Never miss a story
Sign up for our free daily morning email...
...and afternoon text update
×
Featured
austonia newsletter
Get connected with our daily update
Most viewed
Pay discrimination at UT: plaintiff professor shares lawsuit details
11 December 2020
(Pexels)
University of Texas history professor Alberto Martínez released details about his pending lawsuit against his employer with Austonia, revealing a more thorough look into the events that led to him taking action against the university.
<p>The incident occurred in 2018, after Martínez brought a supposed <a href="https://austonia.com/ut-pay-allegations" target="_self">race-related pay discrepancy</a> to the attention of his supervisor, whom Martínez said then retaliated and accused him of inappropriate conduct in numerous fashions. Both UT's Office of Inclusion and Equity, or OIE, and Martínez say the supervisor's accusations are false.</p><p>In an interview with Austonia, Martínez detailed the incident from his perspective and said that he believes this is a pattern of behavior from the university and that he has reason to believe it may be a problem in other departments as well.</p><p>"I know employees who mute their problems because they fear retaliation," Martínez said. "The American workplace culture at UT runs on compliments and self-praise, so if one raises frank critiques then some persons quickly become uncomfortable. One faculty colleague had advised me to accept that departments are 'consultative dictatorships,' as I note in the lawsuit."</p><p>In his report, Martínez said that none of the Hispanic or Black professors had been appointed to leadership positions that involved pay raises and course releases in 15 consecutive years. Furthermore, it found that few Hispanic professors were appointed to chairs of committees and many, including him, were underpaid.</p><p>The university's Hispanic Equity Report of 2019 showed that Hispanic full professors, as opposed to professors of relatively lower ranks, were paid 12% less than their non-Hispanic white counterparts, on average, even though they tended to exceed them in productivity.</p><p>"Worse, I know of multiple Hispanic faculty who privately complain of disturbing incidents of apparent disparate treatment, but most do not publicly complain because of fear of retaliation from Department Chairs and Deans," Martínez said.</p><p>Martínez was reported to the OIE by his supervisor under accusations of creating a toxic work environment, anti-Semitic statements, inappropriate conduct with graduate students, denigrating women colleagues and sexual misconduct.</p><p>Martínez was not aware that he had been accused of sexual misconduct or making anti-Semitic statements until after he had undergone two in-person interviews with OIE and waited 16 months for results. OIE found all of the supervisor's accusations to be unsubstantiated.</p><p>"I was not fully informed and therefore lost my right to fully defend myself against offensively false allegations," Martínez said. "Instead, I only found that out when OIE sent me their final Report of Investigation."</p><p>After the investigation, Martínez filed a formal complaint at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission in September 2019. Notably, Martínez informed the OIE of retaliation five separate times and informed the senior vice provosts for faculty affairs and for diversity.</p><p>In response to the incident, UT issued this statement:</p><p>"The university continues its work to review and address concerns related to faculty compensation. Professor Martinez is a member of the university's Equity Review Process Consultative Committee where he is in a position to participate in the university-wide initiative to review salary differences, understand bases for differences, and offer feedback. We look forward to continuing this important work. The university will address Martinez's allegations about his individual situation in our response to his EEOC charge and our filings in the lawsuit."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- UT Austin announces plans for spring semester amid COVID ... ›
- UT Austin students gathered without masks get blasted on social ... ›
- Professor suing UT over race-related pay allegations - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Popular
More young people might be moving to central Texas after finding out Austin is one of the best college towns in the country.
A new report from WalletHub ranks Austin at #2 for 2021's best college towns in America.
<div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe frameborder="0" height="347" scrolling="no" src="https://cdn.wallethub.com/wallethub/embed/8974/geochart-college.html" width="556"></iframe><div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/e/best-worst-college-cities-and-towns-in-america/8974">WalletHub</a></div></div><p>The personal finance site determined its rankings by evaluating 415 cities across the country with three elements: wallet friendliness, social environment and academic and economic opportunity.<br/></p><p>Austin had an overall score of 62.25 out of 100, just short of .67 points that gave Ann Arbor, Michigan the leading #1 spot. Austin is the only Texas city that made it into the top 10, followed by College Station which ranked #12. <br/></p><p>Out of the three categories, Austin ranked highest in social environment with a score of 16. WalletHub looks at these factors per capita to determine social environment: students, gender balance, cafes, breweries, food trucks, shopping centers and sports clubs. Among these factors, a presence of NCAA Division 1 sports teams, share of single people and population also help determine the social environment.</p><p>Austin's next highest rank was in academic and economic opportunity, where it ranked 33rd. This category is determined by looking at the quality of higher education, earning potential for students, share of part-time jobs as well as median income, unemployment rate, entrepreneurial activity, brain drain and job growth rate.</p><p>The city saw its lowest rank in the wallet friendliness category, where it ranked 210th. This category is ranked by looking at housing costs, share of rental units, average fitness club fee, average cost of pizza and burgers, movie and bowling costs, costs of higher education and student loan debt per person.</p><p>Home to over 20 colleges and universities, it is no surprise that Austin is #2 on the list of best college cities in the country. Austin is home to major higher education institutions including the University of Texas, St. Edwards University, Huston-Tillotson University and Austin Community College. </p><p>According to a study done by <a href="https://datausa.io/profile/geo/austin-tx/#demographics" target="_blank">DataUSA</a>, 18-34 year-olds made up over 26% of the Austin population in 2018. And according to the <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/austincitytexas/LND110210" target="_blank">Census Bureau</a>, almost 90% of the Austin population, age 25 and older, have a bachelor's degree.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Hotwire ranks Austin in top 10 for a 'quickie' getaway - austonia ›
- Austin reigns as top Tech Town for the second year in a row - austonia ›
- Austin ranks in best cities for veteran to live in the U.S. - austonia ›
- Austin named most popular city for newcomers of the year - austonia ›
- Austin ranks #1 in best U.S. capital to live in - austonia ›
- Texans are nation's physically strongest people - austonia ›
Keep Reading
Show less
Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school, extending virtual classes
The Austin Independent School Board is considering pushing back the first day of school to Sept. 8 and applying for eight weeks of virtual-only classes, citing "local health conditions" and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Hispanics, who represent a third of teachers and more than half of the district's students.
<p>The moves will be voted on in a special meeting called for 9 p.m. Thursday night. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will include a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">public comment portion</a> at 9:35 p.m. The vote will happen after the public comments. </p><p>The meeting agenda cites the following local health conditions:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>High COVID-19 numbers in Travis County (averaging 367 new cases per day in July 2020)</li><li>Current Austin Public Health Risk Guidance places Austin, Travis County in Stage 4</li><li>3-4 people of 1000 are estimated to be infected with a current multiplier of 3</li><li>COVID-19 disproportionately impacts the Hispanic population in the Austin-Travis County area. Some 34 percent of the Austin population is Hispanic, while 57 percent of hospitalizations are among Hispanic patients. Thirty-two percent of AISD staff and 56 percent of students identify as Hispanic, according to agenda documents. </li></ul><p>"This delay will allow for our community to adjust to the latest in-person requirements in the changing health conditions of our city with safety at the forefront of every decision," reads the agenda item on the vote. </p><p>In addition, AISD will limit in-person attendance for the first four weeks of school as already planned but vote Thursday on <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">whether to ask the state for a waiver </a>to allow an additional four weeks, delaying full access to on-campus instruction through early November. </p><p>Students without access to technology will still be allowed in-person instruction, as per state guidelines, but full access by all students would be delayed if the board approves the action and the state allows it. </p><p>"In the event a board extends the initial four-week transition, at least some on campus instruction must be provided each day during the extended transition period," the agenda reads. </p><p>On Monday, Education Austin, the union representing 3,000 AISD employees, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-public-schools" target="_self">asked the district to consider pushing back the official first day of school,</a> which Gov. Greg Abbott said was within the rights of local districts, not health officials. </p><p>AISD posted <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/files/BS63YY0936A1/%24file/Attachment%203%20SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> with frequently asked questions, updated July 30, about attendance, enrollment, class size and more during the upcoming school year. </p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more and learn how to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting. </p>
From Your Site Articles
- Austin couple matches teachers to education pods - austonia ›
- Students with disabilities in the online school debate - austonia ›
- Austin schools may consider staged reopening due to COVID ... ›
- AISD union wants schools to delay first day to avoid virus, help ... ›
- Austin ISD to vote on delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Austin ISD delays first day of school to Sept. 8, with online only possible through early Nov. - austonia ›
- Austin ISD reports enrollment drop due to virtual learning - austonia ›
- Photo essay: Austin ISD students head back to the classroom with masks and temperature checks - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
04 August 2020
Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott stressed Tuesday that only local school boards, not local governments, have the power to decide how to open schools this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>"The bottom line is the people who know best ... about that are the local school officials," <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/04/texas-greg-abbott-coronavirus-press-conference/" target="_blank">Abbott said during a news conference in San Antonio,</a> echoing a message he's been relaying in response to questions about the process.</p><p>Texas educators and parents have been confused about who has the power to keep school buildings closed. They have also been frustrated by conflicting messages from state and local leaders.</p><p>Abbott also said that in preparation for the new school year, the state has already distributed to schools more than 59 million masks, more than 24,000 thermometers, more than 565,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and more than 500,000 face shields. He promised schools "will have their [personal protective equipment] needs met at no cost" to them, with the state picking up the tab.</p><p>In general, he described the state's personal protective equipment levels as bountiful even as the state faces an "an even greater strain" on the supply due to the coming school reopenings and flu season.</p><p>Abbott and other state leaders have backed a legal opinion from Attorney General <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/" target="_blank">Ken Paxton</a> that prohibits local health authorities from issuing blanket school closures for all schools in their jurisdiction before the academic year begins. Local school boards can decide to keep schools closed to in-person learning for up to eight weeks, with the possibility to apply for waivers to remain shuttered beyond that timeframe.</p><p>Under the state's guidance, local health officials can only intervene if there is an outbreak once students return to campus, at which point they can temporarily shut down a school.</p><p>Abbott stressed Tuesday that the policy does not mean that local health authorities are cut out of the reopening process, saying local school boards are free to consult with the health experts.</p><p>"Nothing is stopping them from doing that, and they can fully adopt whatever strategy the local public health authority says," Abbott said.</p><p>The state's guidance has overruled orders from local health authorities to keep schools closed to in-person learning for certain periods. For example, Metro Health in Bexar County had ordered schools to remain virtual until Sept. 7.</p><p>As for the personal protective equipment for schools, the Texas State Teachers Association said it was not nearly enough.</p><p>"The governor's optics today on PPE is a drop in the bucket, compared to what will be needed if schools are forced to reopen before it's safe," the union's president, Ovidia Molina, said in a statement. "59.4 million masks are roughly 11 masks per student. That might get students through the first week of school."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Austin couple matches teachers to education pods - austonia ›
- Austin parents weigh return to school without clear guidance ... ›
- Austin ISD delays in-person school for 3 weeks - austonia ›
- Austin public school teachers, staff union pushes for delay - austonia ›
- Students with disabilities in the online school debate - austonia ›
- Austin teens face unique challenges in high school decision - austonia ›
- Austin ISD should delay school or risk 40-1,000 deaths - austonia ›
- Austin health authority delays school reopening - austonia ›
- Gov. Greg Abbott calls for new crimes, mandatory jail time for certain offenses related to protests - austonia ›
- COVID-19 transmission at Austin schools limited to extracurriculars - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
