TRENTON — The New Jersey Transit employee fired for burning pages of the Quran at the site of a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero will get his job back, according to a settlement obtained by The Star-Ledger. Derek Fenton, who sparked a national firestorm and condemnation from Gov. Chris Christie during his protest on the ninth anniversary of...
Derek Fenton, an 11-year NJ Transit employee, was fired after he attended a Sept. 11 rally protesting the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan. It was his day off and he did not identify himself as an NJ Transit employee. While there, Fenton burned three pages of the Quran.TRENTON — The New Jersey Transit employee fired for burning pages of the Quran at the site of a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero will get his job back, according to a settlement obtained by The Star-Ledger.
Derek Fenton, who sparked a national firestorm and condemnation from Gov. Chris Christie during his protest on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, will be reassigned to his $86,110-a-year job and get $25,000 for pain and suffering. The settlement, dated today, also says he will get back pay equal to $331.20 for every day since his firing.
The state will also pay $25,000 in legal fees to the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the suit on behalf of Fenton, 40, of Bloomingdale.
"Our government cannot pick and choose whose free speech rights are protected, based on whether or not they approve of the content of our statements or actions," Fenton said in a statement. "This is the very essence of the First Amendment."
Fenton can return to work after completing a physical and drug test on Monday, said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey.
The Attorney General’s Office and a Christie spokesman declined comment. NJ Transit did not respond to request for comment.
The settlement comes after the governor publicly supported Fenton’s firing. In February, Christie said he didn’t ask for the dismissal but called it appropriate because "that kind of intolerance is ... unacceptable."
"I knew he was going to be fired, and I had no problem with it," Christie said at the time. "And I still don’t have a problem with it."
As the ACLU’s lawsuit got underway, the governor and several ranking officials from his office were named as potential witnesses with knowledge of the firing.
"The governor’s thoughts are misguided and un-American," Jacobs said. "What makes us special as a nation is the First Amendment."
She said the state reached out to offer the settlement.
Last September, Fenton participated in a protest in Lower Manhattan at the site of a planned Islamic center. Opponents say its proximity to Ground Zero makes its construction insensitive to 9/11 victims’ families, while supporters defend it on the basis of religion freedom.
Fenton removed and burned three pages of the Quran, and was soon escorted from the protest by New York police but was not arrested. At the time, Fenton was off duty and did not publicly link himself to NJ Transit.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent Muslim group, has also said Fenton should keep his job.
"Our question was always, was his action in any way related to his duties on the job? Apparently it wasnt," spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said today. "What he did, however reprehensible, should not impact on his employment."
The settlement stipulates that Fenton will have the title of return to his job of "consist coordinator" — ensuring enough cars are attached to trains in service — and be reissued a cell phone, the standard for an employee in that position.
His pension credits will be restored and he will not be subject to a "probationary" term common for new hires.
By Ginger Gibson and Chris Megerian/The Star-Ledger