For the third time in his career with Salem County’s road department, a worker has reached a settlement with the county over allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation.
Grady Butts, who is Black, sued Salem County last year, alleging he was subjected to repeated verbal abuse and denied promotions because of his race. That suit was settled last month for $37,500, according to settlement paperwork obtained by open public records advocate John Paff, who first reported on the new agreement.
To date, Salem County has paid Butts $118,500 to settle three claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation filed over eight years.
Salem County officials declined to comment about the latest settlement.
Butts joined the county road department in the late 1990s as a laborer and was promoted to truck driver in 2013.
That was around the time when the abuse began, Butts claimed in the 2022 lawsuit, alleging co-workers repeatedly called him the n-word and “compared him to primates.”
Butts filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights in 2014, alleging discrimination, a hostile work environment and disparate treatment based on his race, including improper discipline, suspension and an accusation of insubordination.
He reached a settlement with the county in 2015, with the county paying Butts $6,000 and agreeing to “expunge all discipline” from his personnel file.
The mistreatment didn’t stop, Butts claimed, and he filed a Superior Court lawsuit in 2018, alleging...
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