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TRENTON
– The Division on Civil Rights announced
today it has issued a Finding of Probable
Cause against a Mercer County pastor and his
church in connection with charges the pastor
sexually harassed a female church employee,
and that church officials failed to properly
investigate the woman’s allegations
before ultimately firing her for making them.
Named as Respondents in the Finding of Probable
Cause are Reverend John H. Harris, Jr. and
the Galilee Baptist Church of Trenton. They
are charged in a complaint filed by former
church secretary Minnie Davis and Division
on Civil Rights Director Chinh Q. Le with
sexual harassment and acts of reprisal, including
the termination of Davis from her job at Galilee
Baptist.
A
Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve
a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means
the state has concluded its preliminary investigation
and determined there is sufficient evidence
to support a reasonable suspicion the New
Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) has
been violated.
“The
conduct charged in this case is troublesome,”
said Director Le. “Every employee has
a right to work in an environment that is
harassment-free, and any worker who believes
he or she is being discriminated against has
a right to report it without fear of retaliation.
We are committed to protecting the individual
rights and the dignity of all employees.”
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, Minnie Davis
was hired by Galilee Baptist as a secretary
in 1997, and her job description was later
expanded to that of secretary/church clerk
in 1999.
In
interviews with the Division on Civil Rights,
Davis claimed to have had a consensual relationship
with Rev. Harris that began in 2001, but said
she broke it off in 2003 and made clear she
wanted no further involvement. Despite her
repeated statements disavowing any interest
in him, Davis said, Harris continued for years
to pressure her for sex in the workplace.
In
March 2008, Davis sent a memo to the deacons
and trustees of Galilee Baptist accusing Harris
of repeatedly propositioning her for sex,
touching her inappropriately and other sexually
harassing actions. She also reported that,
as a result of her rejection of his overtures,
Harris took retaliatory action such as minimizing
her work duties, requiring her to provide
30 days notice when seeking time off and implying
that she was stealing money.
Harris
and the church have denied all of Davis’
allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation,
and Harris has denied any prior consensual
relationship with Davis.
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, Galilee
Baptist’s leaders met in April 2008
and assigned the church’s attorney to
investigate Davis’ charges against Harris.
In the interim, the church leadership relieved
Davis of most of her job responsibilities
– ostensibly to keep Davis from coming
into contact with Harris.
The church’s own inquiry ultimately
found no evidence to support Davis’
accusations, and Davis was subsequently fired
in spring 2008 for “insubordination
and neglect.”
During
its investigation, DCR learned that Galilee
Baptist leaders were aware as early as 2005
that Harris was accused of having sex with
multiple female parishioners.
Specifically,
Division investigators obtained a copy of
an anonymous letter to two church deacons
from March 2005 that contained a variety of
complaints about Harris, including that he
had been involved in “inappropriate
sexual relationships” with four different
women of the church. Investigators also obtained
minutes to a meeting of church leaders held
in March 2005 – a meeting held specifically
to address the accusations against Harris
contained in the letter, and attended by Harris,
12 Galilee Baptist deacons and a moderator
from the Middlesex General Baptist Association.
At
that meeting, minutes show, the anonymous
letter was read aloud and discussed. Harris
refuted all charges, and was subsequently
told by the chairman of the church’s
Deacon Ministry that the matter would be considered
closed.
As part of its recent investigation, the Division
on Civil Rights interviewed a number of current
and former church members and officials, including
several deacons.
One former deacon – the same man who
pronounced the matter of Harris’ alleged
sexual involvement with female parishioners
closed at the 2005 meeting – acknowledged
that he and his wife left the church in 2006
after 41 years of membership because of Harris’
alleged conduct.
In
addition, two female former parishioners other
than Minnie Davis told state investigators
they also were victimized by Harris. One victim
was a parishioner who reported seeking ministerial
counseling from Harris. The woman told investigators
that when she met with him to discuss her
problems, Harris propositioned her for sex.
When she rebuffed him, the woman said, Harris
threatened to make her life difficult if she
told anyone of his overture. Eventually, she
recounted, Harris summoned her to a meeting
attended by two church deacons where he insisted
she’d taken what he said out of context.
The woman said she fled the meeting in tears
and subsequently quit the church.
According
to the Division’s Finding of Probable
Cause, Galilee Baptist lacked any written
policy prohibiting sexual harassment or any
other form of bias-based discrimination in
the workplace during Minnie Davis’ employment.
The church also lacked written procedures
for employees to report sexual harassment
or other types of discrimination. The church
also had no written protocol for management
to follow in dealing with harassment complaints,
and church managers did not make a practice
of documenting reports of sexual harassment
or bias-based discrimination.
Investigation
of the Davis matter was conducted by Division
on Civil Rights Investigator Artherine Price
and supervised by Lorraine LeSter, manager
of the Division’s Trenton office. Division
on Civil Rights Staff Attorney Estelle Bronstein
provided assistance in preparing the Finding
of Probable Cause.
The Law Against Discrimination (LAD) provides
that each Respondent found to have committed
a violation is subject to a penalty of up
to $10,000, provided he or she has not been
convicted of a previous violation within the
past five years. The LAD also provides for
other remedies, including compensatory damages
and injunctive relief, such as changes in
the employer's policies and management/staff
training.
Now
that the Division has issued a Finding of
Probable Cause, the case will be referred
for a process known as Conciliation. If Conciliation
is not successful, the matter will be referred
to an Administrative Law Judge for a hearing
on the merits, which is a non-jury trial.
The Administrative Law Judge will then issue
a written Initial Decision.
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