A budget-driven reduction-in-force provided Howard University with a valid, nondiscriminatory reason to terminate an African-American human resources officer, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in a race discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment case.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon threw out a suit by Jeannette Frett, a $150,000-a-year senior director and chief talent officer in Howard’s Office of Talent Management. She held the position from January 2011 until April 2012.
During her time there, Frett filed an internal complaint alleging a “hostile and harassing work environment” and gender discrimination based on conduct by the chief human resources officer.
The complaint, later revised, cited her superior’s purported criticism and tone of voice as well as micromanagement of her decisions, a sexual joke, her relocation to a dirty office and denial of a salary increase. The discrimination claims “were based on her perception that he preferred light-skinned people and men and this favoritism affected his treatment of and interactions with her, a dark-skinned female,” Leon wrote in his decision.
Howard placed her on paid administrative leave pending an investigation and resolution of the complaint, which it ultimately found unsupported.
Frett was terminated when she returned after the leave in what the university described as a reduction in force with more than 450 lay-offs.
In rejecting the suit, Leon said no reasonable jury could conclude that Frett’s paid administrative leave and termination were retaliation for filing the internal EEO complaint.
