October 17, 2017
Loss of Transgender Protections Under Title VII Terminates Professor's Discrimination Case
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In the days following the Department of Justice announcing Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act will no longer protect transgender workers, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ended their three-year investigation into the 2014 removal without cause of openly transgender John F. Kennedy University Professor, Erica E. Anderson, Ph. D from her position as Uber Chair of Graduate Psychology at the University.
Anderson's attorneys are preparing filings in State and Federal Courts in California against JFK University and the National University System for employment discrimination and retaliation.
On November 4, 2014, Dr. Anderson was removed from her position at John F. Kennedy University as Uber Chair of Graduate Psychology without warning or cause. Efforts to immediately challenge and correct her removal, brought by Dr. Anderson's attorney, did not yield immediate results.
In January 2015, Dr. Anderson filed an employment discrimination claim against the University and its parent, the National University System, with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), based on her being a transgendered woman over the age of 50.
The assigned investigator encouraged the EEOC complaint until the Department of Justice, under the Trump Administration, recently changed its workplace discrimination policies as they related to the trans community.
Dr. Anderson became the first openly transgender faculty member at the school when she came out during the hiring process, making the university fully aware of her identity. Despite having taught in all three graduate programs at JFK University, which she had administrative authority over during her time of employment, Dr. Anderson believes she was shut out of faculty meetings and subjected to a continuous assault of retaliatory actions. The Dean and Program Chairs would not respond to her emails and phone calls seeking to discuss course assignments and other university matters. In the three years since JFK University removed her from the position, Dr. Anderson, who believes she was exiled from the university, reports she has been alternately ignored and the subject of retaliation.
Dr. Erica E. Anderson was hired by John F. Kennedy University in 2012. After her arrival at the university, she distinguished herself by leading the effort to restore full APA (American Psychological Association) Accreditation for the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, which was on probation at the time of her hiring. She is currently the chairperson at Joan's House, a 501(c)3 non-profit that will soon be providing transitional housing and support for women and transgender individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more about Joan's House here: https://joanshouse.org/.
