Posted on Nov 18, 2023
Rockwood School District pays $175K to settle discrimination suit with former DEI director
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Rockwood School District and its former diversity and equity director settled an employee discrimination lawsuit last month.
Documents provided to St. Louis Public Radio show the school district paid $175,000 to Brittany Hogan through an insurance policy. The amount included attorney fees and other costs.
The February lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court claimed that Rockwood’s administration ignored Hogan’s complaints of racist abuse by district parents.
Hogan claimed she received threatening messages by email, phone and social media for promoting “Stamped,” an anti-racism book, in December 2020 through the district’s diversity and equity Twitter account. The book was a part of the district’s One Read program that encouraged middle and high school students and the community to read a single book as a district. According to the lawsuit, Hogan had no role in choosing “Stamped,” but district officials brought her in to discuss ways to promote the book for the reading program.
The lawsuit claimed the district violated Hogan’s rights by allowing race-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Hogan claimed that the district did not take her grievances seriously and that the administration just watched as “angry” parents threatened her and other Black staff members.
After complaining about the abuse and harassment over time, Hogan claimed that instead of intervening, district officials removed some of her job responsibilities and did not allow her to effectively carry out tasks. She argued that the isolation from the district created a hostile work environment.
Documents provided to St. Louis Public Radio show the school district paid $175,000 to Brittany Hogan through an insurance policy. The amount included attorney fees and other costs.
The February lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court claimed that Rockwood’s administration ignored Hogan’s complaints of racist abuse by district parents.
Hogan claimed she received threatening messages by email, phone and social media for promoting “Stamped,” an anti-racism book, in December 2020 through the district’s diversity and equity Twitter account. The book was a part of the district’s One Read program that encouraged middle and high school students and the community to read a single book as a district. According to the lawsuit, Hogan had no role in choosing “Stamped,” but district officials brought her in to discuss ways to promote the book for the reading program.
The lawsuit claimed the district violated Hogan’s rights by allowing race-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Hogan claimed that the district did not take her grievances seriously and that the administration just watched as “angry” parents threatened her and other Black staff members.
After complaining about the abuse and harassment over time, Hogan claimed that instead of intervening, district officials removed some of her job responsibilities and did not allow her to effectively carry out tasks. She argued that the isolation from the district created a hostile work environment.
Rockwood School District pays $175K to settle discrimination suit with former DEI director
Posted from stlpr.org
Eureka
St. Louis
Discrimination
Lawsuit
Racism
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Brittany Hogan served as the district’s director of educational equity and diversity before she resigned in April 2021 amid harassment and threats. The lawsuit says the harassment and threats were connected to the district choosing the book “Stamped” as part of its One Read program. The program encourages middle, and high school students and the community to read a single book as a district. “Stamped’ seeks to portray the lives of prominent figures in American history and the way in which their lives were impacted by systemic racism,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says even though Hogan had no role in choosing “Stamped,” the district asked her to promote the book. When she began to promote the book through a district Twitter account, she began receiving racist messages and threats, the lawsuit contends. The book was selected by the district in December 2020 and the lawsuit alleges that Hogan and her secretary started receiving harassment and threats in January 2021.
“In January 2021, Ms. Hogan and her secretary began to receive threatening phone calls at work, often blaming Ms. Hogan for the selection of Stamped in the curriculum. Many of these phone calls were from callers who had screened their numbers so that their calls were anonymous,” the lawsuit says. “Other callers would berate Ms. Hogan’s secretary and demand to know the physical location of Ms. Hogan. In some instances, the callers accused Ms. Hogan of being racist against white people.”...
..."Brittany Hogan served as the district’s director of educational equity and diversity before she resigned in April 2021 amid harassment and threats. The lawsuit says the harassment and threats were connected to the district choosing the book “Stamped” as part of its One Read program. The program encourages middle, and high school students and the community to read a single book as a district. “Stamped’ seeks to portray the lives of prominent figures in American history and the way in which their lives were impacted by systemic racism,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says even though Hogan had no role in choosing “Stamped,” the district asked her to promote the book. When she began to promote the book through a district Twitter account, she began receiving racist messages and threats, the lawsuit contends. The book was selected by the district in December 2020 and the lawsuit alleges that Hogan and her secretary started receiving harassment and threats in January 2021.
“In January 2021, Ms. Hogan and her secretary began to receive threatening phone calls at work, often blaming Ms. Hogan for the selection of Stamped in the curriculum. Many of these phone calls were from callers who had screened their numbers so that their calls were anonymous,” the lawsuit says. “Other callers would berate Ms. Hogan’s secretary and demand to know the physical location of Ms. Hogan. In some instances, the callers accused Ms. Hogan of being racist against white people.”...
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