Paul Campos, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School, didn’t officially “win” his lawsuit against his employer, but he achieved a substantial settlement and had his legal costs covered, arguably making it much more than a typical victory. His case caught public attention after he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement, thus opening avenues for discourse about the process.
In what can be construed as a resounding victory for certain plaintiffs in discrimination cases, Campos managed to share his journey through the legal process. The specifics surrounding his legal battle were available in a blog post he authored here.
One of Campos’s primary grievances was receiving a poor annual review score, with the committee refusing to explain its reasoning. This lack of transparency raised eyebrows and prompted him to take the case to the dean. Nevertheless, the dean too displayed a reluctance to independently evaluate the score or provide clarity on the matter, leading Campos to consider formal avenues of issue redressal.
As the litigation process loomed, Campos noted the dean making several doubtful strategic moves. Most notably, the dean removed Campos from a committee, acknowledging this decision as a response to his complaint in an email – an evident case of retaliation.
When Campos protested against this retaliatory action, the dean, according to Campos, began to accuse him of making racist and sexist statements in a class. The save was that these classes were recorded in their entirety and none cited any such incidents upon review. Not only did this uncover the motivation behind the accusations as a ploy to punish Campos for flagging discrimination, it also presented a challenge in the school’s case.
The dean’s failure to adhere to the key rules of Employment Discrimination Law – refraining from punishing someone who reports discrimination – put the university in an indefensible position in the litigation. Consequently, the university had to concede to remove the dean from her supervisory position concerning Campos.
Additional analysis and details about this contentious case will be released on Lawyers Guns Money in the coming days, encouraging more open discussions about workplace retaliation and related legalities in academia.
Explore further:
How I Won My Lawsuit Against the University of Colorado
Law School Professor Sues School After What Sounds Like A Whole Lot Of Retaliation