39 results for 'cat:"Education" AND cat:"Employment Retaliation"'.
J. Chun declines to dismiss the school faculty member's retaliation claim in his complaint alleging that the university president wrongfully fired the faculty member for putting a statement in his class syllabus, emails and outside his faculty office door about the Coast Salish tribe's claim to land that read, "I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington." The school faculty member plausibly alleges a First Amendment retaliation claim as his speech “related to scholarship or teaching." While the university and its president cite the "Johnson v. Poway Unified School District" decision that allows discipline of speech on school grounds, that case's analysis focuses on secondary school education, not college education.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv964, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: education, employment Retaliation, First Amendment
J. Novak denies the university's motion to dismiss claims of gender discrimination. An accomplished Black female news director turned communications professor properly presented facts that her Black male supervisor gave her unfavorable assignments, tried to take her role as internship director away, suggested she needed to teach more courses than anyone else in the department and directed her to teach specific courses without her input, while her male and White female counterparts exercised flexibility in choosing courses to instruct.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Novak, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv777, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Drell orders a school's executive director to turn over complete and unredacted records of any phone calls and text messages he exchanged with three subordinate employees, during two days of depositions for an English instructor’s Title VII sexual harassment and retaliation suit. The school destroyed evidence to conceal it from the litigant-teacher and, therefore, the teacher is granted an “adverse inference” as a sanction. A jury may infer that deleted texts would have shown the executive director instructed the three workers how they were to testify in their depositions and that the testimony in their own depositions reflects the instructions of their boss.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Drell, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv4419, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Hanen finds that the claims of professor who was denied a promotion after speaking out against discriminatory behavior toward women university employees can proceed to a jury trial based only on professor’s retaliation and discrimination claims. The professor cited emails in which she repeatedly pointed out gender-based discrimination to her supervisors, along with formal complaints she submitted to the university, which provide sufficient context for retaliation.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanen, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 4:15cv2824, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
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J. Urbanski denies the university's motion to dismiss due process claims. A Ph.D candidate claimed his male supervisor routinely discriminated against him because the supervisor preferred women he could attempt to seduce. The supervisor received a grant from research the candidate did in his lab but instead of giving the research stipend to the male candidate he gave it to a female candidate he was supposedly in a romantic relationship with. The male candidate claims that after he reported the supervisor's actions the supervisor began a retaliation campaign consisting of harsh work assignments and creating a hostile lab environment. During this time the male candidate was accused of sexual assault by a classmate who the male candidate claims did not seek to pursue the candidate's dismissal from the university until the supervisor influenced her to do so. The process moved quickly and the university, supposedly under the supervisor's tutelage, refused to give the male candidate an extension for collecting evidence to defend himself from the accusation.
Court: USDC Western District of Virginia, Judge: Urbanski, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: 7:21cv378, Categories: education, Due Process, employment Retaliation
J. Ellison finds for a school district on a former teacher's employment discrimination action. She fails to make out a prima facie case of discrimination, nor has she shown the district's legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for non-renewal was pretextual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Ellison, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv145, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. D’Agostino dismisses with prejudice an employment discrimination and retaliation complaint brought against Hamilton College by a university professor, who says he was targeted for being a Black immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of his allegations involve actions that occurred prior to 2018, including the university’s decision not to appoint him to chair of the French and Franco Studies Department in 2012, which the court finds are untimely.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: D’Agostino, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 6:22cv1395, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Marbley denies the university's motion for summary judgment, ruling the black professor's EEOC complaints and internal communications about false allegations of sexual assault were protected activity under Title VII and establish a causal link to his termination that allows his retaliation claim to proceed. The university claims it fired the professor after the results of its investigation validated the sexual assault claims, but because the Faculty Senate Hearing Committee disputed this result on two occasions and found the investigation "troubling," the professor has made a prima facie showing of pretext.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Marbley, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv2028, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Evidence, employment Retaliation
J. Hartz finds that the lower court properly ruled against a former assistant principal who claimed that her school district retaliated against her and took away many of her duties and responsibilities after she reported a student-on-student sexual assault at school. She could not prove that any of the actions taken against her after the incident were pretextual, and regardless of that, reporting a student-on-student sexual assault is not considered an activity protected from retaliation by Title VII. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Hartz, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 23-3004, Categories: education, employment Retaliation
J. Bush finds the lower court properly dismissed the black professor's discrimination and retaliation claims against the university. The actions taken by university officials - denial of grant opportunities and reassignments - were not based on the professor's race and were not pervasive enough to support a hostile work environment claim. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bush, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: 23-5557, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Hunt grants a university board of trustees’ motion for summary judgment on a former university police officer’s Fair Medical Leave Act claims. The former officer claims he was fired for taking FMLA leave in the summer of 2021, but the court finds the trustee board provided sufficient evidence to show the officer was fired because of repeated attendance violations, among other offenses.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Hunt, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv6667, NOS: Family and Medical Leave Act - Labor, Categories: education, employment Retaliation, Police Misconduct
J. Carr denies, in part, the university's motion for summary judgment, ruling the employee's conversations with five different supervisors and coworkers about a potential hiring she believed would violate EEOC laws was protected activity and, given it occurred less than two weeks before her demotion, is sufficient to support her claim of retaliation in regard to the demotion.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Carr, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv2151, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Evidence, employment Retaliation
J. Higginson finds the district court properly found for a university on a black administrative coordinator's sexual harassment and retaliation suit. The record demonstrates the university took prompt remedial action after an investigation supported her claim that a veterinarian had slapped her on the buttocks. Furthermore, she fails to show the university's reasons for relocating her were pretextual. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-30699, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Matsumoto grants a New York City school teacher leave to file a second amended employment retaliation complaint against the city’s educational department, but denies his motion to file with what he proposes is his second amended complaint. The court finds that, while he proposes three claims for retaliation, only one claim regarding allegations that he was issued a negative performance review for filing complaints regarding discriminatory treatment resolved factual deficiencies cited by the court.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Matsumoto, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv3117, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, employment Retaliation
J. North grants summary judgment to a school board, dismissing the employment retaliation claims of a full-time high school English teacher who was relieved of his duties coaching the boys' basketball team after posting losing seasons. The teacher alleges he was fired from his coaching job in retaliation for filing a sexual harassment suit against the female school principal who previously investigated him for statewide violations of rules for student athletes. The board argued the teacher’s claims were unsubstantiated and the school superintendent gave the teacher a second chance at the coaching job, which he failed. Because the teacher cannot establish a clear case of employment retaliation, the school board is not required to offer a non-retaliatory reason for the adverse employment action against him as a basketball coach.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: North, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1081, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Evidence, employment Retaliation
J. Osteen partially denies the University of North Carolina’s motion to dismiss allegations including race discrimination, wrongful discharge and tortious inference brought by a Ph.D. student. The only Black person in the organizational behavioral Ph.D. program at the time, the student confided in close faculty that she had been raped and that this had triggered symptoms of her PTSD diagnosis. When she attended a hearing involving her attacker instead of a non-mandatory program seminar, the faculty claimed she was being irresponsible and disrespectful. From there, the student alleges, her treatment by the faculty — all of whom are white or of Indian descent — became increasingly severe to the point where they allegedly complained to professors at other universities and sabotaged her attempts to transfer schools. While the student does not sufficiently evidence her claims against the individual staff members involved and has since withdrawn those claims, she does have standing against the university itself on eight of 10 claims including disparate treatment, retaliation and failure to accommodate.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Osteen, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv717, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Wiener finds the district court properly dismissed this RICO suit brought by the female assistant athletic director against Louisiana State University’s board of supervisors and athletics department, as well as the school’s lawyers, alleging that they engaged in efforts to conceal an investigative report involving alleged sexual harassment committed by the head football coach. The athletic director had failed to meet her burden of establishing that her professional injuries were proximately caused by the alleged illegal conduct. The suit would more appropriately have been brought as a retaliation suit for reporting of sexual misconduct rather an act of racketeering or conspiracy. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wiener, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 22-30670, Categories: education, employment Retaliation, Racketeering
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court improperly granted summary judgment in favor of the University of Texas in this employment retaliation suit brought by a Hispanic tenured professor who complained of pay inequity. The professor has provided evidence of a causal link between his report and retaliatory acts. Immediately after he circulated his report, the department chair made a comment about disbanding the equity committee, then restructured it by creating subcommittees, diluting the professor’s responsibilities. He was then removed from the committee, which is enough for a reasonable juror to see a causal link between the protected activity and UT’s adverse actions. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 23-50036, Categories: education, Evidence, employment Retaliation
J. Henry denies a school teacher’s motion to amend her employment retaliation complaint against the New York City Department of Education and the principal at Carl Ullman School in Queens alleging adverse employment actions stemming from her anxiety disorders. The court finds she disobeyed the court’s orders by reasserting in her second-amended complaint claims for race and disability discrimination which the court previously dismissed. As well, the amended complaint would place undue hardship on the defendants because it includes additional allegations that will require additional discovery, which was closed more than two years ago.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Henry, Filed On: September 30, 2023, Case #: 1:18cv411, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, education, employment Retaliation
J. Hendrix denies, in part, a school district's motion to dismiss a former 5th grade math teacher's retaliation action, in which she claims she was fired for exercising her right to free speech and association when she posted comments about the district's post-Covid-19 mask policies. She sufficiently alleges her claims for her First Amendment retaliation claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Hendrix, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv170, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: education, employment Retaliation, First Amendment
J. Rubin partially denies the University of Maryland’s motion to dismiss allegations of hostile work environment, retaliation, and race, gender and age discrimination brought by a diagnostic radiation employee. The employee, a white woman over 40, described her supervisor as an “Indian/Asian” man who gave preferential treatment to women who were younger and of seemingly the same racial background as him. She claims that he stared and panted at her and bragged about the size of his prostate. The employee received two negative performance reviews after she made complaints internally and with the EEOC. The university is correct that the employees ADEA claim is barred by state sovereign immunity and her state-related claims are time-barred. However, her federal discrimination and retaliation allegations are not time-barred and will proceed.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Rubin, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv514, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Bryant grants the board of education's motion for summary judgment, ruling the black employee cannot make a prima facie case for race discrimination. Although a white male was hired for the CFO position, it is undisputed he scored the highest on the exam used to test all of the candidates, which gave the board a legitimate reason to select him for the job. Meanwhile, the employee's abuse of the school's health insurance program to allow her ex-husband to remain on the plan for years after he was ineligible gave the board a legitimate reason to fire her.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bryant, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv1463, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Myers partially denies a university's motion to dismiss gender discrimination and retaliation allegations brought by a women's volleyball head coach after the university fired her and replaced her with a man. Although the coach had a stellar track record regarding team wins, she complained multiple times of Title IX violations by the university, which she claims consisted of higher amounts of funding and facility renovations for men's teams. At the same time, student athletes accused the coach of creating a toxic culture through intimidation and manipulation. The university fired her on the grounds of toxicity, but she states a reasonable claim of discrimination and retaliation since the university replaced her with a male coach with very little experience shortly after she complained.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Myers, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv30, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Rodriguez finds a lower court erred when it declined to dismiss a wrongful-termination suit brought against a school district. While the former employee in the case said she was terminated after reporting timekeeping theft by her coworkers, she has failed to allege a violation under the Texas Whistleblower Act because the alleged thefts were violations of school-district protocol rather than a law. The school district therefore maintains immunity in this case. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00021-CV, Categories: education, Immunity, employment Retaliation
J. Brodie denies, in part, the NYC Department of Education's motion for summary judgment on a Black worker's claims for employment-related race discrimination and retaliation. Material disputes remain as to whether the department's arguments for denying him overtime were pretextual, or whether its allegedly retaliatory actions, which included issuing him several write-ups and recommending his termination, were the "but for" cause of its actions.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Brodie, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv480, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation
J. Carr grants the university's motion for summary judgment, ruling the employee failed to provide evidence she exhausted her administrative remedies with the EEOC, which requires dismissal of her Title VII sex discrimination claim. Meanwhile, the employee's retaliation claim fails because there is no causal connection between her filing a discrimination and her termination, which came only after she disobeyed a direct order from a supervisor and continued to email faculty and students without prior approval.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Carr, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv2665, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: education, Employment Discrimination, employment Retaliation