A Pennsylvania man who is not Jewish, but claims he was subjected to anti-Semitic slurs at work, can sue his former supervisors under New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws, a state appellate court has ruled.
Myron Cowher, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., produced DVDs that appear to show supervisors Jay Unangst and Nick Gingerelli making such comments in his presence as "Only a Jew would argue over his hours" and "If you were a German, we would burn you in the oven," according to a state appeals court ruling handed down Wednesday.
The panel did not consider the merits of Cowher's case, only whether he has standing to pursue it, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Experts say the court's decision is significant because it expands the scope of who can bring discrimination suits, by allowing a person who is not actually a member of a protected class to pursue a claim.
A state Superior Court judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit, finding that Cowher could not sue the firm where he had been employed because he is not Jewish.
However, in its recently issued 3-0 ruling, the appellate panel found that if Cowher could prove the discrimination "would not have occurred but for the perception that he was Jewish," his claim is covered under anti-discrimination laws.
The "proper question" in this case, the court wrote, is what effect the supervisors' allegedly derogatory comments would have on "a reasonable Jew," rather than on a person of Cowher's actual background, which is German-Irish and Lutheran, AP reported.
The alleged slurs occurred from January 2007 until May 2008, when Cowher left the company due to an unrelated disability. Lawyers for the firm claim the remarks were joking, locker-room banter in which Cowher allegedly "willingly participated" with other employees.