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University of Pennsylvania Charged With Employment Law Violations in Federal Lawsuit

The University of Pennsylvania is facing charges of employment law violations in a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by Ya-Chuan Yu, a former student and lecturer.

Ya-Chuan Yu, who is of Taiwanese origin, graduated from Wharton after studying there in 2008-2009. She was subsequently employed at the Lauder institute’s Chinese Program as a lecturer from 2006-2011.

Her lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania claims she was the subject of discrimination and denied work-based opportunities on account of her nationality. She claims her Chinese manager singled her out for unfair criticism, which she claims she did not deserve.

One example cited in the lawsuit is about summer opportunities in China, which were not offered to her because of her Taiwanese passport. The same offers went to other new employees who were not of Taiwanese descent. Plaintiff claims she was told she ought to be “more obedient” as a Chinese person from Taiwan.

Yu says she was let go under false pretenses and the university labeled it as reasonable grounds just to avoid liability. The lawsuit also claims years of harassment followed by wrongful termination, which she says was retaliation for complaining about the discrimination. There are apparently other employees involved in the case, including Gulbun O’Connor, formerly an associate ombudsman.

Before filing the lawsuit, Yu had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit in the federal court was filed in early 2013 after the EEOC issued her a notice allowing her to sue. Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages and back pay, in addition to legal expenses. The exact amount Yu wants or settles for will only be clear during the trial.  

Defendant will be facing a jury trial on charges including employment discrimination and retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint. The university has not provided any public statement on this matter, but they will be filing a legal response in the court before the trial begins.