CONNERLY ACCUSED OF BIAS IN SUIT FILED BY EX-EMPLOYEE : PROP 209. BACKER ACCUSED OF BIAS.Byline: John Howard For other persons of the same name, see John Howard (disambiguation). John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A former employee has sued University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Regent Ward Connerly, accusing him of discrimination, sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. and blackballing Blackballing was used in elections to membership of a Gentlemen's club (and similarly organised institutions, such as Freemasonry and fraternities). The principle of such a club was that it was self-perpetuating: i.e. new members could only be elected by existing members. her for other jobs. Court documents accompanying the suit include a statement by another woman who claims Connerly pressured her for sex, offered her perks in return for intimacies and then harassed her after she ended the alleged relationship. Connerly, who is leading the campaign for a California ballot proposition A California ballot proposition is a method of amending either the California Constitution or California statutory law, under the initiative and referendum process. In the U.S. which would end many affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. programs, said the lawsuit was politically motivated. ``I've taken a position on a public policy issue that I believe in very strongly, and I think that people should be able to discuss their positions without being smeared,'' Connerly said. ``It's less than 30 days before the election, and lo and behold there's a lawsuit that was filed in May and sat on until now. Every word of it is a lie. It's dirty, it's just outright dirty,'' he added. But Sacramento lawyer Thea Offenbacher, the attorney for plaintiff Donna Ransom, denied that the suit was connected to political opposition to Proposition 209. ``We've not talked to anyone regarding 209, we have not given them any money,'' Offenbacher said. ``This has been developing over years, and we are on our own time.'' Proposition 209 would prohibit racial or gender preferences in public hiring, education and contracting. Opponents say it is intended to kill affirmative action, while backers say it is intended to eliminate all forms of discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in May and amended this month, concerns alleged events between 1989 and 1994, when Ransom worked in Connerly's planning and consulting firm, Connerly and Associates. Ransom joined the company in April 1989 as a student intern, earning 12 units of credit in a government studies program for 10 hours of work per week. At the time of her hiring she suffered from a number of ailments, including nerve and tissue problems and muscle weakness which caused her constant pain, according to the lawsuit. Ransom claims Connerly repeatedly ridiculed her and her condition, refused her requests to transfer her desk from the second floor to a basement office that was more accessible, and falsely promised to reward her for meritorious work. |
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