BERKELEY, NJ — A Berkeley Township employee was awarded $1.6 million in damages after a jury found that township officials had discriminated against her, creating a hostile and abusive work environment.
In 2018, Debra Reuter, supervisor of the Berkeley Township Recreation Department, filed a lawsuit saying that officials including Mayor Carmen Amato and Business Administrator John Camera had discriminated against and harassed her for being Jewish and having anxiety.
On May 25, a jury found that Reuter was discriminated against and that “the conduct was severe or pervasive enough to make a reasonable person who has a mental disability believe the working environment was intimidating, hostile or abusive,” according to court documents.
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The verdict was made only on the anxiety discrimination as the jury threw out the religious aspect, attorney Christopher Dasti told Patch. He said that Berkeley does not discriminate based on religion.
“The town intends to appeal the decision and get the verdict tossed out,” Dasti said.
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The jury also said that Reuter was retaliated against for making internal complaints about the discrimination or for seeking legal advice about her rights under discrimination laws, court documents say.
Reuter was awarded compensatory damages of $500,001 for emotional distress and $110,000 for economic loss, according to court documents.
The township also has to pay $1,000,002 in punitive damages for maliciously or willfully violating Reuter’s rights under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, court documents say. Reuter can also apply to have her attorney’s fees and costs covered.
The original lawsuit names a number of instances where Reuter was discriminated against for her religion and disability.
At one point, in April 2018, while Reuter was on FMLA leave due to her anxiety caused by workplace harassment, Camera “for no good reason” took away her office, packed up all of her things and dropped them off at her house, the lawsuit said.
Several instances mentioned revolve around a Christmas tree lighting in Nov. 2017, where Amato told Reuter to change it from a holiday tree lighting and make flyers red instead of blue, to ensure that it was in no way related to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, according to the lawsuit.
He also banned Reuter from working the event and “yelled at her that he did not want Jewish people to work the event,” the lawsuit said.
Around the same time, then-Recreation Director Debbi Winogracki told Reuter she shouldn’t care that it was a Christmas tree lighting because there aren’t that many Jews, and that “your people” could have a menorah lighting somewhere, according to the lawsuit.
Winogracki also chastised Reuter in front of coworkers for bringing blue and white frosted cupcakes to an office holiday event, saying that that “Hanukkah cupcakes” were not appropriate for Christmas, the lawsuit said.
Amato, Camera and Winogracki should be held individually and personally liable for the discrimination law violations, according to court documents.
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