A federal investigation began Thursday in response to a formal complaint of disability discrimination filed by former UT employee Lesli Rowan. Rowan was a training coordinator in the Office of Research and Engagement for 9 years until she was fired last spring due to alleged professional misconduct.
Rowan, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010, filed the complaint after months of ongoing conflict with her supervisor, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Gregory Reed, during the 2013-2014 academic year. Rowan’s complaint detailed perceived discrimination, insufficient accommodation for her disability by the university, harassment by Reed and inequitable departmental wages.
Before 2013, Rowan worked most closely with Bob Porter, who was the director of research development at the time. Although Reed remained her designated supervisor, Rowan was assigned to Porter as his “primary assistant coordinator” to provide help facilitating professional training workshops.
“I always found her tremendously reliable and very professional,” Porter said. “She was quite open about dealing with some mental health issues, but I never found any of that diminished her work performance in any way.”
It was only after Porter retired in June 2013 that Rowan began interacting more directly with Reed.
The complaint was submitted on April 21 to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor that investigates “individual and group complaints that allege discrimination based on disability and veterans’ status,” according to the agency’s website.
Prior to her termination, Rowan received a final written warning in February and a pre-termination letter in early May, both of which cited inflammatory emails sent to Reed from Rowan, hostile behavior toward fellow colleagues and insubordination.
Rowan responded by confronting Reed via email, further straining the professional relationship.
“They said I was being insubordinate by sending inflammatory emails to my supervisor,” Rowan said. “The inflammatory emails were, every single one of them, complaining about the continuing discrimination and the worsening harassment.”
On May 13, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek received a letter from George Dorsey, the OFCCP director of regional operations for the Southeast, stating the agency had received Rowan’s complaint, which alleged she had been “treated differently based on her disability” during her time at UT.
Rowan’s case, Dorsey wrote, had been “assigned to the Nashville District Officer for investigation pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” The letter also stipulated that Cheek must retain all records pertinent to the class-action complaint and ensure no retaliation against Rowan.
Two days later, on May 15, Rowan was notified of her termination.
Although Rowan was fired for misconduct, she was protected both by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which safeguards qualified persons with disabilities from discriminatory actions by employers, as well as the Family and Medical Leave Act at the time, which guaranteed Rowan up to 12 weeks of intermittent “unpaid, job-protected leave” to cope with her illness.
Reed declined to comment on Rowan’s allegations or the OFCCP’s arrival on campus, directing all queries to UT Director of Media Relations Karen Simsen while the investigation is underway.
“It is not unusual for the federal government to come to campus and conduct investigations,” Simsen wrote in an email. “The university generally does not comment on pending litigation. We cannot comment on the merits of the allegations.”
Updates will continue to appear in the Beacon as the investigation proceeds.
