Discrimination suit participants may lose anonymity, Labor says
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A group of female Stanford employees involved in a gender discrimination suit against the University may find their anonymity threatened. According to the San Jose Mercury News, a source familiar to the Department of Labor’s investigation into Stanford was told by an agency official that the women’s identities would be released last Friday, Jan. 21. In a related incident, a female contractor is alleging gender discrimination at Stanford after she was fired from the hospital in December. The Department of Labor probe into Stanford’s hiring and promotion practices began last February, in response to a November 1998 complaint filed by eight Stanford faculty and staff members. The initial complaint, a 400-page report detailing alleged gender discrimination in the School of Humanities and Sciences, the Medical School, the Law School and the School of Education, encompassed about 30 women and a few minority men. In a statement last year, former Asst. History Prof. Karen Sawislak stated that the report addressed a wide variety of issues, from “promotion to appointment to hostile climate to wrongful termination.” A former Stanford professor who was denied tenure in the mid-1990s withdrew from the group complaint rather than be identified, according to the Mercury News. “It was very disturbing,” she was quoted as saying. “Months ago, when I went to give my deposition, they told me that everything I said would be anonymous. I wouldn’t have gone any further if I hadn’t been told that. I wish I could stick with it. I wish I could do more for the cause. But I believe there would be ramifications I could not deal with.” The Mercury News also reported one scientist as saying that her pay was halved when Stanford learned of her involvement in the investigation. It is unclear why the Department of Labor planned to disclose the names of the individuals involved. Stanford attorney Tom Fenner said the alleged pay cut experienced by the scientist had been investigated and found to be without foundation, according to the Mercury News. According to Fenner, “[Stanford] will take all necessary, appropriate steps to make sure that no retaliation occurs.” The Department of Labor case is not the only allegation of gender discrimination plaguing the University. Former contractor Suzanne McIntosh has lodged numerous complaints against the Stanford Hospital administration alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination. McIntosh, hired as a project manager in the Design and Construction unit of Stanford Hospital, stated that she was fired after objecting to the sexually explicit language and pornographic images used by the workers she oversaw. McIntosh also said the workers, employees of the construction firm Rudolph & Sletten, used improper containment procedures when working around sensitive mammogram films and gained uncontrolled access to operating rooms, compromising patient privacy. Hospital spokeswoman Laurie Ito called the incident a “personnel matter,” and stated that McIntosh’s claims were under investigation. Source : daily.stanford.edu |