CATEGORY:
Private Education Matters
CLIENT TYPE:
Private Education
DATE: Jan 29, 2025
- Joyce Bell Limbrick, a Black woman and former Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Southern California (USC), has sued USC, alleging that she was subjected to discrimination and harassment based on the intersection of her race and gender. Following the appointment of a new Athletic Director, Limbrick claims she endured racially and sexually discriminatory remarks, was stripped of key responsibilities, and was systematically excluded from leadership opportunities. Despite reporting this conduct and cooperating in internal investigations, she has asserted that she was wrongfully terminated under the pretext of poor performance shortly after receiving a merit-based salary increase. This case is among the first to invoke California’s new intersectionality bias provisions under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
- Lisa Mesi, a White woman and former principal of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, claims she was unjustly removed from her position and reassigned to a “Special Assignment” role after enforcing a long-standing graduation ceremony policy. The controversy arose when Mesi withheld diplomas from three Black students who violated the graduation ceremony policy by causing disruptions during the ceremony. Following public backlash and accusations of racism, the School District removed Mesi from her position. Mesi alleges that this was done without a formal investigation, and that she was replaced with a less qualified Black principal. Mesi alleges that her removal and reassignment was racially discriminatory and retaliatory for adhering to school policy, and refusing to issue a public apology.
- Eric Eiswert has filed suit against the Baltimore County Board of Education and a number of employees raising allegations of defamation, negligence, and civil rights violations following the creation and dissemination of a fabricated audio recording that falsely portrayed Eiswert, a high school principal, as making racist and antisemitic comments. The complaint alleges that Dazhon Darien, an athletic director at the school, used artificial intelligence tools to manipulate recordings of Eiswert’s voice into a defamatory audio clip. The audio was then distributed with the assistance of other school staff, resulting in widespread media attention, threats of violence, and significant reputational harm to Eiswert. Despite forensic evidence proving the audio was fake, the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) allegedly failed to clear Eiswert’s name or reinstate him, instead reassigning him to a lower position.
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