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$1.1 Million Award
LA Times, 2/24/95
Dr. Antoinette Gomes, tenured associate professor in the UCLA Department of Radiological Sciences, was awarded more than a million dollars by the jury in her gender discrimination suit against the Board of Regents. An added $5000 punitive damages award w
as assessed against Hooshang Kangarloo, her department chairman, whom she had accused of referring to her as a bitch, denying her research opportunities and promotions and demoting her in favor a man.
UCLA's vice chancellor for legal affairs, indicating that the University continued to back the chairman, stated "I don't think...gender discrimination has been committed..."
Mixed Results
SF Chronicle, 12/7/93
In response to a student's complaint of sexual harassment, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission ruled that universities are liable under the Unruh Civil Rights Act just as businesses are, and that the same standards should apply to both r
acial and sexual discrimination. This appears to be a dramatic expansion of the remedies available to members of the UC community who have been subjected to gender discrimination, allowing them to appeal to a state agency instead of to the costly and tim
e-consuming federal courts.
In the same decision, however, student Amy Forga's complaint against Professor John Hayes was rejected. She alleged that he had made repeated remarks about her looks, sent her
unwanted gifts, and had once pressed his body against hers and put his hands on her breasts.
The Commission found that he had engaged in "a pattern of unwelcome sexual conduct" but that it was not severe enough to amount to sexual harassment. That leaves in question how useful complaining to the Commission will actually be.
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