Politics & Government

Zoning Officer Suspended After Harassment Claim

John Fugger made unwanted phone calls after hours to female town employee, according to complaint.

A Morristown zoning officer has been suspended without pay after another town employee filed a harassment complaint.

The complaint, filed last Tuesday, states John Fugger made unwanted calls to a female who filed the complaint—also an employee in the Public Works department—after hours, despite being told to stop, according to the complaint.

As a result, Fugger, who has been a Morristown employee for nearly 25 years, has been suspended without pay from his $83,469 a year job while the town investigates the charge.

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"Obviously, any charge no matter what the level is we take very serious at the administrative level," Mayor Tim Dougherty said, noting both Business Administrator Michael Rogers and the Morristown Police Department have either called for or have begun investigations into the charge.

Rogers said Fugger has called for an administrative hearing regarding the charge, which the town is by law required to schedule within 30 days.

Find out what's happening in Morristownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Based on the complaint and other information we received that day, the administration took action and served John with a preliminary notice of disciplinary action," Rogers said.

The town will hire an attorney, which will then meet with Fugger and his accuser, as well as any others as needed. 

Should Fugger be exonorated of the charge, he would be retroactively paid for the time he was suspended, Rogers said.

The business administrator said this was the first police complaint made against Fugger in Morristown. "That was why we took action," he said. "I can’t speak to any other related disciplinary action."

"We are going to move swiftly to make sure everyone's rights to a safe work environment are respected at all times," the mayor said.

The employee who filed the complaint declined comment on Friday.

Updated: Additional information and comments from Business Administrator Michael Rogers was added to the story.


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