Ohio Northern U. Prof Fired for DEI Criticism Can Continue Lawsuit, Court Rules

Ohio Northern U. Prof Fired for DEI Criticism Can Continue Lawsuit, Court Rules

The way this was handled was insane. I hope this professor takes the school to the cleaners.

The College Fix reports:

Professor fired for DEI criticism can continue lawsuit, court rules

A court has rejected the Ohio Northern University’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the school by Professor Scott Gerber. The court ruled that “the jury must make the ultimate decision.”

Gerber, a libertarian legal scholar, believes he was terminated over his vocal objections to the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring policies.

Gerber was abruptly “removed from his classroom by school security officers” following an investigation into his conduct, The Fix previously reported.

In the order that rejected ONU’s attempt to dismiss Gerber’s lawsuit, the Hardin County Common Pleas Court issued judgments on the claims for breach of contract, retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

America First Legal is representing Gerber, and their counsel, Nicholas Barry, stated in a news release that this latest update is a “vindica[tion] [of] 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,” Barry stated.

The lawsuit claims that “Ohio Northern or its employees initiated this investigation in retaliation for Dr. Gerber’s opposition to discriminatory hiring practices and his complaints concerning the University’s non-compliance with legal requirements, and in particular with anti-discrimination laws.”

However, an attorney with a national free speech group told The College Fix in an email that the school is obligated to allow Gerber his free speech.

While ONU is a private university and consequently “not bound by the First Amendment,” if ONU promises free speech for its students and faculty, then the “courts should hold th[is] [institution] to these promises,” Zach Greenberg of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said.

On the claim for breach of contract, the Court said that “there are genuine issues of material fact with regard to [the] Plaintiff’s claims for breach of contract.” The Court did not make a summary judgment on the claims for retaliation, defamation, or false light, meaning these issues will be decided at a jury trial.

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