Chatham Township workers say they were fired for speaking out after sexual harassment

Two fired Chatham Township employees have accused the construction and zoning official in the Morris County town of inappropriate behavior and say they were dismissed as retaliation for speaking out.

Jeanne O'Gara and Raishah Franklin, who worked in the township's construction and zoning department, said Construction Official John Daniels would lean over them inappropriately and invade their personal space.

The two women filed separate lawsuits on April 16 in state Superior Court in Morris County, also naming Chatham Township and township Administrator Ziad Shehady as defendants.

In an emailed statement, Shehady said, “The complaints set forth have been thoroughly investigated by independent legal counsel and found to be without merit. The township will vigorously defend against these claims in court and set the record straight about these false accusations."

Why Chatham Township worker 'felt violated'

In O'Gara's suit, the former employee said Daniels would lean against her while discussing work, leaving her to feel "extremely uncomfortable" around him in the office. After several incidents of unwanted touching, she began moving out of Daniels' way when he was headed toward her, according to the complaint.

O'Gara said she witnessed similar touching with Franklin, alleging Daniels touched the other woman's arm and breast.

According to Franklin's lawsuit, Daniels began working in the construction and zoning office in April 2023. He began leaning over her inappropriately just two days after starting, she said.

"Franklin explained to [O'Gara] that she had felt violated," that lawsuit said. Franklin said she had never experienced that kind of behavior with a supervisor before and was "uncomfortable and confused."

According to the lawsuit, Daniels' behavior got "progressively worse," leading to a department meeting with Shehady, Daniels and Debra King, Chatham Township's chief financial officer. Without Daniels present, Franklin complained that she and O'Hara were being sexually harassed and that Daniels' behavior was "inappropriate."

Staff meeting doesn't yield results

But the suit alleges King and Shehady "made excuses" for Daniels' behavior, blaming it on a height discrepancy and then suggesting the two women were complaining because they didn't like Daniels' new rules.

According to Franklin's lawsuit, she told Shehady she didn't want to get anyone in trouble or fired, but she wanted Daniels to be spoken to about his behavior.

Franklin said she was also promised an additional raise on top of the 2 to 2.5% township employees normally receive. Shehady and King told her she could potentially be a manager one day, according to the complaint.

O'Gara's suit also alleges that she asked Daniels multiple times to let her know how he would like things done. The previous construction official had been there for 20 years, and employees had followed his interpretation of the state's uniform commercial code, O'Gara said.

The suit accuses Shehady of not meeting with Daniels and failing to get O'Gara's side of the story. O'Gara said that after the two workers complained of harassment, Daniels' began to treat her and Franklin differently by ignoring them. She said Daniels also went through her desk on her day off and claimed there were unprocessed checks and permit applications in her drawer, later reporting the incident to Shehady.

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Franklin's suit alleges officials tried to pit the two co-workers against one another as punishment for speaking out. Shehady told her she had to write a statement against O'Gara about the unprocessed checks or be reported to human resources for a write-up and face a potential firing, she said.

O'Gara said the administration allowed a hostile work environment and accusations against her and Franklin were untrue.

Co-workers claim firings were retaliation

According to Franklin, on June 8, 2023, a co-worker told her that the township had posted her position and O'Gara's position on the township website.

Franklin and O'Gara were fired from their positions at the construction office despite having "excellent and well-regarded" performances, according to O'Gara's lawsuit. That was "obvious retaliation" for their sexual harassment complaints, according to the complaint.

The suits accuse the defendants of creating a hostile work environment, violating the state law against discrimination, failing to maintain appropriate sexual harassment and discrimination training and policies and conducting an unfair and biased investigation. Shehady is accused of aiding and abetting the violation of the discrimination law.

The pair are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and reimbursement for cost of the suits.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Chatham Township workers sue town for alleged sexual harassment