Title IX Administrators Network: Recent Legal Cases Update
Title IX Administrators Network provides updates on recent legal cases involving Title IX, highlighting challenges and outcomes in cases such as DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College and Doe v. Moravian College. These cases address issues related to employment discrimination, assault on campus, religious exceptions, and the burden of proof in Title IX investigations.
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Presentation Transcript
Northern California Title IX Administrators Network Elizabeth Trayner, Ed. D., Title IX Coordinator, University of the Pacific (She, her, Hers) March 29, 2021
Discussion International Women s Day Executive Order Tracy Rule
DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College (2021) Professor DeWeese-Boyd was up for a promotion - full professor & unanimously recommended by the faculty senate Not offered position She filed suit against Gordon claiming the college was retaliating against her for speaking in opposition of the college s policies and practices regarding individuals of the LGBTQ community Gordon claim DeWeese-Boyd was a minister and therefore the ministerial exception applied affirmative defense available to religious institutions - barring employment discrimination claims
DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College (2021) Minister added to the handbook serious opposition from faculty Competing interests Interest of religious groups to choose who will preach their beliefs vs. Interest of society in enforcement of employment discrimination statutes Court must evaluate exactly what the employee does DeWeese did not teach religion, the Bible, or lead students in devotional exercises or prayer Ministerial exception does not apply as a defense to her claims against Gordon
Doe v. Moravian Coll. (E.D. Pa 2021) Doe was assaulted on campus and the assault was recorded by the defendants Doe initiates a T9 complaint and Moravian begins an investigation Moravian also issues a no-contact order to the defendants Defendants violate no-contact order yet Doe is reprimanded and told to be more courteous T9 Director and Director of Student Affairs strongly discourage Doe from pursuing her complaint Doe withdraws her complaint
Doe v. Moravian Coll. (E.D. Pa 2021) Doe files suit alleging: Violations of Title IX , intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence Moravian files motion to dismiss Court dismisses negligence claims but allows Title IX and IIED claims to go forward Reminds Moravian that it is the defendants who bear the burden of showing that no claim has been presented Moravian s response to the report of the assault was considered to be outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly caused serious emotional distress.
Freyd v. Univ. of Or. (9thCir. 2021) Professor at University of Oregon files suit alleging claims under the Equal Pay Act Title VII Title IX Oregon law Gender disparity in pay that is department wide District court issued summary judgment on all counts for Univ. Ninth circuit some of theEqual Pay Act and Title VII claims could go forward As for Title IX no evidence of intentional discrimination
Inappropriate Touching A student reports that, during an online class, one of the other students was touching himself inappropriately. Although the majority of the class was recorded, the time when the incident was alleged to have occurred took place after they got back from breakout groups and the professor forgot to turn the recording back on. The Respondent denies that anything like this happened and there are no witnesses to corroborate the Complainant s account. However, the Complainant continues to insist that they saw this occurring and were deeply troubled by it. What would be your approach? Would you take this to a hearing? Does your process have some sort of an off ramp that would allow the Title IX Coordinator to stop proceeding with the case?
COVID Violation A student reports that they were sexually assaulted by another student in one of the residence halls on campus in January 2021. The institution has a strict no-visitation rule in place due to the level of cases of COVID-19 in the county. The Complainant is worried about getting in trouble and doesn t have another place to stay because she was raised in foster care. What would your approach be? What role, if any, would COVID play in this situation on your campus?
Faculty Conference Two faculty members (Chris and Jo) are attending a professional conference together. Chris has tenure and is well-respected within the professional association. Jo is a first year tenure-track faculty member who has never attended this particular conference before. In order to save the institution some money they decide to share a two-bedroom suite. During the last night of the conference they decide to head down to the hotel bar to celebrate their successful presentation. Chris milks two beers over the course of the evening but is encouraging Jo to drink up because you only get to experience your first conference once. Chris picks up the tab. Jo is stumbling so Chris assists Jo in getting back to the room. Jo starts talking about how cute Chris is and gets handsy. Chris thinks Jo is cute too and they end up having sex. Jo is talking about the conference with a colleague and conveys what happened. The colleague reports this to the Title IX Coordinator. What considerations would you take into account?
Thank You These materials and all discussions of these materials are for instructional purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should contact your attorney. All attendees at the March 29, 2021 virtual meeting of the Northern California Title IX Administrators Network are hereby granted permission to post a copy of these materials to their institution s website solely for purposes of compliance with 34 CFR 106.45(b)(10)(i)(D). These materials are not intended to be used by anyone for their own training purposes. Use of this material for proprietary reasons is strictly prohibited.
