BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The University of Cincinnati's decentralized structure protected it Tuesday from a class action by female faculty who claim they are victims of sexual discrimination in pay and promotions.
U.S. District Judge Herman J. Weber said those career decisions were too diverse among the school's various units for a single class action to resolve the women's claims.
"Given UC's decentralized decision-making structure, common issues of law and fact neither exist nor predominate," the judge wrote.
Disparities could reflect policies among UC's four campuses, 18 colleges and at least 109 departments, he said, embracing the core of UC's defense.
Instead, he told each woman she must pursue her claim individually.
UC attorney R. Joseph Parker said the university was pleased "that the court found that there was no pattern or practice of discrimination university-wide."
For the past three years, lawyers have been battling over whether Judge Weber should treat the case as a class action.
Had he done so, a single verdict or settlement could have affected hundreds of claims by past and present female faculty members and librarians.
Judge Weber's 50-page decision noted studies that found university-wide pay disparities among otherwise similar male and female faculty members ranging from $1,274 to $5,905.
However, the judge said those studies found "women are paid more than men in some colleges and men are paid more than women in other colleges, precluding any inference that there is a uniform pattern of treatment of women versus men from college to college." The suit, filed by attorneys Robert Newman and Lisa Meeks, also claimed UC promoted men faster than women to full professor and proportionately fewer women reached that rank.
Mr. Newman might appeal Judge Weber's decision because, he said, only sexual discrimination explained the "significant pay disparity among older female faculty members."
Younger female faculty face less sexual discrimination, he added.
Mr. Newman said his clients will pursue their individual claims against UC, seeking back pay and punitive damages, regardless of whether they appeal Tuesday's ruling.
Initially brought by Nancy A. Evers, a professor in the College of Education, the suit was joined by three more tenured female faculty members: Edna Kaneshiro, professor of biological sciences; Daisy Quarm, associate professor of sociology; and Martha Stephens, professor of English.
They offered their experiences as representative of women claiming to be victims of sexual discrimination at UC.
