New Jersey city official faced backlash after supporting workers’ complaints of unfair treatment, complaint says

Montclair’s affirmative action official has sued the township, claiming he was retaliated against after supporting township workers’ allegations of discrimination and a hostile work environment.

Between 2013 and March 2022, Bruce Morgan investigated 15 discrimination complaints filed by Montclair employees. Each time, Morgan concluded that the city had done nothing wrong, according to court documents.

But on March 11, 2022, Morgan concluded that changes in firefighter testing criteria had a different impact on minorities who took the 2021 promotional test.

On August 29, 2022, Morgan concluded in a separate report that Montclair CFO Padmaja Rao had been subjected to a hostile work environment that made her “afraid to come to work.”

Following the two reports, “Montclair and its high-ranking employees launched a campaign of retaliation” against Morgan in violation of New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, alleges a complaint filed June 19 in state Superior Court in Essex County.

The lawsuit claims that after Morgan released his reports, interim city manager Michael Lapolla removed him from his responsibilities as an affirmative action officer, the lawsuit says.

Lapolla and other township officials did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Morgan, who is also the township’s housing director, claims he suffered retaliation that included the transfer of one of his two employees to another department, leaving Morgan’s housing department short-staffed.

Earlier this year, the township’s housing and urban development supervisor began receiving anonymous calls complaining that Morgan’s housing department was “unresponsive and its offices were unattended,” according to the complaint.

When a housing department-related event occurred, Morgan was absent because he did not want to leave his department unattended, the lawsuit says.

In response, the town’s health director criticized Morgan’s absence from the event and wrote a disciplinary notice that he placed in Morgan’s file. The notice omitted a verbal reprimand required by Montclair policy, the lawsuit says.

The complaint accuses Lapolla and other senior officials of violating state anti-discrimination laws prohibiting third-party retaliation.

In January, Morgan complained to another township official about the alleged retaliation, the lawsuit says.

“After this conversation, the retaliatory acts continued and sometimes escalated,” the complaint alleges.

“Morgan was not required to meet its affirmative action obligations. Morgan was excluded from specific interviews with new employees who circumvented Montclair’s established hiring processes,” the complaint alleges.

In addition to being excluded from the meetings, Morgan claims in the lawsuit that his request to replace his transferred worker was denied.

In addition to violations of New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, Morgan alleges that the municipality violated New Jersey’s whistleblower laws. Moran is seeking a jury trial, as well as damages for emotional distress and attorneys’ fees.

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Anthony G. Attrino can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.