{"id":14503,"date":"2011-05-30T02:34:13","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T07:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=14503"},"modified":"2011-05-30T04:52:15","modified_gmt":"2011-05-30T09:52:15","slug":"deaf-professor-wins-suit-over-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/30\/deaf-professor-wins-suit-over-firing\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf professor wins suit over firing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deaf professor wins suit over firing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Posted: May 28, 2011<\/p>\n

By LOGAN G. CARVER<\/p>\n

Morris News Service<\/p>\n

A Lubbock County jury has decided Texas Tech University should pay a former
\nprofessor more than $500,000 for discriminating against him because he is
\ndeaf.<\/p>\n

Michael L. Collier, a deaf, tenure-track assistant professor hired to teach
\nAmerican Sign Language and other courses relating to deaf culture, was
\nabruptly dismissed in October 2006.<\/p>\n

The jury found Collier’s disability was directly related to his termination.<\/p>\n

Collier and his legal team beamed after the verdict.<\/p>\n

“We wanted to show Tech it’s wrong to bully a disabled person,” said Bob
\nSchmidt, one of Collier’s attorneys.<\/p>\n

He said the damages and pay the jury awarded Collier made it clear it is not
\nOK for the university to treat disabled professors like second-class
\ncitizens.<\/p>\n

“This is their way of showing them it’s not right,” Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

The jury found that Collier’s disability was a motivating factor in Tech’s
\ndecision not to reappoint him and that Tech would not have made that
\ndecision in the absence of his disability.<\/p>\n

They awarded Collier $47,651 in back pay, $100,000 in front pay and $400,000
\nin past compensatory damages.<\/p>\n

“We’re disappointed and surprised by the verdict,” said Tech spokesman Chris
\nCook. “We didn’t think the facts merited a decision against Tech.”<\/p>\n

Cook said Tech encourages diversity in faculty, staff and student
\npopulations and that the university does not discriminate.<\/p>\n

Schmidt said ostensible diversity doesn’t preclude discrimination.<\/p>\n

“It’s one thing to hire a deaf person and think ‘this is going to be a
\nfeather in our cap – a deaf faculty member,'” Schmidt said. “But then it’s a
\ntotally different experience to sit down and work with that person and
\naccept them for who they are when they have differences.”<\/p>\n

Collier sued Tech in 2008, accusing the university of discriminating against
\nhim because of his disability.<\/p>\n

The case centered primarily on the way Collier was treated by his supervisor
\nand how he was fired.<\/p>\n

Frederick Suppe, chairman of the language department, never met with Collier
\nface-to-face, nor expressed any displeasure with his performance until he
\ninformed Collier he would not be reappointed.<\/p>\n

This does not comply with university policy.<\/p>\n

University policy states that Tech will follow a “progressive disciplinary
\naction program for employees, which begins with an “informal talk,” and
\nincludes disciplinary counseling, letters of unsatisfactory work performance
\nand suspension with or without pay.”<\/p>\n

Policy also mandates: “Supervisors should review with employees with
\ndisabilities whether additional reasonable accommodations would resolve work
\nperformance deficiencies prior to taking aggressive disciplinary actions.”<\/p>\n

Suppe informed Collier that his contract would not be renewed halfway
\nthrough his second semester with no prior counseling, discussion or
\nopportunity for corrective action.<\/p>\n

Suppe wouldn’t give Collier an explanation as to why he was being dismissed.<\/p>\n

“They basically fired him out of the blue – a sucker punch,” Schmidt said.
\n“They wouldn’t meet with him, wouldn’t talk with him; (they) put him under
\nthe supervision of lower-ranked people and treated him like a second-class
\ncitizen.”<\/p>\n

Cook declined to discuss Tech’s appeal options.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/amarillo.com\/news\/local-news\/2011-05-28\/deaf-professor-wins-suit-over-firing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf professor wins suit over firing Posted: May 28, 2011 By LOGAN G. CARVER Morris News Service A Lubbock County jury has decided Texas Tech University should pay a former professor more than $500,000 for discriminating against him because he…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[114,1629,9467,9465,6431,169,637,1205,9466,9464,3556,996,9463,9461,9460,912,9468,9462,17,9103,193],"class_list":["post-14503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ada","tag-american-sign-language","tag-bob-schmidt","tag-chris-cook","tag-court","tag-deaf-culture","tag-disability","tag-discrimination","tag-frederick-suppe","tag-jury","tag-lawyer","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-county-jury","tag-michael-collier","tag-michael-l-collier","tag-professor","tag-tenure-track-assistant-professor","tag-termination","tag-texas","tag-texas-tech-university","tag-university"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-3LV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1575,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/05\/01\/which-assistive-tools-and-equipment-are-used-by-adults-who-are-dhh-in-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":0},"title":"Which Assistive Tools and Equipment are used by Adults who are D\/HH in Texas?","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf and Hard of Hearing Texans! My name is Mike Collier and I am assistant professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at Texas Tech Unversity in Lubbock, Texas. I am assisting Cylathia Daniel, a doctoral student and Dr. Roseanna Davidson of Texas Tech University an exciting study entitled: \u201cWhich Assistive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3455,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/05\/25\/frenship-teacher-introduces-students-to-deaf-culture\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":1},"title":"Frenship teacher introduces students to deaf culture","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Frenship teacher introduces students to deaf culture By Bobwilson | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Friday, May 23, 2008 Mike Collier considers being deaf a blessing. At the age of 18, he lost his hearing in a work-related accident. \"I am deaf with a capital D,\" he wrote in an e-mail interview. \"That means\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14127,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/02\/deaf-blind-events-in-lubbock\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":2},"title":"Deaf-Blind Events in Lubbock","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf-Blind Events in Lubbock DATE: May 2, 2011 TIME: 7-9 pm ADDRESS: College of Education 3008 18th Street Lubbock, Texas You're invited to some upcoming events in the Lubbock area geared towards those interested in the Deaf-Blind community. A leader from the Deaf-Blind Young Adults in Action (DBYAA) group will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37887,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2018\/07\/20\/position-part-time-full-time-interpreter-at-texas-tech-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":3},"title":"Position: Part-Time & Full-time Interpreter at Texas Tech University","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Office: Student Disability Services, Texas Tech University \u2013 Lubbock Texas Position: Part-Time & Full-time Sign Language Interpreter Open: July 17, 2018 \u2013 until position filled FULL-TIME LINK: Texas Tech University, Student Disability Services Office is currently searching for a full-time Sign Language Interpreter to be a part of our department.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/TTU-interpreter-full-time-job.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37983,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2018\/08\/10\/job-opportunity-part-time-full-time-interpreter-at-texas-tech-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":4},"title":"Job Opportunity: Part-Time & Full-time Interpreter at Texas Tech University","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Office: Student Disability Services, Texas Tech University \u2013 Lubbock Texas Position: Part-Time & Full-time Sign Language Interpreter Open: July 17, 2018 \u2013 until position filled FULL-TIME LINK: Texas Tech University, Student Disability Services Office is currently searching for a full-time Sign Language Interpreter to be a part of our department.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/TTU-interpreter-full-time-job.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30548,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/04\/22\/job-opportunity-part-time-sign-language-interpreter-ttu-lubbock\/","url_meta":{"origin":14503,"position":5},"title":"Job Opportunity Part-Time Sign Language Interpreter TTU – Lubbock","author":"Chrissy Snider","date":"April 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"WEBSITE: http:\/\/www.texastech.edu\/careers\/staff-positions.php Texas Tech University Job Details for Part-time Interpreter position Department:\u00a0 Student Disability Services Position Description:\u00a0 Provide interpreting services for undergraduate, graduate or doctoral Deaf and hard of hearing students registered with Student Disability Services at Texas Tech University. Perform other assigned duties and responsibilities that support the programs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14503"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14513,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14503\/revisions\/14513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}