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Agree to pay former secretary $50,000

A Mercer County pastor and his church have agreed to pay a former church employee $50,000 to resolve allegations the woman was sexually harassed by the pastor and then fired after reporting his alleged conduct to church officials.

Under terms of the agreement, announced Monday by the state Division on Civil Rights, Rev. John H. Harris, Jr. and the Galilee Baptist Church of Trenton are to pay former church secretary Minnie Davis of Trenton the settlement amount in 12 monthly installments of $4,166.66. The first installment was paid last month.

In addition, Harris and Galilee Baptist will pay the Division on Civil Rights $7,500 to cover administrative costs and a fee in lieu of statutory penalties.

The agreement also requires the church to establish clear, written anti-discrimination and harassment policies, and to designate a representative to receive and investigate any complaints made under the policy. Under the settlement there is no admission of liability by either Harris or the church.

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"This is a fair settlement to resolve very troubling allegations of sexual harassment and reprisal," Civil Rights Director Chinh Q. Le said. "No employee should be forced to tolerate unwanted sexual advances, or be fired for having complained about the harassment."

Davis was hired by Galilee Baptist as a secretary in 1997, and her job description was later expanded to that of secretary/church clerk in 1999. In interviews with Civil Rights investigators, Davis claimed to have had a consensual relationship with Rev. Harris that began in 2001, but said she broke it off in 2003 and made clear she wanted no further involvement.

Despite her repeated statements disavowing any interest in him, Davis alleged, Harris continued for years to pressure her in the workplace.

In March 2008, Davis sent a memo to the church's deacons and trustees accusing Harris of repeatedly propositioning her, touching her inappropriately and other harassing actions. She also reported that, as a result of her rejection of his overtures, Harris took retaliatory action such as minimizing her work duties, requiring her to provide 30 days notice when seeking time off and implying that she was stealing.

Harris and the church have denied all of Davis' allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation, and Harris has denied any prior consensual relationship with Davis.

However, the Division on Civil Rights conducted its own preliminary investigation and, on that basis, issued a Finding of Probable Cause against Harris and the church last year.

According to the finding, the church assigned its own attorney to investigate Davis' sexual harassment and other charges. During that investigation, church leaders relieved Davis of most of her job responsibilities - ostensibly to keep her from coming into contact with Harris. Ultimately, the church claimed it found no evidence to support Davis' accusations, and Davis was subsequently terminated for "insubordination and neglect."

The division's investigation found that two Galilee Baptist congregants other than Minnie Davis had complained of sexual harassment in the past and that at least one deacon had left the church over Harris' alleged conduct. The division also found that Galilee Baptist lacked a written policy prohibiting sexual harassment or any other form of bias-based discrimination in the workplace during Minnie Davis' employment, and lacked written procedures for employees to report sexual harassment or other types of discrimination.

The church also had no written protocol for management to follow in dealing with harassment complaints, and church managers did not make a practice of documenting reports of sexual harassment or bias-based discrimination.

The investigation was conducted by Civil Rights Investigator Artherine Price and supervised by Lorraine LeSter, manager of the Division's Trenton office. Deputy Attorney General Anne Marie Kelly provided legal advice and assistance during the investigation. Division on Civil Rights Staff Attorney Estelle Bronstein provided assistance in preparing the initial finding. Division Conciliator Ana Limo-Magras and Deputy Attorney General Charles Cohen assisted in resolving the matter and preparing the consent order and decree.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM