Essex County Detective Accuses Supervisors Of Gender Discrimination

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A detective in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is alleging that she has faced gender discrimination on the job, accusing her supervisors of creating a “moral vacuum” that has led to a hostile workplace.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Aileen Clowes and her attorneys claimed that her male supervisors have graphically described their sex lives in front of her, and later spread rumors that she and another female detective were lesbians.

When she complained about the situation, Clowes was retaliated against by being transferred from a preferential assignment, seeing “interference” that hindered her investigation of several serious cases – including homicides – and was told that “sometimes peace requires you to be quiet even if you are right,” the lawsuit claims.

Other accusations include an incident where Clowes was allegedly denied an overtime assignment because of her status as a single mother.

According to the lawsuit, the situation got worse when Clowes participated in a news interview with other “whistleblowing” detectives in January 2024. The detectives alleged that they were improperly ordered to perform a “difficult and dirty” task that was far below the scope of their job assignments: moving boxes of files from a warehouse in Belleville to an Essex County building in Newark.

Soon afterwards, Clowes was assigned to “rubber gun squad” duties, was docked pay and was subjected to inexplicable shift changes, among other acts of retaliation, the lawsuit alleges.

According to court documents, Clowes has been working with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) since February 2021. She is a military veteran who has nearly 18 years of experience in police work, both as a New Jersey state trooper and a detective with the ECPO.

Clowes’ attorneys are seeking compensatory damages for pain and suffering, as well as loss of earnings and other employee benefits, damages for reputational and career development injury, consequential damages, incidental damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs of suit. They are also seeking injunctive relief requiring remediation of the workplace retaliation policy at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

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