Morris Co. Teacher’s Discrimination Case Results In Big Payout

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A Morris County teacher was awarded a big payout following her discrimination case against her former employer.

On Thursday, a jury awarded former Randolph Middle School teacher Tracey Silverschotz nearly $900,000 following an eight-day trial.

In August 2023, Silverschotz filed suit against the Randolph Board of Education, claiming discrimination based on her age and disability.

Silverschotz began working as a math teacher at Randolph Middle School in 2001, gaining tenure in the 2005/06 school year.

Over the course of her career, Silverschotz began losing her hearing in both ears and was also diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, the suit says.

In February 2020, Silverschotz asked Randolph school officials to be reassigned to the position of an Academic Math Teacher, where she would teach a class with fewer students.

Silverschotz believed a class with fewer students would accommodate her hearing issues, allowing her to hear her pupils more clearly. Additionally, she had four years of experience teaching Academic Math, making her “undisputedly qualified” for the position, the suit says.

However, she was told that she would not be considered for the position “just because it would help [her] hearing issues,” and that it would be given to the “most qualified candidate,” according to court documents.

After Silverschotz was not given the opportunity to interview for the position, it was given to a younger teacher with no experience teaching the Academic Math curriculum, the suit says.

Silverschotz then attempted to retire, but she was denied her disability pension by the Board of Ed. After taking medical leave during the COVID-19 lockdown, due to her condition as a Diabetic making her a high-risk patient if she contracted the virus, Silverschotz learned that her original position had been permanently filled.

Over the next few years, Silverschotz would be forced to inconsistently be assigned to different classes and positions, be denied annual salary increases, and be subjected to “baseless and petty” criticisms of her teaching performance by officials, the suit said.

She eventually retired in April 2023 as a direct result of what the suit called “intolerable conditions.”

On Thursday, a jury found that she was discriminated against based on her disabilities and age, and that she was forced out of her job.

She was awarded $868,952 by a Morristown Jury, according to Silverschotz’s lawyer Erica Domingo.

Attorneys for the Randolph Board of Education have filed a motion for a new trial, which will be determined by a judge later this month.