SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Deseret News
August 22, 2018
By Annie Knox
Utah Valley University has asked a judge to toss a whistleblower lawsuit from its former Title IX director.
Attorneys for the school argue in Tuesday court filings that Melissa Frost could not have been fired for alleging potential violations of federal antidiscrimination law, because administrators didn’t know she was gathering information about them at the time.
The university also claims that Utah law protecting whistleblowers doesn’t apply to Frost because the actions she took against her employer fell under the scope of her job responsibilities. As a Title IX coordinator, she was charged with investigating sexual assault and harassment, and making sure the university complies with federal law against gender discrimination.
Frost, who was hired to head UVU’s new Title IX office in 2014 and fired in June 2017, sued the school in 3rd District Court in May. She alleged school officials were slow to refer students the Title IX office and that a sexual assault case involving athletes dragged on for more than a year. In addition, she claimed campus police took gay male students’ sexual assault complaints less seriously and said administrators were reluctant to hold trainings to make clear that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected from discrimination.
A week after her firing, Frost filed a complaint against the university with the U.S. Department Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging Title IX violations and retaliation for her voicing her concerns about compliance. A federal civil rights probe is pending.
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