A transgender professor at Kansas State University is suing for discrimination

• Kansas State University associate professor Harlan Weaver, a transgender man, is suing the university for gender discrimination and retaliation.
• Weaver alleges his supervisor, Christie Launius, pressured him to return to work early after a hysterectomy and treated him differently than cisgender colleagues.
• He claims Launius created a hostile work environment and retaliated against him after he filed complaints with the university.
• Weaver further alleges that Launius and a coworker removed him from a committee crucial for promotion and withheld information about the application process.

A transgender faculty member at Kansas State University alleged the university created a hostile environment and did not provide medical accommodations.

Associate professor Harlan Weaver filed a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against KSU April 28. He is asking for $300,000 in damages, front and back pay including benefits and attorney’s fees.

Weaver was assigned female at birth but identifies as male. He was hired as an associate professor within the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Department in August 2015, according to court documents and his personal LinkedIn.

KSU’s communications director Michelle Geering said the university has yet to receive the lawsuit. She also declined to make any further comment stating she “would not comment on active litigation.”

What claims does Harlan Weaver make in his lawsuit against Kansas State University?

In March 2022, Weaver underwent a hysterectomy, which is a surgery to remove a uterus. This procedure requires a post-surgery recovery period of six to eight weeks.

In preparation for the surgery, Weaver claimed he ensured his duties would be covered through the appropriate university channels, according to the lawsuit However, he was then allegedly pressured by his cis gender supervisor and is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Christie Launius, into coming back to work before recovering. Launius did not immediately respond for comment.

Weaver reported back to work two weeks after his procedure and completed the Spring 2022 semester.

During the Fall 2022 semester, Weaver took a sabbatical and returned in time for the Spring 2023 semester. When he returned he found out that cis gender coworkers who also took a sabbatical were given more leniency and cooperation from Launius, according to court documents.

Weaver raised concerns to the department about the unfair treatment he had received in a department faculty meeting in January 2023 and again in the March 6, 2023 meeting.

On March 23, 2023, Weaver filed a complaint against Launius to the university’s Office of Institutional Equity for the differential treatment. After which, Weaver claims Launius’ demeanor became more negative against him and that Launius refused to acknowledge him on multiple occasions.

On April 17, 2023, the university held a meeting to address “tension” within the department and a co-worker had an aggressive and emotional outburst directed at Weaver stating he should be ashamed for filing a complaint, according to court documents. The co-worker is not named as a defendant in this lawsuit.

Weaver filed a second complaint on June 9, 2023 to the Office of Institutional Equity for the increasingly hostile environment created by Launius and his coworkers. Weaver claims the complaint was not addressed before closing two months later.

During that time, Launius was named interim department head despite Weaver’s objections.

In the Fall 2023 semester Weaver was allegedly the only one told he could no longer speak off topic during department faculty meetings. However, his submissions for discussion points were repeatedly denied by Launius.

During the October department meeting Weaver used the word orgasm, which is used when discussing sex education research. Soon afterwards, a coworker, Susan Rensing, filed a complaint against him for it. Rensing did not immediately respond for comment.

Near the end of October, Launius and Rensing allegedly took Weaver off the Queer Studies Committee without his consent or input, which would impact Weaver’s ability to get full professorship. He then alleged in his lawsuit that Launius withheld information about the full professorship application until after applications were due.

By summer time, Launius and Rensing moved to a different department and we’re no longer in direct contact with Weaver.