A former adjunct professor at Sussex County Community College may proceed with a portion of a lawsuit she filed against the college that alleges she was not rehired because of her age, an appeals court has ruled.
While upholding a lower court’s decision that rejected most of the claims made by Joan Stephenson, now 70, a two-judge panel ruled she can proceed with a portion of her lawsuit that alleges age discrimination.
"We cannot say ... that a jury could not conclude that age, as a prohibited consideration, played a role in the decision-making process," not to rehire Stephenson, according to the 27-page ruling handed down in Trenton by Judges Mary Catherine Cuff and Alexander Waugh Jr.
SCCC spokeswoman Kathleen Scott said the college would not comment on the lawsuit because it is a matter of pending litigation.