Former Barnegat Administrator Was Job Hunting While On Sick Leave, Report Says

BARNEGAT - Former Barnegat Township Business Administrator David Breeden kept busy after he he was recovering from surgery last year, according to app.com.

He was looking for a new job in Florida. When township officials learned about his job search, they weren't happy about it.

“It was adversely affecting the management and operations of Barnegat Township, not having an administrator," Mayor John Novak said. "As more and more time went on, the worse and worse we were suffering.”

Novak and other township officials first thought Breeden would only be out for a few weeks. When it turned out to be months, they began looking for a new administrator. Breeden took an early retirement in May.

Then he filed a lawsuit against township officials, claiming that they had interfered with his job search, violated his contract and state law discrimination laws.

Judge Arnold B. Goldman threw out most of the claims, including against individual defendants named by Breeden, but allowed a retaliation claim against the township to continue.

Novak contacted several of the Florida municipalities where Breeden had applied to inform them he was unable to work. He said Barnegat police also drove by Breeden's house once to see if he still had a township car, according to the report.

“It had nothing to do with him, but we wanted to know where our car was," the mayor said.

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Image: Barnegat Township.