Employers Should be Certain that Discrimination Does Not Influence Adverse Employment Decisions

2.4.2022

Employers know that they must scrutinize their employment decisions in order to make sure no direct or indirect discrimination or bias taints them. A recently decided case emphasizes that such an analysis is crucial for employers to avoid legal liability for discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. In Meade v. Township of Livingston, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Livingston Township’s decision to terminate its female Township Manager was influenced by the gender bias of her subordinate, a male police chief.

Problems with the Police Chief

Based on the recommendation of counsel, the Township Manager wanted the Township Council to approve an investigation of the Police Chief in order to provide the support necessary to terminate him. She drafted a memorandum to the Township Council documenting the Police Chief’s performance failures. These included delinquent work, failure to attend scheduled meetings with the Township Manager, failing to take disciplinary action against police officers when necessary, and failing to communicate the actions of the police department and Livingston’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) to the individuals and entities that needed to know. The latter resulted in the lock-down of a pre-school in Livingston that was unaware a camouflaged man carrying a rifle bag lurking outside the school was actually involved in a training exercise by the ESU. Prior to reaching out to the Township Council for support, the Township Manager provided the Police Chief with a memorandum documenting the above performance issues and requesting a response. The Police Chief never responded. 

Township Council Recognizes Police Chief’s Gender Bias

The Township Council was aware of the Police Chief’s bias against women. At a Democratic Executive Committee meeting, a Township councilmember, in front of other councilmembers, stated “Michele [Meade] would not be having this problem if her name was Michael.” Two of the four councilmembers who voted to terminate the Township Manager expressed the view that the chief refused to accept a woman as his supervisor, and one shared this view with the Township Council. Another councilmember, who was the mayor at the time, suggested to the Township Manager that the Police Chief report directly to him because he did not like reporting to a woman. Despite the above, the Township Council refused to authorize the Township Manager’s request to mount an investigation against the Police Chief, as suggested by the Township attorney. Instead, the Township Council terminated the Township Manager, partly because she did not successfully discipline and terminate the Police Chief.

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s Ruling

The New Jersey Supreme Court explained that a decision to take adverse action against an employee, such as termination, could be impermissible if the decision was influenced by a non-decision maker’s discriminatory views. Here, the Township Council could be held to have decided to terminate the Township Manager because of the Police Chief’s discriminatory attitudes toward women. The Court stated that an employer’s actions taken to “accommodate discriminatory views” can make an employer liable for discrimination to the same extent as if the employer personally held discriminatory views. 

TAKEAWAY: Employers must ensure they are not influenced to make employment decisions by individuals who have discriminatory motives. If you are an employer and need help navigating employment decisions or the myriad of New Jersey and federal employment laws, contact Stephanie Gironda or another member of the Wilentz Employment Law Team. 

BLOG DISCLAIMER

The postings on this blog were created for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services.  Although we attempt to ensure that the postings are complete, accurate, and current as of the time of publication, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.  The information in this blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship.  Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.

This blog may contain links to independent third party websites and services, including social media. We provide these links for your convenience, and you access them at your own risk.  We have no control over and do not monitor the content or policies (including privacy policies) of these third-party websites and have no responsibility for, and no liability with respect to, their content, accuracy, or reliability.  Unless expressly stated, we do not endorse any of the linked websites or any product, service, or publication referenced herein or therein.  We will remove a link to any site from this blog upon request of the linked entity.

We grant permission to readers to link to this blog so long as this blog is not misrepresented. This site is not sponsored or associated with any other site unless so identified.

If you wish for Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., to consider representing you, please obtain contact information from the Contact Us area of this blog or go to the firm’s website at www.wilentz.com.  One of our lawyers will be happy to discuss the possibility of representation with you. However, the authors of Wilentz blogs are licensed only in New Jersey and/or New York and do not wish to represent anyone who viewed this site in a state where the site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.

Thank you for your interest in Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A.’s legal blogs. You will receive an email sent to the address entered in order to confirm your subscription. Please watch for it and click the link to confirm your subscription.