New lawsuit claims Montclair and city manager retaliated against affirmative action officer

For nearly 10 years, Bruce Morgan, Montclair’s affirmative action officer, investigated about 15 discrimination complaints from Montclair employees. During that time, Morgan was unable to accuse Montclair of discriminatory behavior. In 2022, the streak ended when Morgan conducted two investigations and reported Montclair was guilty. At that point, the Montclair community and “senior senior staff” allegedly began a “campaign of retaliation” against Morgan, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Morgan is suing the Town of Montclair and Michael Lapolla, the town’s acting manager, for violating New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, which prohibits third-party retaliation.

“Montclair took action against Mr. Morgan because he truthfully blamed the community for discrimination. When he told the truth, he was punished for it,” said Mark Mulick, Morgan’s attorney.

One of the reports Morgan filed in 2022 was an investigation into allegations by black firefighters that a promotion test was rigged against them. The other was an internal investigation that concluded that former City Manager Timothy Stafford created a “hostile work environment” for the city’s chief financial officer, Padmaja Rao.

The complaint alleges that Lapolla stripped Morgan of all of his duties as an Affirmative Action Officer. According to Morgan, four discrimination complaints were filed by Montclair employees after his 2022 Rao report became public. Morgan was not allowed to investigate any of those complaints, which contradicts the city’s Affirmative Action Plan.

Affirmative Action Officer – in name only

Morgan says the retaliation began in 2022. However, many of the allegations in the complaint revolve around Lapolla, who began serving as interim city manager in August 2023.

Around January 2024, Morgan says he complained to Deputy City Manager Brian Scantlebury about the retaliation. Morgan, who also serves as the city’s housing commissioner, claims the retaliation continued after that conversation and even increased at times. Morgan says not only was his affirmative action duties stripped, but he was also excluded from certain new hire interviews. He also claims Lapolla held meetings with his staff without informing him.

In 2022, an employee who reported to Morgan was transferred to another department. Morgan stated that when he asked for a replacement, he was told Lapolla would not replace that employee. Morgan said Lapolla did not give him a reason why.

In 2024, Morgan learned that Fatima Holder, a program compliance supervisor for the Housing and Urban Development Department, was receiving anonymous complaints about the Montclair Housing Authority. Morgan chose not to attend a scheduled work event so as not to leave the authority unsupervised. Morgan states that the Montclair Health Director wrote a disciplinary order and placed it in his file rather than giving him a verbal reprimand as Montclair policy requires.

The Morgan Reports

In 2010, Morgan began working as the housing director for the Town of Montclair. In 2013, he also became the town’s Affirmative Action Officer, tasked with receiving and investigating allegations of employment discrimination.

Morgan wrote a report in March 2022 concluding that the Montclair Fire Department’s testing criteria “had a disparate impact on minority test takers who took the 2021 promotion exam.”

Morgan’s report states, “Some disturbing things have come to light regarding the day-to-day management of the Montclair Fire Department and the creation and scoring of this promotion exam.” In investigating the firefighters, Morgan found for the first time that Montclair was responsible for discrimination. Morgan also reported that one firefighter paid another firefighter to cover his shifts.

In the summer of 2022, Morgan investigated a hostile work environment complaint filed by Rao, the city’s chief financial officer. In her complaint, Rao stated that Stafford’s aggressive behavior made her “afraid to come to work.”

Morgan investigated Rao’s allegations and issued a report on August 29, 2022, finding that “Mr. Stafford created a hostile work environment toward Ms. Rao.”

“It appears to present a clear and convincing pattern of aggressive behavior,” Morgan wrote in his findings.

Allegations of retaliation

The township chose to fund a second investigation into Rao’s allegations, conducted by Kathleen Connelly of the law firm Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper. That investigation found insufficient evidence that Stafford created an “abusive or hostile work culture.” The town referenced the investigation in a February 2023 resolution.

In May 2023, Montclair settled a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Rao for $1.25 million. In March 2023, before that lawsuit was settled, Lapolla was named in an amended complaint in which Rao alleged that the hostile, vindictive work environment she described under the former city manager continued under Lapolla.

Mayor Sean Spiller has previously been accused of retaliation by Rao. Spiller, who did not seek re-election in Montclair, finishes his four-year term as mayor on July 1. Last week, he announced he would run for governor. Morgan’s lawsuit names Montclair and Lapolla communities as defendants, but suggests “John Does” could be named in an amended complaint.

“Lapolla is out of control. Mr. Morgan’s lawsuit is another example,” said Fourth District City Councilman David Cummings. “How can you tell the Affirmative Action Officer you don’t want him to take complaints from employees? And that’s exactly what the city’s Affirmative Action policy says.”

Cummings also objected to news that Lapolla had appointed Assistant City Attorney Paul Burr to take charge during his absence.

“We have an acting manager, Brian Scantlebury. He is next in line. The next council will end up having to deal with multiple lawsuits as a result of Lapolla’s actions,” he added.

Montclair Local has contacted both Lapolla and Spiller and will keep you updated on any comments.

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