A civil jury has ruled in favor of a former Jersey City Public Schools (JCPS) employee who sued the Jersey City Board of Education (JCBOE), claiming it retaliated against her for engaging in protected whistleblowing when it voted not to renew her contract in 2022.
The seven-person jury also found that the school district had violated New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act by paying Sabrina Harrold, a former JCPS assistant human resources director, less than non-Black employees who performed substantially similar duties. The jury awarded Harrold $120,000 in compensatory damages, including $8,000 for lost income and $112,000 for emotional distress. The decision came after two days of deliberations, which followed a nearly two-week trial featuring testimony from witnesses including Harrold, JCPS Superintendent Norma Fernandez, JCBOE President Noemi Velazquez and JCPS Director of Human Resources Edwin Rivera, whose alleged conduct the case centered around.
Rivera, Velazquez and Fernandez, who were present at the William J. Brennan Courthouse for the verdict reading Monday, declined to comment, as did lead defense counsel Perry Lattiboudere…