Brick court clerk says colleagues called gay people 'gross' and 'crazy'

BRICK - A Brick court clerk is suing the township and her supervisors, alleging she was subjected to years of anti-gay and anti-LGBT comments despite reporting the conduct to administrators.

Sarah Fearon, who began working at the township's municipal court in March 2016, was "unapologetically mocked" and her complaints dismissed as a mental health disorder, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Superior Court, Ocean County.

Fearon, who is gay, overheard colleagues say on different occasions that "Gay people are gross," "Can you believe the gays?" and "Gay people are crazy," according to the lawsuit.

Fearon, who is out on medical leave, claims employees made statements that interracial marriage was "disgusting" and that members of the LGBTQ community should "not have the right to vote in elections," according to the complaint.

Brick Township's attorney Kevin Starkey declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Fearon went to her manager multiple times to complain about racial and homophobic comments made in the office, but said she was told to "brush it off" and "not (to) worry about it," according to the lawsuit.

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Fearon was also told, according to the lawsuit, to "tell everyone that you are gay so they stop making jokes and comments."

"As alleged in the complaint, our client worked in such a toxic environment that her co-workers and supervisors felt entitled to make discriminatory and disparaging comments on almost a daily basis," Fearon's attorney, Matthew A. Luber, told the Press in an email. "The notion that such bigoted behavior could occur in any workplace, let alone within the public court system, is truly appalling."

The lawsuit alleges that one of Fearon's colleagues also mocked the accent of a non-native English speaker, while another talked loudly about watching pornography and sex acts. Other coworkers taunted her after learning of her complaints and a supervisor retaliated by increasing her workload, according to the complaint.

In addition to the municipal court, the lawsuit also names municipal court administrator Michele Edgin, who is Fearon's supervisor, and Edgin's supervisor and township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin as defendants.

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Bergin, the lawsuit alleges, suggested Fearon was suffering from a mental health disorder and advised her to seek treatment.

Bergin said she was saddened when learning of the lawsuit from the Press.

"Brick Township’s culture is one of service, support and professional courtesy," she wrote in an email to the Press. "Inappropriate and hurtful comments are not acceptable as part of our dialogue and when issues or concerns are brought to our attention they are addressed. We will review the suit and respond accordingly with respect, support and appreciation for all public employees in Brick Township who dedicate themselves to serving our residents and visitors with efficiency and compassion."

But Luber, writing in the lawsuit, said township employees "enabled, tolerated, and encouraged a culture of racism, homophobia and retaliatory conduct, so much so that individual employees felt free to openly display their unlawful biases in the workplace."

The stress of the situation resulted in Fearon having an "abundance of anxiety" and a panic attack in the office after one meeting with administrators, according to the complaint.

Luber is seeking damages and attorney fees for his client as well as corrective actions, such as anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation training to be ordered for Brick Township administrators and employees.

No trial date has been scheduled. The suit was brought under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

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Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.