PATERSON – George Meadows, a municipal planner who went blind from glaucoma, has won a major victory in his legal battle to fend off the city’s attempts to fire him because of his disability.
A state appeals court last week rejected Paterson’s efforts to terminate Meadows, which the city did in 2021.
Meadows’ original dismissal was reversed in decisions issued in 2022 by a state administrative law judge and the Civil Service Commission, which cited New Jersey laws protecting people with disabilities.
But Paterson continued the legal battle by going to the appeals court.
“There is no doubt that George Meadows is legally blind,” the city’s attorneys said in the appeal papers. “It is also undisputed that Meadows would require the City to provide certain accommodations before he can perform the essential functions of his job.
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“Instead, the central issues in this case — and on appeal — are what accommodations are necessary for Meadows to do his job and whether the city has the capacity to provide those accommodations,” the appeal documents say.
The city argued that it should hire another employee just to help Meadows perform his duties. But Meadows’ attorney cited his doctor’s claims that the planner could do his job “with a little reading and writing assistance.”
Meadows’ attorney argued that the city failed to show that such an accommodation for his blindness was “unreasonably or unnecessarily burdensome.”
The appeals court ruled on October 16 that Paterson failed to prove that the decisions of the civil service and the administrative law judge should be set aside.
Under those earlier decisions, Meadows eventually returned to his job and received a portion of his back pay, officials said.
Mayor Andre Sayegh did not respond when asked how much Paterson has spent on legal fees in the Meadows employment dispute, nor did the mayor say whether Paterson would investigate the matter further.
Meadows’ attorney did not respond when asked for comment on the appeals court decision.
Meadows, who has a degree from Columbia University, was hired by the city in 2012. Recent payroll data shows his salary is $93,846.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ court rejects Paterson’s attempt to fire blind city planner
