A teacher who sued a New Jersey school district for racial discrimination, alleging he was not hired because he is white, settled out of court for $145,000.
Penns Grove-Carneys Point Superintendent Joseph Massare and Field Elementary School Principal Mary Kwiatkowski both recommended Brian Shields for a job in the district in the summer of 2013, then allegedly told Shields that he was not hired because he was white, NJ Advance Media reported.
A board of education meeting was supposed to approve the hire, until several people attending the meeting accused board members of “not hiring enough minorities at the school,” according to the suit.
The board ultimately rejected the recommendation to hire Shields, even after the superintendent said that a few minorities were recently hired at the school, the suit said.
Shields said Massare told him before the meeting that the board always approves recommendations, but told him after the meeting that he was not hired because of his race.
Shields will receive $83,778.21, and his attorney will receive $61,229.79, NJ Advance Media reported.
When the school agreed to the settlement on July 30, they admitted no wrongdoing.
The suit was filed April 3, 2014.
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