Client Advisory

In Palmisano v. New Jersey Admin. Off. of the Cts., the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that court administrators for municipal courts are employees of the municipality in which the court sits, not the State.

This claim arose when Palmisano, a municipal court administrator, was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment by Municipal Court Judge James B. Sloan, including sexist comments and an incident in which he grabbed her hair and yanked it back forcibly. Palmisano first sought relief via the N.J. Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (“AOC”). When the AOC declined to take action against Sloan, viewing it as a municipal matter, Palmisano sued both Sloan and the AOC under the N.J. Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49, claiming that the AOC aided and abetted Sloan. The AOC moved to dismiss the complaint as against it, arguing that Palmisano failed to establish the employee-employer relationship requisite for a LAD claim. The trial court granted the AOC’s motion.

The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s order, primarily relying on statutes directing municipalities to “provide for an administrator” and “for their compensation.” N.J.S.A. 2B:12-10(a). Although Palmisano had pointed out that the AOC is responsible for certifying court administrators, this did not mean the AOC was her employer, as it does not have the power to hire or terminate her.