BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — A Chinese-American woman and former University of Massachusetts employee alleges she faced racial discrimination and retaliation.
Baifeng Sun Cadieux filed a complaint April 12 in the Suffolk County Superior Court against University of Massachusetts alleging race discrimination, retaliation and other claims.
According to her complaint, Cadieux is a Chinese-American citizen who began working at the University of Massachusetts' Boston campus in 2006. She alleges that in 2019, Zhongsan Liu, an employee of a part of the Chinese government, contacted her to arrange meetings with University of Massachusetts administrators to help obtain a visa for an employee needed in his New Jersey office.
Liu was convicted of fraudulently obtaining visas in 2022.
She further alleges she only provided Liu with public information to give support to China-related affairs on behalf of the University which was a function of her position. Cadieux claims in her suit that Liu was indicted for visa fraud with five universities and that she had no knowledge of his criminal intent and didn't act in concert with him to secure a false visa.
She alleges she was falsely accused and treated harshly by her colleagues because of her Chinese heritage and was terminated in April of 2020. She further alleges that a proper investigation was not conducted and that non-Chinese UMB administrators and staff who also interacted and assisted Liu faced no discipline.
Cadieux seeks monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and. all other just relief. She is represented by Simon Mann of The Mann Law Firm PC in Needham.