Ocean City Faces Another Beach Patrol Lawsuit

City Council met in private Thursday (Dec. 12) to discuss another age-discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Ocean City Beach Patrol lifeguard.

In the past two years, Ocean City paid Mike Hamilton $50,000 and paid Edwin Yust $75,000 to settle lawsuits making similar allegations. The city paid former OCBP Captain Oliver Muzslay $450,000 in an earlier settlement related to his ouster in 2001.

Paul McCracken, of Linwood, who was 52 in summer 2011 when he failed the physical recertification test for returning lifeguards, sued in June 2013. His lawsuit claims the city deliberately changed the requalification standards to force senior lifeguards to retire.

In 2009, the beach patrol eliminated a tiered system of swimming and running tests that did not require senior lifeguards to meet the same standards as younger guards. The new tests require all returning lifeguards to meet the same standards (200-meter swim in 3:30 and 800-meter run in 3:45).

In January 2009, Hamilton had filed ethics complaints against beach patrol officials that alleged, in part, that some guards were allowed back onto the patrol without meeting the requalification standards. 

After passing the new tests in 2009 and 2010, McCracken failed to make the required swim time in June 2011.

The lawsuit further alleges that then Fire Chief Joseph Foglio took $53,000 from the beach patrol operations he supervised and transferred it to the Fire Department. The suit claims Foglio tried to cut beach patrol expenses by reducing the hours of senior lifeguards and forcing them to retire to protect their pensions (which are based on gross wages for the last year worked or the average of the last three years worked).

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and restoration of full pension benefits.

City Council met in executive session on Dec. 12 to discuss a number of different lawsuits against the city. 

Government bodies often weigh the risk of potentially losing a lawsuit. They sometimes vote to settle a case out of court, paying what they consider a smaller sum than they might risk losing in legal fees for even a winning trial. The city is insured by the Atlantic County Joint Insurance Fund.