A judge has ruled that a former James Madison University employee's lawsuit accusing the institution of racial discrimination can proceed. The parties have been instructed to look at possible dates for a jury trial. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Darla V. Edwards originally sued JMU in December. She had been employed by one of the university's sponsored organizations – Virginia Education Strategies, or VES – from 2018 to 2023.
Edwards, who is Black, said she was passed over for the position of vice president, which she claimed was given to a younger, less-qualified white woman within the organization. No formal application or hiring process was conducted. Edwards took up the issue with the CEO, Jennifer Stevens, and announced her intentions to speak with the board of directors. Edwards claimed Stevens then invented a pretext that Edwards' external business, Successful Innovations, was a conflict of interest, and she had to resign or sell her company. After Edwards then reported the ultimatum to the university, she was fired.
Edwards added Stevens and VES as defendants in February. All the defendants moved to dismiss the case, arguing that Edwards didn't establish her qualifications, proof that the termination was an act of retaliation, or proof that race was a motivating factor. JMU also argued that VES alone was responsible for the employment decisions. The court sided with the defendants and dismissed Edwards' complaint without prejudice on May 30th.
But after Edwards filed an amended complaint with more details, Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon ruled on Monday that the case can now proceed. Among the added details, Edwards added more information about her resume; her contract with JMU; being kept in the dark about the vice presidential appointment, and specific confrontations with her boss.
Judge Dillon said in Monday's hearing that, while proving these allegations may be difficult, the circumstances [quote] "do give rise to an inference of discrimination. … Everyone knew that she had this alleged conflict of interest before she was hired, and her contract was renewed repeatedly." [end quote] Dillon directed the attorneys to pick dates for a three-day jury trial.
Full disclosure: WMRA's operating license is held by JMU's board of visitors, but we cover JMU the same as we do all of our other stories.
