Newark Museum of Art denies retaliating against fired worker
The museum said it fired Shawn Jones for legitimate reasons after co-workers accused him of threatening behavior.
Law and Crime
The Newark Museum of Art denied retaliating against a former employee who says he was fired for complaining to human resources, telling a federal court it terminated him for “legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons.”
The museum’s answer, filed July 16 in U.S. District Court in Newark, is its first formal response to a retaliation lawsuit brought by Shawn Jones, a former worker representing himself. The museum is represented by the law firm Jackson Lewis.
Jones worked for the museum from September 2021 until his firing on December 27, 2024. He claims he was disciplined, stripped of overtime and ultimately let go after reporting workplace misconduct, including an alleged sexual harassment incident involving a co-worker. Urgent Matter previously reported on his amended complaint.
The museum denied the central allegations. It denied that Jones’s complaints led to any adverse treatment, that discipline against him was selective or a pretext, and that his overtime was cut in retaliation.
Paid subscribers can read the museum's full answer.
Documents: Newark Museum of Art answer to retaliation lawsuit
Court documents from U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Adam Schrader
It said it fired him for cause. The museum determined Jones’s conduct on December 18, 2024, was “harassing, threatening” and violated its policies, and said a co-worker had accused him of that behavior.
The museum admitted a narrow set of the facts Jones laid out. It confirmed that in May 2024 he reported allegations about the museum’s director of security, Peter Bumanlag, to its People and Culture department and escalated the complaint to a deputy director, Stephanie Lyles.
The museum admitted only that those reports were made and denied Jones’s claims that his complaints were brushed aside.
Newark Museum of Art worker said he was fired after HR complaints
Shawn Jones, who is representing himself, filed an amended complaint on May 29 in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.
Adam Schrader
It also admitted that a newly hired employee complained about Jones in late October 2024, that the museum interviewed him about it, and that the complaint was found to be unsubstantiated. It acknowledged that around the same month Jones reported an alleged sexual harassment incident involving a co-worker.
The museum confirmed Jones received a written warning for insubordination and admitted the warning concerned the way he wore his museum-issued hat. It also confirmed he reported a back injury during his employment and was granted paid time off in June 2024.
Regarding the events that led to his firing, the museum said Jones did not show up for his scheduled shift on December 18, 2024, but came that afternoon to help an outside vendor. It treated his absence as a failure to report and escorted him from the building the next day due to an open investigation.
The museum acknowledged Jones said he had video evidence of the December 18 events.
The museum raised 23 defenses. It said Jones was an at-will employee who could be fired at any time, that his firing was for just cause and legitimate business reasons, and that he failed to look hard enough for comparable work to limit his losses.
It said some of his claims fall outside the complaint he filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and that others may be barred by the statute of limitations.
Two of the museum’s defenses invoke a union contract. It said Jones’s claims are barred in part because he did not first use the grievance process under a collective bargaining agreement, and that federal labor law governing union contracts blocks some of his claims. Court records list two of the individuals Jones originally sued as union shop stewards.
The museum asked the court to dismiss the case and order Jones to pay its legal costs, calling the lawsuit “meritless and vexatious.”
Jones is handling the case without a lawyer. A judge granted his request to proceed without paying court fees in March but denied his request for a court-appointed attorney in April.
He filed an amended complaint in May naming the museum as the only defendant. His original complaint, received in October, had also named several individual co-workers and supervisors, including a supervisor, a special events coordinator and two maintenance workers who served as union shop stewards.
Jones’s lawsuit brings retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, along with a claim of wrongful termination. He is seeking back pay, front pay, reinstatement, damages and a jury trial.
Follow along with other lawsuits at Urgent Matter’s art lawsuit tracker.
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