A 67-year-old doctor who served for 25 years as medical director for the Cliffside Park Board of Education in Bergen County has filed a lawsuit claiming that the district replaced him with a significantly younger doctor.
Dr. Michael A. Meese, an orthopedic surgeon from Hackensack, claims in court papers he was replaced earlier this year by Dr. Jonathan Dominguez, 36, who is being paid $9,000 more per year than the district paid Meese.
Meese “suffered disparate treatment and was wrongfully terminated as a result of his age,” claims the suit, filed Oct. 7 in Superior Court of Bergen County.
The lawsuit claims age discrimination, wrongful discharge, and breach of contract.
Schools Superintendent Mark Rindfuss and Dominguez did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment on the suit.
According to the complaint, Meese began working for the Cliffside Park Board of Education in 2000. He annually entered into agreements with the board to treat sports-related injuries of high school students.
Dominguez is a family doctor based in North Bergen whose experience involves treatment of vitamin deficiencies and general medicine “not particularly directed at sports-related injuries or orthopedics,” the suit claims.
Meese’s last contract ran from September 2024 through June, and he was paid $15,000 for the year, according to the suit.
The lawsuit says Dominguez in September 2024 solicited the district’s athletic director with an offer to succeed Meese at a rate of $24,000 a year.
On May 9, the athletic director contacted Meese and told him his contract would not be renewed, the suit says.
Dominguez is “not nearly as qualified” as Meese, yet the board is paying him a “substantially higher” salary, the suit says.
The lawsuit asserts Meese was more than adequately performing his services to the district, and that “no rational explanation” can be given as to why he was replaced, other than his age.
“As such, defendants are not only doing a disservice to their taxpayers, but also the children they are responsible to protect,” the lawsuit claims.
Meese is seeking a jury trial and monetary damages.
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