Thursday, February 10, 2000
$180,000 paid in UC harassment
Dean, counselor were at Clermont campus
BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The University of Cincinnati confirmed this week that it paid $180,000 to settle a counselor's complaints of sex harassment and retaliation at Clermont College.
In addition to the money, Carol Pleuss received a letter of reference, said her attorney, Randolph Freking.
Meanwhile, the man she accused, Louis Oates, moved to the College of Education at the Clifton campus as an assistant dean.
Ms. Pleuss was career counselor/acting director of student development at the Clermont campus in 1992 when Mr. Oates was hired as Clermont associate dean of student development.
Before long, Ms. Pleuss said, relations soured because Mr. Oates sexually harassed her and retaliated when she objected to his actions.
When she complained, Ms. Pleuss said, Mr. Oates imposed closer supervision; denied her permission to teach a course; and criticized her work with a condescending, demeaning and cold tone.
When he heard about the problem, Dr. Roger J. Barry, then Clermont dean, sent Mr. Oates to sensitivity and management training but left them to work together for a time.
After she was assigned to another supervisor, sexual harassment ended but Ms. Pleuss said she was treated as an outsider.
Ms. Pleuss complained, but UC's equal employment opportunity investigator said her claims of sexual harassment could not be substantiated.
Ms. Pleuss quit after a stress-related leave, psychiatric counseling and a negative 1995 performance review. Mr. Freking filed her suit in 1996 in U.S. District Court.
Wednesday, Mr. Oates reiterated his denial of any wrongdoing, saying her accusations “were untrue.”
From the start, UC also denied anyone harassed or retaliated against Ms. Pleuss, and university attorney Doreen Canton sought summary judgment. That pretrial maneuver can end a suit when there are no significant disagreements on the facts and the judge need only decide whom the law favors.
Unresolved questions ruled out summary judgment.
While Mr. Freking prepared for trial and negotiated with UC, Ms. Pleuss' family lost its home because the only jobs available couldn't match her university salary.
Ms. Pleuss; her husband, Keith; and their three children haved moved to northern Ohio where her parents live and she is seeking work on another campus.
Mr. Oates also will move on. His job is being eliminated Feb. 25, and UC attributes the decision to insufficient funds.
However, attorney Marc D. Mezibov said UC's failure to tell Mr. Oates about the settlement suggests he is a “scapegoat” and raises new questions about his termination.
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