE COURT: We will let Ms. Bush ask some questions.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
THE COURT: She will feel lonely up there.
THE WITNESS: All right.
Q How did you look for work?
A Internet, I used to go by the medical places and I used
to take down their number, the same way I did with Park
Health, and I would fax my resume.
I went to Monsters. I went to Hot Jobs. I did a
lot of different things to try to get a job.
Q Did you have any interviews?
A Yes, I had about six interviews in Brooklyn. Aquatics, I
got called for that, but it was only for two to three days a
week, you know. So I told them I'll take it and then I guess
somebody must have been on maternity leave, or I don't know,
they were out and they came back. They never called me back
for that.
Then I got called for --
THE COURT: You never started work there?
THE WITNESS: What?
THE COURT: You never started?
THE WITNESS: No. They told me they would contact
me.

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A Then I had applied for other ones. I got called, I went
for interviews for those, but a few of those, they didn't call
back.
THE COURT: Could you fix an approximate time when
you are doing all of these interviews?
THE WITNESS: Around, like, the ending of February,
March, April. I know it was mostly around getting towards the
summer. All that time, I was trying to look for a job.
THE COURT: And this is 2010?
THE WITNESS: Yes, after I gave birth to my son,
yes, 2010.
THE COURT: Okay. We have another question.
Q Did you eventually find work?
A Yes. I went to, which is called Staten Island Physician
Practice. It's in Staten Island and I started working for
them. That was last year. They changed the name which is
called ACP, but I've been with them for almost five years.
THE COURT: You are there now?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay.
Q Now, did losing your job affect you financially?
A Well, I waited so long -- well, I couldn't have a baby
for such a long period of time, so when I got pregnant, I was
happy. I was spending most of my savings. It was my first
pregnancy, so I started spending my savings buying, you know,

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newborn baby, you want to buy everything for, thinking I had a
job to go back to. I said, okay, I'll make it up when I go
back to work.
And after I found out I was fired, I had no money
so, and then I had no -- I wasn't collecting anymore for
maternity leave. I didn't have that money either, so I,
that's why I kept trying to call back to see if I could get a
job and nothing, so, of course, it affected me.
I was a first-time mom. I was alone. I was -- I
wasn't with the baby's father, so I had -- I had just found
out my mom had cancer, so everything just affected me, of
course it did, you know. I started getting a lot of
headaches. I didn't know what to do, especially with a
newborn baby, you know, so -- but I did try. I tried. It's
not like I didn't try to get a job. I've been working since I
was in high school. I used to get out of high school and run
to go to work. So it's not like I didn't look for a job.
All my jobs lasted no are more than four or five
years. So it's not like I didn't want to work. I did try my
best to get a job.
THE COURT: And you did.
THE WITNESS: And I did.
THE COURT: Next question.
Q Did you keep in touch with any of your co-workers at
Park?

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A Yes. I kept in contact with Ms. Shirlie Evans and
with -- oh, my God, I'm sorry, I forget everybody's name --
Jackie Stern. I always kept in contact with them. Especially
Jackie since we both worked in the same department and we ate
lunch together. We did basically everything together.
Q Was there a time that Jackie became pregnant?
A Yes. I was already -- I wasn't working there anymore and
I used to always keep in touch with Jackie on the phone, and
one day she called me and she told me she was pregnant. And I
was -- I said congratulations. She was like, yeah, I'm
getting sick a lot, you know, through my pregnancy and --
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q Did you speak to Jackie often?
A Yes.
THE COURT: Can you fix a time for this?
Q What time period was this?
A Oh, I always kept in contact with her during my
pregnancy. After my pregnancy, after I gave birth to Josh,
and --
THE COURT: Did there come a time when your contacts
with this woman stopped?
THE WITNESS: Oh, yes.
THE COURT: And when was that?
THE WITNESS: After they rehired her back from, Park

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Health. She was also fired for being pregnant.
THE COURT: Can you give us times?
THE WITNESS: Sorry.
THE COURT: So we can know?
THE WITNESS: I gave birth to Josh, September, I
don't recall. Around the time that, I know it was maybe --
THE COURT: Was it in 2010?
THE WITNESS: Yes, I think the ending of 2010.
THE COURT: Is when she left or when she came back?
THE WITNESS: No, she was still there. She was
still there. I think it was 2011 is when she was out. She
was very sick through her maternity and she was out, and when
I spoke to her is when she told me they fired her.
BY MS. BUSH:
Q Did they say -- did she say why they fired her?
A The only reason they had was because she was pregnant.
They have no other reason to fire her.
Q Did they ever take her back?
A After I filed the lawsuit.
Q Did you enjoy working at Park?
A Yes.
Q What else about it did you enjoy?
A Everything. The reason why I became a physical therapist
aide was because I had a friend that was an aide and I was
always in the medical field. You know, I was always in the

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61
medical field so I enjoy being around people. I like working
with so many people, helping them. That's why I became a
physical therapy aid.
THE COURT: The question was directed why Park as
opposed to any other medical.
THE WITNESS: Oh, Park?
A It was a nice place. Big place. Nice staff upstairs.
You know, it was a nice place to work. I never had any
problems with anybody. I liked the fact that they had the
range of motion machine, something else for me to do besides
help with physical therapy.
I enjoyed working there. Everybody was nice. So
many patients. They had a lot of patients coming in all the
time.
Ann Marie was pretty nice when we first started. I
see her once in a while, but I never had any problems with
anybody there.
Q Were you good at your job?
A Yes. I was always good. That's why she asked me to
train with my co-workers. I trained Jackie. I trained Debra.
If they didn't trust me, if I didn't do a good job, why would
she ask me to train anybody else?
Q Okay. How did you feel in the weeks following leaving
Park?
THE COURT: Before the pregnancy or after?

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MS. BUSH: Sorry.
Q After you were fired, in -- December the 2nd, 2009?
A At first, I couldn't believe it. I didn't think -- I
just kept asking myself what did I do, did I do something
wrong. Let me at least ask them why they fired me. That's
why I kept calling back. At least get an explanation from
Ms. Garriques. All she said was, we don't longer need you.
She didn't even give me a reason why she fired me.
If she would have at least given me an explanation,
then I would not have been so upset and not having to
constantly worry why I was fired. But she didn't give me no
explanation. Nobody wanted to get in contact with me. Nobody
got in contact with me. So, of course, I was stressed out.
You know, it was hard for me to find a job. No
matter what, I did try to get a job. I was trying to look for
another job as soon as I realized I wasn't going to get my job
back, which that was almost three months that I was trying to
call them. That's why I kept in contact with Ms. Jackie, I
kept in contact with Ms. Shirlie, to find out what was going
on, if they knew anything, but nobody knew absolutely nothing.
Q Okay. Did losing your job have any physical effects on
you?
A Yes. I mean, after that, I just started getting so
stressed out. I started getting so stressed out. I guess I
stressed myself out so much that I started getting headaches.

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I couldn't sleep thinking what am I going to do. Is it going
to be hard for me to find another job, because no matter what,
I still kept trying to find it and either I won't get a call,
I wouldn't get a call, so I was like, how long am I going to
be without a job. I've never been without a job.
Q Did you seek medical advice?
A Yes. I went to my regular doctor and I told him that I
was getting a lot of headaches. So he said, listen, I'm going
to give you some muscle relaxers, but maybe you should see a
neurologist. And I told him I don't care where you send me
to, I just want to find out why I'm getting so many headaches.
He sent me to the neurologist. When I saw the
neurologist, he told me that -- he sent me for the MRI -- I'm
sorry. He sent me for the MRI. My MRI came back negative,
and he said, are you under a lot of stress? I told him this
is what happened.
He goes, he goes, listen, it has to be from your
stress. He goes, you need to calm down. He was, like, I'm
just going to give you something for your headache and
something so you could just relax at nighttime.
I didn't want to constantly take muscle relaxers
because I had a newborn baby anyway, so when I had the
headaches, I would take, you know, the medication here and
there, but I've never been the type to be on medication
anyway.

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Q How long did you take the medication for?
A For about maybe a few months. I would take it here and
there when, sporadically, whenever I needed it. I wouldn't
take it all the time.
Q And how often did you see the neurologist?
A I saw him twice.
Q Did he prescribe for you medication?
A Yes. He gave me something for my headache, I forgot the
name of it, and he gave me a muscle relaxer also.
Q And how long did you take the medicine for the headaches?
A For the headache, I would take it at least twice or three
times a week. The muscle relaxers, that was once in a blue
moon. I didn't want to take that. It gets me really sleepy
so ...
Q As you stand here today, do you have any feelings about
your experience at Park?
A Oh, yeah. All I wanted was an explanation. That's all I
wanted, why was the reason I got fired. If I didn't do my job
right, why did they keep me for so many years? If I didn't do
anything right, then why did they trust me with anything else?
They trusted me with -- they didn't have a therapist
on the premises, but then I was good enough to fill in for a
therapist and do notes that I wasn't supposed to, but I did it
because I wanted to keep my job. Anything they asked me for,
I did it. They wanted me to train somebody else. Two girls,

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Chauca - cross - Forman
65
I trained.
They wanted me to do receptionist work. I did it
for them. If I did anything wrong, why they never gave me any
written -- absolutely nothing. They never said anything to
me. All they told me is, Dr. Abraham, you did a good job,
Veronika, you did a really good job, thank you.
If I did such a good job, then why fire me and put
somebody else in my position instead of calling me back? You
understand? So if I was such a bad worker, why treat me like
that?
Obviously, if I'm the only, if I'm the only one that
was qualified for the job, why not call me back? It's not
like I didn't try to call them back. I did try.
THE COURT: No pending question at this point.
MS. BUSH: No more questions.
Just wait there, Veronika.
THE COURT: Thank you, Ms. Bush.
Any cross, Mr. Forman?
MR. FORMAN: Yes, I'd like to cross-examine the
plaintiff.
THE COURT: Please.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. FORMAN:
Q Hi, Ms. Chauca. I'd like to start by something you said
last, which might be fresh in your memory.

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You said that Jackie got pregnant while she was at
Park Health. Is that correct?
A Yes.
Q And you said they took her back after you filed the
lawsuit. Is that correct?
A Yes.
Q And she -- that was in 2011 that they took her back after
she was on maternity?
A I -- it was around that time that I used to speak to her.
I don't remember exact dates because I wasn't working there
any more. We kept in contact on phone all the time.
Q And what makes you think that Park took her back because
you filed a lawsuit?
A It's after she told me. We spoke on the phone. She told
me. She was sick through her whole pregnancy. She was out.
She told me, they fired me, they didn't even want to give her
unemployment, and a few months later after I filed, I filed a
lawsuit, is when they took her back.
Q Where did you file -- which lawsuit are we talking about?
A The lawsuit against Park Health Center.
Q And do you know the year that this lawsuit was filed?
A 2010.
Q And that was a year before Jackie got pregnant?
A No. That was after -- I think it was around the time
that Jackie got pregnant. No, Jackie got pregnant after. I'm

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sorry.
Q Jackie got pregnant after you filed this lawsuit?
A Yes, I think so.
Q And what about this conversation that you had with her,
was that before you filed the lawsuit or after?
A Jesus. I think it was after, after I filed the lawsuit.
Q Okay. So do you want to reconsider your testimony that
Jackie was rehired at Park Health Center because you filed a
lawsuit?
A Excuse me? I'm sorry.
Q You want to reconsider your testimony that you told us
under oath just maybe 15 minutes ago and again when I asked
you about it, that Jackie was rehired at Park after she had
been terminated because you filed this lawsuit?
A I don't remember dates exactly. Okay? I'm sorry. I'm
really bad with dates.
All I know is that Jackie and I spoke many times and
she was in the hospital and she told me Park had fired her.
They didn't want to take her back.
I don't remember exactly what date that was. This
is five years ago, I got fired. I'm not remembering exactly,
exactly what date I spoke to Jackie or what date. Do you
understand?
I know that after I filed the lawsuit, after that, I
think it's around the time that Jackie was pregnant.

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Q So she was not rehired after you filed -- well, I'm
sorry. She was -- okay, I'll take that back.
THE COURT: And I am afraid the jury might be
confused.
When did you say Jackie became pregnant, to the best
of your knowledge?
THE WITNESS: 2010 -- I'm trying to remember. I
know it was after I left. So either it was the ending of 2010
or the beginning of 2011. I know it was around that time.
THE COURT: And when do you understand that Jackie
was rehired by Park?
THE WITNESS: That was -- I didn't even know. She
stopped -- once -- I used to --
THE COURT: Let me ask that question. Maybe it will
help. Maybe it will help me.
How did you come to know that Jackie was rehired?
THE WITNESS: She stopped talking to me. She
stopped talking to me. I would call her and call her and she
wouldn't return my calls, and I found out from my other
co-worker, Ms. Shirlie, that she was rehired. That's how I
found out. She wouldn't take my calls after that.
THE COURT: And do you recall when that took place?
THE WITNESS: It must have been around 2011, like
maybe towards the middle or maybe the ending.
THE COURT: But it was after her pregnancy, correct?

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THE WITNESS: Yes. This is after she had -- yeah,
she was in the hospital most of the time when she was
pregnant. She was out constantly. She was sick. She would
call me from the hospital. I would call her and that's how I
found out because she's the one that told me. She says they
fired me and they don't want to give me unemployment.
BY MS. BUSH:
Q And it's your testimony you filed a lawsuit after that
conversation?
A Must have been like in maybe, in the middle, around that
time. I don't recall exactly. I know it was -- it must have
been after, after she got pregnant -- I mean, before she got
pregnant. I'm sorry.
I filed a lawsuit a few months after I went on
maternity leave. Then a few months later, that's when Jackie
became pregnant. So it was before.
Q And then a few months after that, you had the
conversation?
A Yes. During the time that she was in the hospital,
that's when I had the conversation with her.

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Side Bar
70
Q Okay. So the lawsuit had already been filed months
before you had this conversation with Jackie?
MS. BUSH: Objection.
Can I have a side bar, please?
THE COURT: Sure.
(The following occurred at side bar.)
MS. BUSH: There seems to be confusion of the date
of the division claim and the date the federal claim was
filed.
THE COURT: This is 2010?
MS. BUSH: This is November 17, 2010 we filed in
federal court, so getting mixed up with the, whatever you
filed the lawsuit, she's thinking division claim.
THE COURT: Well, this has not been her testimony
yet, this also comes before she is rehired, before she has a
pregnancy.
MS. BUSH: No. Jackie got pregnant in May.
THE COURT: Okay. So you know the facts.
MS. BUSH: I know the chronology. So she keeps
saying that she was, she had the conversation.
MR. FORMAN: I can't testify for her.
THE COURT: When did the -- well, you can always
correct her or redirect. When was the division complaint
made?
MS. BUSH: That was in --

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Side Bar
71
MR. FORMAN: December '09.
THE COURT: Of '09?
MS. BUSH: We didn't file the federal complaint
until a year later because we were negotiating.
THE COURT: Yes.
MS. BUSH: Yes.
MR. FORMAN: I'll ask her about that right now.
I'll move on to that division complaint.
MS. BUSH: Okay. So, she filed the federal
complaint in November 2010, and Jackie came back in May 2011.
That's the facts.
MR. FORMAN: All right. Six months.
MS. BUSH: Read the deposition.
MR. FORMAN: Seven months.
THE COURT: You can ask the question about that if
you want. If he does not, then when you get redirect, you
can.
(End of side bar.)

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72
(In open court.)
BY MR. FORMAN:
Q Ms. Chauca, it's your testimony that you kept in touch
with Park Health Center for three months after you were told
that you were fired. Is that correct?
A Yes.
Q So you got fired December 2, so you kept in touch a
little after in December, January, February. Is that correct?
A Yes. I didn't keep in touch with -- I kept calling.
They wouldn't answer my calls. They wouldn't return my calls.
I was leaving messages.
Q So you felt there was still a chance that you could be
taken back to work?
A Yes.
Q And when did you file for unemployment insurance?
A I think it was around maybe February. Around February.
Q And when did you file with the New York State Division of
Human Rights for pregnancy discrimination?
A I don't remember exactly what date was that. I told you
I'm so bad with dates. I'm sorry.
Q Well, let me just take a second to get my papers and
maybe I can refresh your recollection.
Thank you.
(Pause.)
MR. FORMAN: I show the witness what has been

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73
pre-marked as Defendants' Exhibit B.
THE COURT: You may.
You can look at it and read it to yourself.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
MR. FORMAN: For the record, Your Honor, this
document has been stipulated as admissible evidence.
THE COURT: Are you offering it?
MR. FORMAN: Yes.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MS. BUSH: No.
THE COURT: Received in evidence, Defendants' D.
MR. FORMAN: B.
THE COURT: "B," as in boy?
MR. FORMAN: Yes.
THE COURT: B.
(So marked.)
THE COURT: And what is this document that the
witness is reading from?
MR. FORMAN: While the jury is reviewing the
document, this is a notice from the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to, sent to the Park Health Center. It
says: Person filing charge: Veronika Chauca. This person
claims to be aggrieved. Date of the violation, December 3,
2009.
There's an EEOC charge number and it says that a

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74
charge of unemployment discrimination under Title VII, the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been filed, and it's dated at the
bottom December 11, 2009.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
THE COURT: Do you have a question for her?
MR. FORMAN: Yes. I'll collect that from the jury.
BY MR. FORMAN:
Q Ms. Chauca, have you seen this document before?
A Yes.
Q And can you tell us what it is?
A Yes. This is when I filed for unemployment -- oh, no,
this is when I went on maternity leave, right?
Q This appears to be a discrimination charge against Park
Health Center.
A Okay. Yes. I'm sorry.
Q Okay. It says on the bottom that they're notifying them
it's from you on December 11, 2009.
Does that refresh your recollection as to when you
filed the charge of discrimination against Park Health Center?
A Yes, yes, now it does.
Q And when was that?
A December 11, 2009.
Q That was about a week after you were terminated?
A Yes.
Q Okay. So while you were still contacting the Park Health

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Center, is it true that you filed a charge of discrimination?
A Yes.
Q And if you were still contacting the Park Health Center,
why did you do that?
A I was still trying to get my job back no matter what. I
didn't -- when I went to file this, I didn't think it was
going to turn out to be a big thing about it. You understand?
I was still -- no matter what, I was still trying to
get my job back. Even if I filed this, I wanted to scare them
in some way. Okay? I wanted to scare them in some way at
least maybe they would call me back, but nothing.
Even, even -- let's just say if I filed this, okay?
Why would I still try to call them? Why would I still have my
call log saying that I'm the one that called them, but they
didn't call me back?

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Chauca - Cross - Forman
SAM OCR CRR RPR
76
(Continuing)
CROSS EXAMINATION
BY MR. FORMAN:
Q That's the question to you, why did you call them if you
filed a charge of discrimination?
A Because I was still trying to get my -- my job back.
Q Thank you.
MR. FORMAN: I'm showing the Witness Exhibit C, I
believe that has also been stipulated to as being admissible.
THE COURT: Is that correct?
MR. FORMAN: I show it to the witness and ask that
it be admitted as Exhibit C.
MS. BUSH: Yes, no problem.
THE COURT: Received in evidence, C without
objection.
(Exhibit published.)
(Defendants' Exhibit C was received in evidence.)
MR. FORMAN: Your Honor, this is a document that
appears to be unemployment insurance notice of potential
charges. It says date mailed December 4th, 2009, mailed to
Park Management Systems, LLC and it says the Claimant is
Veronika Chauca at claim effective November 30th, 2009, at
$219 a week.
(Pause.)
THE COURT: Do you have a question for the witness?

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SAM OCR CRR RPR
77
MR. FORMAN: I'll just collect that from the jury.
BY MR. FORMAN:
Q Ms. Chauca, does this refresh your recollection as to
when you applied for unemployment insurance?
A Yes, I told you, I'm sorry, I'm bad with dates.
THE COURT: Okay, she's answered the question.
Q And is it correct that you applied for unemployment
insurance for before December 4th, 2009?
A Yeah, I know it was in December.
Q Did you begin collecting as of November 30th, 2009?
A No, it comes after. It's just -- this is from when the
time that you get fired.
THE COURT: What he's questioning is whether or not
you actually got a claim that retroactively went back to
November 30th?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: And that was approved?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q So to the best of your recollection now, do you know when
you applied for unemployment insurance?
A In December.
Q Beginning of December?
A Yes.
Q Just a few days after you were terminated?
A Yes.

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SAM OCR CRR RPR
78
Q And did you tell unemployment insurance you were
terminated?
A Yes.
Q Going back to your testimony, you said that you went to a
physical therapy aid course. How long did that course last?
A About eleven weeks, I used to go five days a week.
Q And did they teach you to use range-of-motion machine in
that course?
A No, they didn't.
Q Where did you learn to use the --
A I learned that in Avenue Medical.
Q On the job?
A On the job, yes.
Q You said that Ann Marie was your only supervisor?
A Yes.
Q What about the physical therapist at work, did he
supervise you?
A No, it was Ann Marie that -- of course, we had to follow
what the therapists did, to help them, it was -- we had to do
what the therapist tells you because that's part of the job.
But the supervisor was Ann Marie, she was the one that gave us
the hours, what time we left, what time we came, if we could
leave early. Anything that we had to do had to go through Ann
Marie.
Q For scheduling?

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SAM OCR CRR RPR
79
A Everything.
Q What else besides scheduling did Ann Marie do?
A Besides that, she did -- well, she did our hours. She
did -- she told us what we had to do upstairs, when to order
the supplies, all her manager job -- duties. Any -- anything
that -- any time we had to take off we had to let her know.
Q Take off?
A Yes, take off.
Q That's scheduling, isn't it?
A Yeah, well --
Q What about the supplies, how did Ann Marie know what
supplies you needed?
A Because any time the therapist needed anything to be
ordered, it had to go through Ann Marie. She the one that
gave us the okay to order.
Q And the therapist would tell you which supplies he
wanted?
A Yes. And every job is like that, the therapists tell you
what they need in the rooms, it has to go through management,
and then we're allowed to order it.
Q Now, you said that several employees were pregnant while
you were at Park Health Center?
A Yes.
Q You were not the only one?
A Yes.

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SAM OCR CRR RPR
80
Q Were there ever any parties for any people who were
pregnant while at Park Health Center?
A The only one that I recalled was Fabiola, which she
worked downstairs. And I don't think it was even a party, it
was just a collection that they did for her.
Q At work?
A Yes.
Q Because she was pregnant?
A Yes.
Q Now, you said Debra, Debra worked as a PT aide and a
receptionist, is that correct?
A Debra was hired as a medical assistant, then she came up
as a receptionist.
Q Okay. And she was pregnant while she worked at Park
Health Center?
A Yes.
Q How many times was she pregnant?
A Twice.
Q And were either of those times before you were pregnant?
A Yes.
Q How long before you were pregnant did Debra get pregnant
the first time?
A The first time was, I think, maybe about eight months,
maybe about seven, eight months before I was pregnant.
Q The first time how much time off did she take related to

Pregnancy Discrimination Trial, April 2015: Part 1

Pregnancy Discrimination Trial, April 2015: Part 1

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