The lawsuit also includes federal charges of age discrimination, gender discrimination, conspiracy to interfere with civil rights (42 U.S. Code 1985[3]) and action for neglect to prevent (42 U.S. Code 1986). State-law claims for defamation and tortious interference are included in the complaint. The lawsuit also lists fictitious defendants who I plan to name once they are identified through the discovery process. Anonymous threats I've received on this blog, including one specifically mentioning my job, indicates persons outside of UAB were partially driving this termination train.
A scan of Legal Schnauzer archives shows that the vast majority of posts are about legal matters involving other people--former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, Mississippi attorney Paul Minor, U.S. Justice Department whistleblowers Jill Simpson and Tamarah Grimes, and many others.
But the case against the University of Alabama hits about as close to home as you can get. Several individuals, with the OK of the university's leadership, effectively ruined a career that I had spent 19 years building--30 if you count my 11 years in the newspaper business--and left me in a position where it is almost impossible at age 53 to find a job in my chosen field.
My guess is that the vast majority of Americans never have had an inside look at an employment lawsuit, especially one that involves such flagrant violations of basic civil and constitutional rights.
We intend to provide an inside look that, to my knowledge, has never been presented in American journalism. Does our justice system still work for everyday Americans? We will be finding out.
(Note: I was terminated on May 19, 2008, and the UAB lawsuit was filed on May 17, 2010, within the two-year statute of limitations for a First Amendment claim. The EEOC took way more than the 180 days it is allowed to investigate my claim, but upon my request, the agency issued a right-to-sue letter. Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow a plaintiff 120 days to complete service on defendants. Service was completed on all defendants by September 15, within the time frame allowed by law.)
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