Wall employee: Workers left Nazi propaganda on desk, called him 'Jewbacca'

Susanne Cervenka | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Wall Township settles lawsuit claiming anti-Semitism against a Jewish employee A former township employee alleged fellow employees made repeated anti-Semitic remarks to him because he is Jewish.

WALL - The Township Committee has agreed to pay $1.25 million to a former employee who said co-workers repeatedly made anti-Semitic comments and placed Nazi literature on his desk.

The committee approved the agreement with Brandon Jacobs, a former public works and tax collector's office employee, on May 23, leading residents on Facebook to question what prompted the significant amount of the settlement.

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The township and its insurance carrier split the cost of the settlement, each paying $625,000 toward the total. Of the $1.25 million settlement, Jacobs received $833,333, according to the settlement. The remaining $416,667 went to his Princeton-based attorney, Ravi Sattiraju.

Township Attorney Sean T. Kean described the settlement as a “business decision” the borough made to limit its costs. The township admitted no wrongdoing under the settlements.

Jacobs, who worked for the township from 1999 until taking a disability retirement in 2016, sued the township in 2015. He had an annual salary of $70,671 when he retired.

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In his lawsuit, Jacobs, who is Jewish, said he "endured having his co-workers and superiors continually barrage him with anti-Semitic comments on a near-daily basis." The suit claimed he suffered emotional distress that eventually affected his health.

The lawsuit claimed:

A former recreation director who resigned in May 2016 routinely yelled "Mazel tov" at Jacobs and called him "Golum" (sic), which the lawsuit described as a derogatory Yiddish term.

Co-workers and supervisors called Jacobs a "f--- Jew," a "Cheap Jeward," "Mr. Money Bags," "my big Jewish Buddy" and "Jewbacca," a riff-off of Jacobs' affinity for "Star Wars."

When Jacobs' job duties were changed to include janitorial duties, he was called the "Town Hall Jew, I mean Janitor."

Employees asked Jacobs why he "killed Jesus" and told him he could get things cheaper because he was Jewish.

Employees told Jacobs he should have numbers tattooed on his arm. Nazis tattooed prisoners in concentration camps with numbers during the Holocaust.

Employees left "Nazi propaganda" on Jacobs desk.

Jacobs said the comments caused emotional distress and impacted his physical health, which contributed to his going on disability leave before his retirement.

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The settlement agreement included a nondisclosure provision, which prevents both Jacobs and town officials from discussing details of case in public or with the media.

Susanne Cervenka: @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com