Brett DiNovi and Associates Lawsuits: Discrimination and Harassment

Brett DiNovi and Associates, the New Jersey-based Applied Behavior Analysis provider, has faced at least six known lawsuits between 2021 and 2025 alleging sex-based pay discrimination, workplace harassment, wage-and-hour violations, a personal injury from a restraint demonstration, and the sexual assault of a minor by an employee. Several have settled or been dismissed; at least one discrimination case and the Pennsylvania assault case remained active in available records. CEO Brett DiNovi has been personally named in three of the discrimination suits.

Sarah Lewis: Pay Discrimination and Retaliation

Former human resources employee Sarah Lewis sued BDA, Brett DiNovi, and supervisors Jason Golowski and Kristen Holmbeck in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in October 2022. Lewis alleged a male employee in a comparable compliance role earned roughly $43,000 more than she did, that the company ignored policy violations by male employees, and that she was denied a promotion because of her sex.¹

She also alleged that after she filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and raised internal complaints, the company retaliated against her and terminated her in June 2022. Her amended complaint pleaded 13 counts under Title VII, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and New Jersey wage statutes.¹

In June 2023, the court granted a partial motion to dismiss on the NJLAD claims against the individual supervisors, finding they did not qualify as “employers” under the statute. The court refused to strike a “pattern and practice” allegation, treating it as a permissible factual predicate for Lewis’s individual claims.¹²³

Rachel Philbin: FLSA Class Action

Rachel Ann Philbin filed a class action against BDA in December 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case was categorized as a labor dispute over fair pay standards. Judge Christine P. O’Hearn approved a settlement in November 2024, and the case was terminated in December 2024. The settlement terms were not disclosed in the available records.⁴

Carli DiRienzo: Harassment and the “17 Reasons” Document

Carli DiRienzo, a former employee, sued BDA, Brett DiNovi, and Jason Golowski in June 2023 in the District of New Jersey. She alleged the company subjected female employees to what she called “pervasive discrimination and harassment,” including forcing them to sign a document titled “17 Reasons Why Women Don’t Make Good Leaders.” She also alleged BDA refused to hire women who were pregnant or who could potentially become pregnant.³

The case was terminated in August 2024, and the defendants filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice in November 2024.⁵ Whether a settlement was reached, and on what terms, was not detailed in available records.³

Heather Francisco: Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

Heather Francisco filed suit in May 2024 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth County, naming BDA, Brett DiNovi, Jason Golowski, and Lisa Riley. The complaint alleges gender discrimination and sexual harassment, classified under intentional torts and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, with a jury demand. The defendants answered with their own jury demand in August 2024. The case remained open before Judge Linda Grasso Jones as of April 2026.⁶

Restraint-Technique Injury Suit

A 2023 lawsuit involves a New Jersey public school employee who alleged that a BDA employee broke her wrist while demonstrating restraint techniques for children. The plaintiff’s name, the case number, and the court were not identified in the available reporting, and no outcome has been publicly reported.³

Pennsylvania Sexual Assault of a Minor

A lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania in July 2025 alleges that a BDA employee groomed and sexually assaulted a minor who was in the employee’s care, on more than one occasion. The plaintiff is represented by attorney David Kwartler. The specific court, case number, and individual defendants were not disclosed in the available reporting, and the current status has not been publicly reported.³

Names That Appear Across Multiple Cases

CEO Brett DiNovi is a personal defendant in the Lewis, DiRienzo, and Francisco cases. Jason Golowski, a supervisor at BDA, has appeared as a named defendant in each of those three suits as well. In Lewis, the claims against Golowski and the other individual supervisor were dismissed because they did not qualify as “employers” under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.¹ He remained a named defendant through the conclusion of DiRienzo⁵ and is a current defendant in the open Francisco case.⁶

The Bangor Daily News has reported that BDA has been involved in additional, unnamed lawsuits over workplace discrimination against female employees and labor law violations beyond the cases detailed above.³

1
Midpage. Lewis v. Brett DiNovi and Associates
2
CourtListener. Lewis v. Brett DiNovi and Associates, LLC
3
Bangor Daily News. Brett DiNovi Associates Lawsuits Midcoast School Building Rental
4
PACER Monitor. Philbin v. Brett DiNovi and Associates, LLC
5
PACER Monitor. DiRienzo v. Brett DiNovi and Associates, LLC
6
Trellis Law. Francisco Heather v. Brett DiNovi Associates