ROBIN B. WOJTKOWIAK VS. NEW JERSEY MOTOR VEHICLE
COMMISSION AND NEW JERSEY DIVISION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
A-5341-12T4
In this LAD case, complainant asserted that her agoraphobia
required the MVC to exempt her from appearing to be photographed
for her driver's license. Because a court must determine
whether the accommodations demanded are required to afford the
services sought, the court holds that a LAD claimant has the
burden to prove the extent of the disability where it is
relevant to the reasonableness of the accommodations offered or
demanded. When the extent of the disability is not readily
apparent, expert medical evidence is required.
Because complainant's medical evidence did not clearly specify the extent of her limitations, she failed to show the accommodations offered by the MVC were unreasonable. However, given her ongoing need for a driver's license, a new claim of
future acts of discrimination, supported by new and materially
different evidence of her limitations at that time, would not be
barred as "the same grievance" under N.J.S.A. 10:5-27.
