The Orange Township Board of Education has paid a quarter-million dollars to resolve allegations of workplace discrimination filed by a 30-year employee. Deidre Dobbs, Confidential Executive Secretary to the Superintendent, who had served in her position under 12 different Superintendents, accused the school board of a breach of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. She filed suit against the board and Superintendent Gerald Fitzhugh on several counts, including creating a sexually hostile and discriminatory work environment, failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination against her, and retaliation against her.

Ms. Dobbs had been hired for her position in 1992 and had enjoyed her work until shortly after Gerald Fitzhugh was appointed as Superintendent in 2019. According to her original claim filed in August 2022, after his arrival, she was subjected to an “intolerable hostile work environment, rife with sexual harassment, as well as racial and age-based discrimination.” 

Her complaint asserted several instances of inappropriate and discriminatory behavior, including:

  • Sexually explicit statements that Mr. Fitzhugh made to her, including statements about his sexual preferences based on skin color. On one occasion, he had told her that he was not attracted to “dark-skinned African-Americans” such as the plaintiff herself, and expressed his preference for lighter-complexioned women using terms that were sexually explicit and included graphic detail and vulgarity.
  • Statements to staff members instructing them not to speak to her because of her dark skin and explicitly directing them to speak to a “light-skinned” staff member. 
  • Holding up a photograph of his former secretary and telling her that “this is who I should have hired” because of her light skin color.
  • Telling her that he had married a Spanish woman so that his kids would come out “light.”
  • Made sexually disparaging remarks about other district staff members, and especially about those he believed to be homosexual.
  • Regularly yelled and screamed at her and, on one occasion, threw papers at her to express his displeasure with her performance. He also indicated to other staff members that he would “wipe the floor” with her due to her performance.
  • Constantly mocked her to younger staff members, emphasizing her birth year to highlight her age compared to theirs.

In response to the sexual, racial, and age discrimination and harassment she had been subjected to, Ms. Dobbs indicated that she had communicated to the Orange Board of Education about the hostile work environment and harassment she’d been subjected to, and that, in response, she became the victim of a series of retaliatory measures, including:

  • Being placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation
  • Being advised that, regardless of the outcome of the board’s investigation, she would not be permitted to return to the position that she had held for 30 years. She later learned that the position had immediately been filled by someone else.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Retaliation is one of the country’s most robust civil rights statutes. It specifically prohibits workplace harassment and discriminatory treatment based on race, color, age, and other protected characteristics, all of which were included among the violations that Ms. Dobbs asserted she had been subjected to. The law includes provisions against retaliation that were specifically designed to protect workers who exercise their rights under the law, and the NJLAD places special emphasis on preventing discrimination in public employment in recognition of the need for government employers to model appropriate workplace behavior. As such, public school districts and their boards have heightened responsibilities to comply with anti-discrimination laws. 

While Ms. Dobbs had sought a jury trial, she reached a settlement with the Board of Education earlier this year that paid a total of $250,000, with over $156,000 specified as compensation for non-economic harm. According to the agreement submitted to the court, Fitzhugh and the school board deny all of the allegations of unlawful conduct that she alleged, and denied any and all liability for her claims. The superintendent remains in his position.

New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination provides crucial safeguards for workers in the state, and the significant settlement paid by the Orange Board of Education is an indication of the law’s strength and the very real outcomes that employers — and especially public employers — in the state face if found guilty of violating the law.

If you or someone you love has been the subject of discrimination, sexual harassment, or any other adverse employment action that you believe was linked to your protected status, contact our experienced employment law professionals today. We’re here to help.