Einstein College to Pay $900,000 in Sex Bias Case
In a court settlement that feminist organizations hailed as a bittersweet victory, Albert Einstein College in New York has agreed to pay $900,000 to end a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by a former researcher, principles in the case said Thursday.
The settlement brings to a close seven years of legal battles that began when Dr. Heidi S. Weissmann filed a lawsuit alleging that she had been wrongly discharged after being denied equal pay, promotions, raises and a sabbatical because she is a woman.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 24, 1994 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday March 24, 1994 Home Edition Part A Page 3 Column 6 Metro Desk 3 inches; 86 words Type of Material: Correction
Discrimination suit--The Times incorrectly reported last Friday that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University had settled a sex discrimination lawsuit in which it agreed to pay $900,000 to Dr. Heidi Weissmann. Montefiore Medical Center, where Weissmann was employed, is responsible for the settlement award, not the college. The college has an affiliation agreement with the hospital and Weissmann had unpaid faculty status at the medical school because of her employment with Montefiore. The article also misidentified hospital attorney Philip R. Forlenza as counsel for the college.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, which assisted Weissmann in the lawsuit, said the settlement is the largest known in a medical school sex discrimination case and would help “shatter the glass ceiling” for women in the medical field.
An attorney for the college, however, said the settlement does not admit wrongdoing by the defendants. The school wanted to take the lawsuit to trial, he said, but agreed to settle to avoid prolonging the case and adding to legal expenses.
Weissmann was hired in 1979 by Albert Einstein College, a school within Yeshiva University/Montefiore Medical Center. She was promoted to associate professor of nuclear medicine in 1984 and was promoted again to the radiology department two years later.
The legal battle began in 1987 when Weissmann, now 43, filed an equal opportunity complaint against the college and her supervisor, Dr. Leonard Freeman. The college later placed her on probation and fired her in 1988.
Weissmann responded by filing a lawsuit claiming sex discrimination and wrongful discharge. Weissmann said Thursday that she rejected an offer from the college to settle the lawsuit in 1989 because the agreement would have barred her from discussing the case.
“By demanding gag orders, universities have robbed women of our history, the knowledge of other women’s courage and success in fighting systemic discrimination, and our momentum for social change,” Weissmann said Thursday. “I was determined that this would not happen yet again.”
Weissmann said she has not been able to find a job in the medical field since suing the university. She said that part of her award, which she estimates will total $575,000 after paying legal costs, will go toward establishing a network and resource center to help women and whistle-blowers who face similar problems.
Smeal criticized the university for not taking any disciplinary action against Freeman.
An attorney for the college, Philip R. Forlenza, denied Weissmann’s claims, saying she was not qualified for the job at the time of her promotion and did not follow through on her commitment to obtain the qualifications.
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