Whose burden is it anyway? NJ Appellate Division weighs in on discriminatory intent

Despite surviving summary judgment (dismissal without a trial), securing a favorable verdict at the second trial, and being awarded attorneys’ fees, an employee’s gender discrimination case was abruptly dismissed by the Appellate Division. On January 3, 2022, the three-judge panel held an employee in a discrimination case bears the burden of persuasion at all stages. The employee’s argument fell short of that burden, and her case was, therefore, dismissed.

Background

In the city of Plainfield, the sitting mayor is vested with the power to appoint individuals to serve as municipal public defenders, subject to the city council’s confirmation. As is typical in the political realm, the inauguration of a new mayor is often accompanied by a changing of the guard. This case illustrates that paradigm and thwarts the notion that a changing of the guard, accompanied by nothing more, violates of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD).

When adjudicating an NJLAD claim, New Jersey courts follow the familiar framework articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court case of McDonnell-Douglas Corp. v. Green. The three-step analysis first requires an employee to demonstrate: