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Karins v. City of Atlantic City2/18/1998
these characteristics.
[Id.]
Karins signed a receipt acknowledging that he had received a copy of Operational Procedure #105 less than three months before the present episode. His conduct in 1992, for which he was disciplined, was actually a factor that sparked the promulgation of Operational Procedure #105.
On the night in question, Karins knew that Officer Rassmann was acting in an official capacity. Karins himself informed the officers that he was a City firefighter. In so doing, Karins implicitly recognized the official working relationship between the two departments and the importance of that relationship. Under those circumstances, Karins's racial slur had the clear capacity to create racial tension between the police and fire departments, thereby threatening that working relationship. That potential tension was substantially enhanced once Karins's co-workers found out about the incident. Indeed, it exacerbated the level of tension that predated this episode.
Furthermore, a firefighter's work environment extends beyond the firehouse and into the community both during emergencies and otherwise. During emergencies, the police are present whenever the fire department responds. During non-emergencies, both departments engage in community relations to alert the community about safety and to instill public confidence in the departments. The City has a compelling interest in making sure that racial tensions do not impede the duty of firefighters and police officers to work together. Karins received a copy of Operational Procedure #105 and, therefore, was on notice that such conduct would not be tolerated. Thus, we conclude that the racial epithet uttered by Karins is covered by Operational Procedure #105.
IX.
Although the present case has some elements of a hostile work environment case similar to Taylor v. Metzger, ___ N.J. ___ (1998)(holding that single derogatory racial comment can create hostile work environment by violating Law Against Discrimination), it is also different. Many hostile work environment cases require actual disruption of work or impaired performance. The absence of such evidence in this type of case is not critical. In a disciplinary case such as this one, it is not necessary "for an employer to allow events to unfold to the extent that the disruption of the office and the destruction of working relationships is manifest before taking action." Connick, supra, 461 U.S. at 152, 103 S. Ct. at 1692, 75 L. Ed. 2d at 723.
Conduct that weakens the public's trust tends to destroy the public's confidence in a fire department. Firefighters can perform their duties well only if they merit the trust and confidence of the community they serve. Public trust and confidence are essential to the department's effective and satisfactory operation. The Chief of a fire department has the responsibility of sedulously maintaining the departmental morale and discipline. The promotion of safety of persons and property is at the core of the mission of a fire department. That cannot be achieved without intra- and inter-departmental morale.
Clearly, Karins engaged in hate conduct that involved speech. There are certain words and phrases "that in the context of history carry a clear message of . . . hatred, persecution, and degradation of certain groups." State v. Vawter, 136 N.J. 56, 66 (1994) (quoting from Mari J. Matsuda, Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering The Victim's Story, 87 Mich. L. Rev. 2320, 2365 (1989)). Karins's conduct falls squarely within that category. Hate conduct or speech "harms the individual who is the target[;] . . . it perpetuates negative stereotypes promotes discrimination . . . by c
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