Judge dismisses discrimination lawsuit filed by former Southampton village administrator against then-mayor
Jesse Warren, former mayor of Southampton village Credit: John Roca
A Suffolk judge has dismissed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Southampton Village official against the ex-mayor.
Charlene Kagel-Betts, 63, the former village administrator, had claimed in the lawsuit filed last year that Jesse Warren, the ex-mayor, had turned her life into a “living hell” through demeaning and harassing emails and by freezing her out of certain job duties.
In a decision released Jan. 19, state Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski wrote that Kagel-Betts was not treated differently due to her age or gender in any way that rises to the level of discrimination.
The judge determined Kagel-Betts, who retired from her position in October, did not suffer any “adverse employment action,” such as a pay decrease, and found allegations in the complaint were “vague, conclusory, and generalized.”
Warren’s tenure as mayor ended in June after losing his bid for reelection. He served two terms as mayor and was succeeded by current Mayor Bill Manger. Warren said he was “very pleased with the outcome” and declined to comment further.
Regina Calcaterra, Kagel-Betts’ attorney, said they plan to file an appeal.
The lawsuit also named the Village of Southampton as a defendant. Manger said Tuesday he planned to discuss the decision with the rest of the board and village attorney during executive session of the board’s meeting that night. He declined to comment until after that session.
The judge determined part of the controversy stemmed from a “misunderstanding” of the role of village administrator.
Kagel-Betts' lawsuit said Warren hired Patrick Derenze, who was 27, to a position titled “assistant to the mayor” and assigned Kagel-Betts' chief of staff duties to him while excluding her from meetings she had been required to attend.
But the judge said she was not appointed to serve as chief of staff and the village administrator works under the direction of mayor and board of trustees. The village administrator does not exclusively supervise village employees, the judge said.
Kagel-Betts worked as the village's chief financial officer in her role as village administrator and was responsible for implementing and managing an annual budget of more than $33 million. She started her job in October 2020 and had nearly three decades experience in municipal finance before retiring.
The village board appointed former Suffolk Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter as village administrator in October. He formally took on that role in November.
The judge said there “are no allegations” that Warren or board members blocked Kagel-Betts from speaking to department heads or changed her responsibilities. She was not terminated, her pay did not decrease and she was not demoted, the judge added.
Modelewski also did not find evidence of a “hostile work environment” in the emails Warren sent to Kagel-Betts.
The judge wrote that while Kagel-Betts “may have perceived certain communications or actions to be offensive,” there were no examples of how that left her unable to do her job.
Warren said last year the village had hired Elena Cacavas, who was an administrative law judge, to do an investigation into the allegations before Kagel-Betts filing a lawsuit. The probe concluded “no such discrimination took place,” according to the ex-mayor. Kagel-Betts had alleged that when she was hired, she refused to take a salary offer that was less than her male predecessor.
The village declined to release the report and the plaintiff asked for a copy as part of the lawsuit. The judge, however, denied a motion ordering the village to release the report.
The lawsuit also accused Warren of slander for a statement he made in reference to Kagel-Betts at a village meeting. But the judge ruled the statement was Warren's opinion and that he had not “acted improperly or engaged in any illegal or improper activities.”
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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