UH faces harassment lawsuits
By Ken Fountain
Senior Staff Writer
A federal judge has ordered the parties
involved in a University-related sexual harassment lawsuit to attempt to
reach a settlement through arbitration.
Susan Septimus, a former attorney in the
Office of the General Counsel at UH, filed a federal lawsuit in September
claiming she was denied a promotion based on her gender and was "constructively
discharged" in retaliation for complaining about the discrimination.
Septimus is one of three women who made
official complaints that General Counsel Dennis Duffy created a "hostile
and abusive" work environment for female employees in the office. A study
conducted in early 1998 by attorney Deborah McElvaney concluded that "women
in the OGC had been subjected to discriminatory, hostile environment" and
that Septimus was indeed denied the promotion based on her gender.
Despite that report and multiple findings
from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the only official
action taken against Duffy was a suggestion that he undergo sensitivity
training.
In a ruling on the September lawsuit, federal
District Judge Vanessa Gilmore ordered that Septimus and the University
participate in "non-binding mediation ... where the parties will attempt
to resolve their differences."
Gilmore appointed San Antonio attorney
Phil Pfeiffer of the firm Fulbright & Jaworski to be the mediator.
The mediation is to be conducted within 90 days of the ruling, and the
results will be reported within 10 days of its conclusion.
Action was also taken in December on another
sexual harassment suit filed against the University by a secretary in the
Graduate School of Social Work.
In the Dec. 1 ruling, Judge Sim Lake dismissed
the suit filed by plaintiff Cora Day for "want of prosecution" -- that
is, Day's representative did not attend a conference where a trial date
would be set.
Day filed a motion to reinstate the lawsuit
on Dec. 29.
In the suit, which was originally filed
last August, Day accused GSSW Associate Dean Paul Raffoul of making unwanted
verbal and physical advances toward her and using sexually explicit and
derogatory humor. At the time, Day was executive secretary to Ira Colby,
dean of the school.
Day further claimed that Colby responded
with indifference when she told him about Raffoul's alleged behavior, and
that he retaliated against her by demoting her and assigning her to a new
office without furnishings or equipment. Day also said Colby threatened
her with dismissal in February 2000.
A May 2000 letter of determination from
the EEOC found sufficient evidence that Colby did retaliate against Day.
At press time, neither Colby nor Raffoul
could be reached regarding the lawsuit, and Day told The Daily Cougar on
Thursday that she had "absolutely no comment."
