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Law firm representing complainants in UR case expects to file suit in December

The law firm representing professors and graduate students at the University of Rochester who have filed a complaint alleging they were harmed by the actions of Professor Florian Jaeger and the way the university responded now say they plan to file a federal lawsuit next month.

Jaeger faces allegations of sexual harassment, and he has been on administrative leave since September.

That law firm, McAllister Olivarius, says that another person has joined the complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A statement from the firm says that in early November, Sarah Heilbronner, who previously worked at the UR Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, joined the EEOC case that was brought by eight other UR professors and graduate students.

Heilbronner’s EEOC charge claims she was driven out of the Brain and Cognitive Science Department after she was classified as being disloyal, and a threat because university leaders saw her as an ally of those who felt UR mishandled the allegations against Jaeger.

The law firm, which is planning to sue over this issue,  says more than 16 women whose education at UR was hurt by Professor Jager’s actions have spoken to the firm and they say they continue to get additional calls from potential witnesses.

The law firm says that all of the complainants have now received “Right to Sue” letters from the EEOC, and they expect to file suit in federal court in early December.

The University of Rochester released this statement: 

"The EEOC complaints are consistent with the original allegations made public in early September, but the University will withhold comment until the release of the independent investigator’s report. "

Officials at the university have said previously that they expect that report to be completed by the end of the year.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.