Eighth Circuit Court: No Political Discrimination in Faculty Hiring
And university deans can be found personally liable...
Adam Kissel:
Because the University of Iowa law faculty may well have unlawfully discriminated against a professor because of her conservative views, the Eighth Circuit is letting this case through.
In a decision just issued today, the Eighth Circuit has held that a district court erred in granting summary judgment, based on qualified immunity, to a public law school dean in a lawsuit brought by an applicant for a legal writing or adjunct legal writing position. The suit claims the applicant, in violation of Section 1983 of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, was discriminated against on account of her political views, which are protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Eighth Circuit found that the "First Amendment prohibits a state from basing hiring decisions on political beliefs or associations with limited exceptions for policymaking and confidential positions. . . . If a state actor refuses to hire an individual because of her political associations, then the individual has suffered an adverse employment action. . . . Thus, [the applicant] suffered an adverse employment action." The appellate court also found that "the district court erred in finding that qualified immunity protects [the dean] from liability in her individual capacity.