Justin Robinette, former chair of Duke College Republicans who alleged he was impeached last April because he is gay, has filed three new complaints with two different federal agencies alleging that Duke failed to adequately prevent harassment and discrimination.
Since the beginning of February, Robinette filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and two claims with offices within the Department of Education. Robinette previously filed a claim with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights Sept. 13 alleging that Duke discriminated on the basis of sex and race. The case remains under investigation, but federal privacy laws prevent officials from disclosing details of the ongoing case.
The extent to which the federal agencies will act on the filings remains unclear.
Robinette, who graduated in the Fall, provided The Chronicle with documentation of the three new complaints but declined to be quoted.
It also remains unclear whether or not the University has received notice of the most recent filings.
“As far as we know, the Department of Education investigation is still open,” Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, wrote in an email April 4. “Duke has not received any other complaints on this matter.”
EEOC complaint
Robinette filled a complaint Feb. 1 with the EEOC, which enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting employment discrimination.
He alleged that as a resident adviser he suffered employment discrimination by being subjected to sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and the denial of payment benefits to which he was entitled.
Whether Robinette was considered to be an employee of Duke as a resident adviser in addition to being a student is important because it determines whether the EEOC can address the complaint. If the agency considers Robinette a student, he would need to seek a resolution through the Department of Education.
In the EEOC filing, Robinette characterizes himself as an employee because he was on Duke’s payroll, accessed his pay on the University’s employment website and was responsible for a number of duties, including maintenance and housekeeping.
Robinette also acknowledged in the filing, however, that in another case at a different university a resident adviser was considered a participant in an educational program rather than an employee of the university.
If the EEOC finds that Duke violated civil rights law, it will try to settle the charge but has the capacity to file a legal suit. Last April, for instance, the University of Louisiana at Monroe was ordered to pay $450,000 following a suit brought by the EEOC concerning practices of age discrimination in hiring faculty.
Department of Education filings
In March, Robinette filed a second complaint with the Office of Civil Rights as well as a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office, both sub-agencies of the Department of Education.
Robinette filed the OCR complaint March 9, detailing allegations not contained in his September filing to the same office.
The claim contained allegations of “disparate treatment”—that Duke treated Robinette, a male complainant of sexual harassment, differently than it would have treated a female complainant.
The filing also maintained that the University subjected Robinette to retaliation by terminating his employment as a resident adviser. Robinette alleged that he was frequently forced to neglect his duties because of the harassment by his own residents, many of whom he said were members of Duke College Republicans. To escape harassment, he claimed that he had to reside elsewhere, but administrators—a number of whom he named in the filing—did not see his claims as legitimate excuses.
Robinette filed a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office March 28. The suit alleges that Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta disclosed information about Robinette in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which requires educational institutions to have student consent before disclosing information from education records.
Included in the filing are allegations that Moneta improperly released information about Robinette’s sexual harassment complaints through means that included an email to the student body. The filing claimed that as a result of the disclosure, including the status of his complaints and his sexual orientation, Robinette experienced “invasion of privacy” and “harmful retaliation,” among other issues.
Moneta wrote in an email to The Chronicle April 4 that he is not able to comment on the situation at this time.
If the Department of Education finds the University was not in compliance with federal law, it will work with Duke to make necessary changes to institutional practices.
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