TRENTON
– The Division on Civil Rights announced
today that a Mercer County pastor and his
church have agreed to pay a former church
employee $50,000 to resolve allegations
the woman was sexually harassed by the pastor
and then fired after reporting his alleged
conduct to church officials.
Under terms of the agreement, Respondents
Reverend John H. Harris, Jr. and the Galilee
Baptist Church of Trenton are to pay former
church secretary Minnie Davis the settlement
amount in 12 monthly installments of $4,166.66.
The first installment was paid last month.
In addition, Rev. Harris and Galilee Baptist
will pay the Division $7,500 to cover administrative
costs and a fee in lieu of statutory penalties.
The agreement also requires the church to
establish clear, written anti-discrimination
and harassment policies, and to designate
a representative to receive and investigate
any complaints made under the policy. Under
the settlement there is no admission of
liability by either Respondent.
“This is a fair settlement to resolve
very troubling allegations of sexual harassment
and reprisal,” said Division on Civil
Rights Director Chinh Q. Le. “No employee
should be forced to tolerate unwanted sexual
advances, or be fired for having complained
about the harassment.”
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 alleged, Rev. Harris continued for
years to pressure her in the workplace.
In
March 2008, Davis sent a memo to the deacons
and trustees of Galilee Baptist accusing
Rev. Harris of repeatedly propositioning
her, touching her inappropriately and other
harassing actions. She also reported that,
as a result of her rejection of his overtures,
Rev. 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.
Rev. Harris and the church have denied all
of Davis’ allegations of sexual harassment
and retaliation, and Rev. Harris has denied
any prior consensual relationship with Davis.
However,
the Division on Civil Rights conducted its
own preliminary investigation and, on that
basis, issued a Finding of Probable Cause
against Rev. Harris and Galilee Baptist
in 2009.
According
to the Finding of Probable Cause, the church
assigned its own attorney to investigate
Davis’ sexual harassment and other
charges. During that investigation, church
leaders relieved Davis of most of her job
responsibilities – ostensibly to keep
her from coming into contact with Rev. Harris.
Ultimately, the church claimed it found
no evidence to support Davis’ accusations,
and Davis was subsequently terminated for
“insubordination and neglect.”
The
Division’s own investigation found
that two Galilee congregants other than
Minnie Davis had complained of sexual harassment
in the past and that at least one deacon
had left the church over Rev. Harris’
alleged conduct. The Division also found
that Galilee lacked a written policy prohibiting
sexual harassment or any other form of bias-based
discrimination in the workplace during Minnie
Davis’ employment, and 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 Galilee Baptist matter was conducted
by Division on Civil Rights Investigator
Artherine Price and supervised by Lorraine
LeSter, manager of the Division’s
Trenton office. Deputy Attorney General
Anne Marie Kelly provided legal advice and
assistance during the investigation. Division
on Civil Rights Staff Attorney Estelle Bronstein
provided assistance in preparing the initial
Finding of Probable Cause. Division Conciliator
Ana Limo-Magras and Deputy Attorney General
Charles Cohen assisted in resolving the
matter and preparing the Consent Order and
Decree.
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