Last week, the Hardin County Common Pleas Court rejected Ohio Northern University’s (ONU) attempt to dismiss America First Legal’s (AFL) lawsuit against the university for firing AFL’s client, Dr. Scott Gerber, over objections to the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices. This case will now proceed to trial.
As alleged in the lawsuit, Dr. Gerber was terminated by ONU. He sued his former employer, alleging that they violated his tenure contract, retaliated against him for protected activity, and defamed him. Dr. Gerber raised concerns about faculty hiring at ONU’s law school because he believed ONU was considering race and sex in selecting its applicants. He then submitted evidence to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission indicating that ONU was illegally considering race and sex in hiring.
Within weeks of these actions, ONU launched an investigation into Dr. Gerber but refused to disclose what it was about. A couple of months later, security personnel accompanied by armed police officers brought Dr. Gerber from his classroom to the Dean’s office while students were still present. The university informed him that he would be terminated unless he agreed to resign without specifying what he was alleged to have done.
ONU has tried to have the case dismissed; however, the Court rejected their arguments, allowing it to proceed to trial where it will be heard by a jury.
America First Legal Senior Counsel Nicholas Barry commented on the court's decision: “This order from the Court certainly vindicates what Dr. Gerber has been saying for over a year. He was wrongly terminated, defamed, and targeted because of his objections to ONU’s illegal DEI hiring practices. We look forward to proving this to a jury next year.”