Allegations by former UNCW employees threadbare and speculative, federal judge dismisses retaliation case

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(Port City Daily/Preston Lennon)

WILMINGTON After a settlement ended its previous civil rights lawsuit two years ago, former UNCW Diversity Admissions Director LaTasha Jones’ accusations against the university, this times for retaliation, were rejected.

In federal court, Judge Richard E. Meyers II granted UNCW’s removal request on Dec. 19, nearly a year after Jones filed a second lawsuit.

READ MORE: UNCW diversity admissions director pursues second lawsuit after resigning for lost cause

In his complaint, Jones accused UNCW of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex or ethnicity. national origin. It also prohibits discrimination to accuse an institution of breaking the law.

Jones claimed that UNCW retaliated against him following his first trial in 2019. In that case, Jones claimed that his direct superiors, Director of Admissions Marcio Moreno and Deputy Director Lauren Franklin of the Department of UNCW admissions, discriminated against her as a black woman by passing on her. for several promotions. Although there was no payment; the two parties settled in October 2020, resulting in a promotion for Jones.

The deal stipulated that Jones was to be promoted to a new position of Senior Assistant Director of Admissions for Diversity Initiatives, with an $11,000 pay raise. Provost James Winebrake was to be his supervisor until a new director of admissions was hired.

Jones told the Port City Daily last month that the problems began in May 2021, when the university hired the new principal, her former supervisor, Franklin. In his lawsuit, Jones accused Franklin of misrepresenting the quality of his work, requiring unwarranted improvements, which resulted in threatening disciplinary action when demands were not met. In her case, she sought $25,000 in punitive damages.

According to the judges’ order, however, Jones’ claims do not constitute material adverse actions and UNCW certainly did not take these actions due to [her] previous trial.

Judge Meyers says Jones failed to establish a causal connection between his actions and his supervisor’s adverse reaction.

Jones told PCD she had panic attacks in her office and was diagnosed with PTSD. The lawsuit asserted that Franklin’s supervision of Jones was deleterious to his health.

For PCD, Jones said Franklin also didn’t value her work in diversity initiatives and didn’t favor separate positions for that work. Jones also declined to meet with Franklin for his performance review. She told PCD Franklin she wanted to do it before she got her previous notice from the provost. When she refused to meet three times, she was threatened with being sentenced for insubordination.

Jones’ allegations, while often hackneyed and speculative, simply reveal an employee who dislikes her supervisor, a supervisor who took the usual step of criticizing an employee’s work product and implementing performance goals. improvement, and an employee who was threatened with disciplinary action — not in retaliation for an earlier EEOC lawsuit, but for refusing to meet with his supervisor, according to the Meyers ruling.

The judges’ order says Jones has provided no factual evidence showing how Franklin misrepresented his work, why his performance goals were unjustified, and how the disciplinary action, which never took place due to Franklin’s acquiescence. UNCW to Jones’ protests, would have resulted in unfair treatment.

Even if these allegations were held to be true, it is not plausible that they are materially

adverse actions, writes Meyers in his order.

Jones could not be reached for comment by the press. She has 30 days after the decision to appeal.

Contact reporter Brenna Flanagan at [email protected]

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