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Courts Find Discrimination
By Gwendolyn Bradley
In July, a California trial court jury found that the School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, violated state laws by discriminating against former instructor Janet Conney on the basis of her sex, and it ordered the UC system to pay her $2.95 million. The jury also found that the university retaliated against Conney after she protested her treatment. Conney, a physician, claimed that two of her male colleagues created a hostile work environment by making suggestive comments about her body, and alleged that one of her supervisors also created a hostile work environment by being unduly critical of her work and making disparaging remarks about her to other physicians and to departmental staff.
In addition, Conney asserted that when the university did not receive grant funds as expected, the administration withdrew from Conney a promotion to the tenure track for which she had already signed a contract. She was reassigned as a two-thirds-time employee with a reduced salary. She later learned, she alleged, that similarly situated male co-workers were paid more and were offered promotions that she was told would not be available. Conney was supported in her lawsuit by the American Association of University Women's Legal Advocacy Fund. The university system disputes the court's findings and has said that it will seek relief from the court and, if that is unsuccessful, will appeal the ruling.
In August, a federal jury ordered Kennesaw State University in Georgia to pay $1.06 million to a former professor, Hillary Hight Daw, because it discriminated against her on the basis of gender. Daw alleged that the university retaliated against her by taking away duties and giving her poor reviews after she complained that the few women in her department were treated poorly in pay and promotions compared with male counterparts. The university has said that it may appeal the ruling.
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