A Long Island mom was unjustly fired after donating a life-saving kidney to her boss, a state panel found yesterday.
The state Division on Human Rights decision said there was “probable cause” that Debbie Stevens’ employers engaged in a discriminatory practice — namely that she was axed from her administrative-assistant position at the billion-dollar Atlantic Automotive Group on Long Island after donating her organ to her boss and then-friend, Jackie Brucia.
“I gave away my kidney, not my brain. Something was very different when I came back,” Stevens said.
The finding paves the way for a $15 million suit Stevens plans to file against the dealership and Brucia.
“She has permanent physical and emotional damage,” said Stevens’ lawyer, Lenard Leeds.
In January 2011, an ill Brucia took Stevens, 49, up on her offer for the kidney.
Stevens, whose kidney was not a match, donated her organ to someone else in Brucia’s name which bumped her up on the waiting list.
When Brucia, 61, returned to work, she badgered Stevens, had her demoted, then had her fired, Stevens said.