Former professor sues Pitt

A former Pitt Spanish professor filed a civil rights lawsuit against Pitt in federal court… A former Pitt Spanish professor filed a civil rights lawsuit against Pitt in federal court Tuesday, claiming she lost her job because of her Caucasian race and U.S. origin.

Sarah Williams, a white, non-Hispanic woman older than 40, taught in Pitt’s Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures for 14 years, according to the complaint. In 2010, the University did not renew her contract.

James Lieber, Williams’ lawyer, said that she was fired partially because of her accent.

“We feel that she was treated unfairly, in that unfortunately she was subjected to discrimination due to the fact that she was not a Latin American/Hispanic person,” Lieber said.

The complaint said that Williams speaks fluent Spanish with a European accent, taught upper-level undergraduate Spanish language courses, among other classes, and she was a “distinguished and well-regarded teacher” who consistently received high student evaluations.

On Oct. 15, 2010, Williams received a letter from the department chair noting that her contract would not be renewed due to her “un-collegial behavior.” According to the complaint, Williams asked for documentation of the behavior but was not provided with any.

Her employment was terminated on June 30, 2011, according to the complaint.

Lieber said that the leadership of the department at the time was Latin American/Hispanic and discriminated against Williams.

The lawsuit states that Williams is also charging discrimination of age and gender.

Lieber said that Williams is seeking re-employment, and if she is not granted that, then she wants monetary damages. He said it is too early to say how much money she will seek.

“Ideally, she’d like to get her job back,” he said.

Lieber said that the suit was not filed until more than a year after her contract was not renewed because Williams had to first go through administrative proceedings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Williams received a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC Aug. 4.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said that the University does not comment on pending litigation.