Former Warren Executive Sues Johnson & Johnson Alleging Sexism

WARREN, NJ — Warren resident and former Johnson & Johnson executive Gina Bilotti filed a lawsuit against her former employer alleging sex and gender discrimination after she says she endured persistent verbal abuse from her male supervisors before her career was sabotaged.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Essex County. Bilotti is represented by Nancy Erika Smith, Esq., of the Montclair law firm Smith Mullin, who is well-known for representing women in harassment and discrimination cases over the past 40 years.

"She is hoping to shed a light on this. It is very important, and we want other women to know they are not alone," said Smith.

Johnson & Johnson did not respond to Patch's request for comment.

She was promoted 17 times, and eventually became a business-line VP supervising more than 350 employees, managing a budget of $85 million, and overseeing a pharmaceutical portfolio valued at about $42 billion before she was fired in May, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit alleges Bilotti's supervisor Darren Snellgrove undermined, cursed at, and demeaned Bilotti by telling her to "shut up", saying "f--- you, Gina", asking her "did I tell you [that] you could talk?", and threatening that he controlled her "headcount" and "budget".

The complaint claims Snellgrove's sexism and verbal abuse of Bilotti was so public and severe that several co-workers filed HR complaints on her behalf.

Bilotti did report the alleged abuse to human resources but in return, she was penalized as her budget was cut by more than 20 percent over two years, according to the complaint.

Additionally, Bilotti made allegations of sexism when she began reporting to Mathai Mammen, Global Head of Research & Development for J&J.

Mammen may have been grooming Belotti for a sexual relationship but that ended when Mammen checked Belotti's Facebook page and discovered she was a single gay mother, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit says Mammen began to treat Belotti dramatically differently, significantly reducing his contact with her and interacting with her in an abrupt and demeaning manner.

"Immediately after seeking help from CEO [Alex] Gorsky, Belotti experienced an escalation in the dismantling of her responsibilities and, in the end, her career. Gorsky clearly participated in increasing the retaliation against Plaintiff for her complaints about discrimination, harassment and retaliation against her personally – and against women, gays and minorities in general," according to the lawsuit.

"I have been doing this for 40 years and I wish I could say I was surprised," said Smith. "When women complain they get the blue wall of silence. The HR and executives retaliate against you and force you out. There are very few women or minorities who have survived complaining abut discrimination."

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