An associate professor and two former employees are suing the University of Louisville for alleged sexual discrimination at the dental school, according to a story in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The lawsuit was filed in late April in Jefferson Circuit Court by Lucille Bickett, Jessica Gossman-Poynter, and Melanie Peterson. Bickett was an administrative assistant in dental informatics and Gossman-Poynter was an administrative assistant and IT operations analyst. Peterson is an associate professor at the dental school.
According to the lawsuit, Christopher Morgan, director of dental informatics, discriminated against women in his department, assigning women set times when they could take their lunch breaks, while not doing the same for male employees, and that Gossman-Poynter and Bickett were excluded from departmental meetings.
Bickett and Gossman-Poynter also allege that they were forced out of their jobs after they reported to university officials that Morgan allegedly misused a university-issued credit card. The university claims it investigated the matter and found no suspicious or unjustified charges associated with Morgan's use of the credit card, according to the Courier-Journal.
The lawsuit requests unspecified damages in the form of back pay and benefits for the women, as well as damages for embarrassment and humiliation.
