Chief Financial Officer Padmaja Rao has filed a complaint against the Township of Montclair and Township Manager Timothy Stafford, alleging that the defendants took retaliatory actions against her for engaging in whistle-blowing activity. Rao alleges that the retaliatory actions and harassment included reducing her work responsibilities, and harassing her through aggressive, threatening conduct to prevent her from carrying out her statutory job duties.
The complaint details several instances where Rao says she experienced retaliation and harassment after raising concerns about practices the township engaged in that she deemed as either financially improper or questionable. These include paying its council members’ health insurance although the councilors did not work the documented 35 hours a week to render them eligible under The New Jersey State Health Benefits Program (SHBP). According to the complaint, several Montclair elected officials continue to receive health benefits from the SHBP, or opt-out waiver payments, without appearing to meet the legal eligibility requirements for those benefits.
Rao also alleges Montclair did not engage the O’Toole Scrivo law firm, for the purpose of it conducting an investigation into a claim of racial discrimination in the preparation and administration of the 2021 Montclair Fire Department promotional exam, through a fair and open procurement process, as generally required under New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law. The Township...
New Delhi: Motorola has clarified that its recent legal action involving social media accounts and content creators was directed at alleged misinformation around product safety, and not at legitim...