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UR files motion to dismiss federal complaint alleging harassment and retaliation

The legal back and forth continues in connection with the federal lawsuit brought by researchers at the University of Rochester over the way their claims of sexual harassment were handled.

UR this week filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by several university faculty members and grad students.  The 41-page document takes issue with a number of the arguments made by the staffers who filed the suit, including disputing the claim that those who brought the lawsuit were retaliated against.

This all stems from the action first filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year which alleged harassment by a professor in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Florian Jaeger.

He has said that a report released by an independent investigator last month showed that he did not sexually harass anyone or engage in retaliation.

That report did talk about inappropriate behavior by Jaeger, but did not find that he violated university policy.

The researchers who filed the lawsuit issued a lengthy rebuttal earlier this week, saying, among other things, that they believe the independent investigator’s report was wrong to absolve the university from legal liability over the alleged misconduct by Jaeger.

The law firm representing the researchers says it looks forward to filing its reply with the court.

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.