Legal Advocacy Fund Cases
Austen v. University of Hawaii
Case History
Kay Austen, former tenured assistant professor in the English department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, sued the institution for sex discrimination and retaliation for complaining about sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Austen joined the university’s English department in 1973 as an instructor. The university awarded her tenure in 1978. Austen claimed that for the majority of her employment at the university, she endured discriminatory treatment by the department chair at that time. Specifically, Austen alleged that the chair created a hostile work environment for her after she began to support women and women’s activities within the department. In addition, she voiced opposition to his public stance that sex discrimination did not exist in the English department.
Austen stated that the department chair’s harassment severely affected her physically, causing a stress-induced rupture of a disc in her neck. Despite the determination from Austen’s physician that Austen would be unable to continue teaching, the chair demanded that she submit to an examination by a physician chosen by the university. Following a series of monthly examinations, the university’s physician also concluded that Austen had a stress-induced physical disability. In August 1981, the chair reported Austen as “absent without leave” and commenced proceedings to suspend and subsequently terminate her, despite the diagnosis of her physical disability and her inability to return to work. The university terminated Austen shortly thereafter.
Austen filed a complaint against the university with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation for complaining about sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC determined there was reasonable cause to believe that Austen’s allegations were true. Austen thereafter filed suit in federal court against the university in 1984. Following a bench trial in 1991, the court determined that Austen was subjected to sex discrimination and retaliation for participating in protected activities, in violation of Title VII. It also awarded her back pay, ten years of front pay, and attorney's fees amounting to more than $1.2 million. In 1992, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9 th Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision.
Key Case Issue
Retaliation for complaining about sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.