A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that an anti-harassment clause in Valley National Bank’s ethics code could give rise to a breach-of-contract suit by an employee who says she was bullied by her boss.
The appeals court revived Angela Maselli’s suit claiming the bank breached promises in its code of conduct. The bank argued it had no contractual obligations, but the text of a disclaimer relied on by the bank does not unambiguously disavow a binding contract to abide by the code, the two-judge panel ruled in Maselli v. Valley National Bancorp. The panel reversed the decision of the motion judge to dismiss the case.
