SPOTSWOOD – David Nichols, who resigned as Spotswood’s director of emergency medical services (EMS) earlier this year, has filed a tort claim notice alleging Business Administrator Dawn McDonald has committed acts of misconduct and harassment, and created a hostile work environment.
Attorney Gina Longarzo, who is representing Nichols, said the tort claim, which was filed June 12, places the borough on notice of a pending lawsuit.
Nichols served as the EMS director from March 2017 until his resignation on April 15. He has more than 12 years of experience as a certified EMT and international trauma life support provider, and has answered approximately 20,000 emergency calls during his career. He has more than 10 years of experience in management positions, according to the notice.
During a Borough Council meeting on April 15, Nichols announced he would be resigning. Reading from his letter of resignation, he said, “My time in EMS has come to an end because of the harassment and what I view as a hostile work environment which is directly affecting my health [and] mental well-being. I will be retiring from EMS effective immediately.”
The tort claim notice alleges Nichols was subjected to harassment and retaliation by McDonald and other municipal employees asked to do her bidding because of his refusal to commit illegal acts and ignore wrongdoings, and his actions challenging McDonald and her agenda by speaking out on matters of public concern, according to the notice.
The alleged harassment and retaliation was in various forms, including the refusal to increase his salary as promised, heightened scrutiny, the selective enforcement of policies, disparate treatment, an ongoing hostile work environment, and continued efforts to malign his character and professional reputation with an intent of obstructing his future employment opportunities, among other adverse employment actions, according to the notice.
After working as an emergency medical technician for Spotswood since June 2016, in March 2017, Nichols became the acting director of the EMS division. At that time, five individuals who previously directed the division had abruptly departed, according to the tort claim notice.
As a result of Nichols’ accomplishments in a short period of time, he was offered the position of EMS director on a full-time basis and agreed to accept a drastically reduced salary on the condition his salary would be renegotiated for 2018, to which he said Mayor Ed Seely agreed, according to the notice.
According to the notice, in August 2017, Nichols implemented the use of a new medical charting system in the division. Shortly after that system was installed, Nichols said, he objected to allowing McDonald illegal access to patients’ confidential medical information and claims she went over his head to gain access to the information, according to the notice.
In about September 2017, Nichols said he began to notice increasing hostility from McDonald.
In May 2018, Nichols was able to orchestrate the EMS division’s move to a newly renovated building. Shortly after the move, he said, McDonald installed an internal camera system under the guise of increasing the building’s safety and security. However, Nichols claims McDonald insisted on having her own unlimited access to the camera system, which was unique to the EMS division, according to the notice.
In July 2018, when all division heads received a 2% to 2.5% raise, Nichols claims McDonald purposely denied him and Police Chief Michael Zarro, who was also allegedly experiencing harassment at the hands of McDonald, a similar raise, according to the notice.
In the fall of 2018, the borough’s insurance adjuster reportedly advised Nichols an ambulance that had been totaled in a March 2018 accident had not been properly fixed and was unsafe to drive, according to the notice.
Nichols claims in the notice he advised McDonald the ambulance had to be repaired or replaced because it was not safe for use, but that McDonald attempted to reinstate the use of the ambulance.
Starting in about the summer of 2018, Nichols claims he had been suffering physical symptoms as a result of the increased stress caused by the ongoing hostile work environment, including anxiety, insomnia and chest pains, according to the notice.
Borough Council President Charlie Spicuzzo said, “The borough has not, as of yet, filled the position of EMS director. In the interim, our clinical coordinator, Douglas Servis, has been named acting EMS director and is performing all the duties required of the position.”
Longarzo said Nichols must wait six months after filing the tort claim notice before he can file a lawsuit against the borough.
At a June 17 meeting, council members voted to hire a special employment counsel to investigate the allegations made in the tort claims.
Zarro and Spotswood Police Capt. Philip Corbisiero have filed their own updated tort claim notices in which they allege McDonald has continued to commit acts of harassment. Longarzo represents them as well.
In response to a request for comment regarding Nichols’ tort claim, Seely said, “Matters involving litigation cannot be discussed.”
Spicuzzo confirmed that McDonald, the business administrator, is on paid administrative leave, but further details were not available by press time.
McDonald could not be reached for comment by press time.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
