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EMPLOYER CLIENT ALERT: January 2009 The New Jersey Supreme
Court Sends a Clear Message to Employers: The New Jersey Supreme Court recently upheld a jury’s finding that a male Jewish employee was subjected to a hostile work environment based on his religion. In Cutler v. Borough of Haddonfield, a fellow police officer of plaintiff, Shreve, blurted out ”Let’s get rid of all those dirty Jews.” The plaintiff had also been subjected to comments by fellow officers about his big “Jew nose” and other comments that “Jews make all the money.” The fellow officer who made the remark about getting rid of “all those dirty Jews” was later promoted while plaintiff’s promotion was delayed. The jury found that the Borough was liable for subjecting plaintiff to a hostile work environment but awarded no damages. On appeal, the Borough argued that the incidents were not sufficiently pervasive to establish harassment and pointed to evidence that razzing and joking regularly occurred within the police department, including racial and ethnic comments, in which the plaintiff participated. The Appellate Division dismissed the case finding that the remark, while disturbing, was isolated, not directed at the plaintiff, not made by a supervisor, and was therefore not actionable. The Appellate Division also held that the teasing comments, in which the plaintiff participated, were not sufficient to support a harassment claim. The Supreme Court overturned the Appellate Division’s dismissal and stated Shreve’s “dirty Jews” remark combined with the other comments, could be viewed as objectively humiliating to a Jewish person. The Supreme Court affirmatively stated that an employee claiming harassment on the basis of religion must not be made to bear a heavier burden than someone alleging harassment based on race or gender thereby rejecting an earlier Appellate Division case that suggested a higher threshold for demonstrating a hostile work environment based on religion was required. The high court stressed that comments and pranks based on religion will be held to the same standard as behavior based on race or gender. Employers Beware: Employers cannot tolerate racial, ethnic, sexual and religious-based harassment, razzing, or joking, even when members of protected classes participate. Practice Tip: Put an end to all potentially offensive joking and promptly discipline any individual who engages in such conduct. Appropriate discipline may be counseling, a written reprimand, suspension or termination depending upon the circumstances. The objective is to stop the inappropriate conduct, and ensure it does not reoccur. If you have any questions about any of the issues raised in this
Employer Alert, or any employment and labor issue or concern, please
call Thomas Ryan, Esq. or Linda Day, Esq. of Laddey, Clark & Ryan’s
Employment and Labor Practice Group at (973) 729-1880. If you do not
wish to receive updates concerning developments in the law which could
affect your business in the future, please indicate your preference
below, and we will take you off our e-mail list. The Employment and Labor Practice Group
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