Iowa State University and resigned VP for Finance and Operations Shawn Norman are facing a lawsuit alleging sex and age discrimination toward a terminated employee. (Photo by Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa State University and former Vice President for Finance and Operations Shawn Norman are facing a lawsuit from a former employee who alleges she faced discrimination on the basis of her age and sex.
Former ISU Director of Facilities Services Christine Maduro filed suit July 31, claiming that she has “suffered immense mental, physical, and emotional distress” as a result of actions taken by Norman during her employment and when she was let go without justification or evidence of wrongdoing, according to the lawsuit.
Norman left ISU in December after less than one year in the position, signing a separation agreement with the university that had him receive $124,000 in a “separation payment” and affirm that he wouldn’t sue the university. Caitlynn Miller, another ISU employee who served under Norman, will also receive $124,000 through a settlement agreement after alleging she experienced harassment and retaliation.
“Ms. Maduro was discriminated against because she was an older woman when Mr. Norman refused to work with Ms. Maduro, when Mr. Norman promoted someone else to a position who was less qualified than Ms. Maduro, and subsequently terminated from her position without just cause and with no evidence of wrongdoing,” the lawsuit alleged.
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ISU spokesperson Angie Hunt said in an email that the university has no comment on the lawsuit.
Maduro, 57, was hired by ISU in August 2021 to work as its associate director of facilities services, under then-director Bob Currie. According to the suit, Maduro received satisfactory ratings in her performance reviews during this time.
While serving as associate director, the lawsuit stated that Maduro would attend tours of campus with Norman, Currie and Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning and Management Paul Fuligni, in order to show Norman areas of facilities in need of maintenance.
On April 14, 2023, Maduro was selected to take over from Currie after his retirement, according to the suit. During this process Norman informed Fuligni, who would now directly oversee Maduro, that he wanted to be involved in the process to select a new director, but was informed that Maduro had already accepted the position.
Once in her new role, the lawsuit alleged that Norman began canceling previously scheduled tours and meetings.
On June 5, 2023, Norman said in a meeting that Fuligni was retiring and that Wendy Kisch, who had also applied for the role Maduro was accepted for, would fulfill his role on an interim basis, according to the suit.
“This came as a shock to Ms. Maduro and others as Ms. Kisch did not have the adequate background or skills needed to be elevated to Mr. Fuligni’s position of Associate Vice President,” the suit stated. “Despite Ms. Maduro being in a senior position to Ms. Kisch, Mr. Norman selected Ms. Kisch virtually jumping Ms. Maduro in promotional status.”
In a later town hall meeting with the department, the lawsuit alleged that Norman discussed planned restructuring of the department, in which “certain individuals would not survive.”
During Maduro’s time as director, the one meeting she held with Norman in her new position was on June 13, 2023, with a member of the university’s human resources department, according to the suit, wherein she was told by Norman that there was an investigation into her.
The lawsuit alleged that Maduro never knew of the investigation and had no chance to defend herself. Norman told her during the June meeting that Human Resources wouldn’t allow him to discuss the investigation, and that “her management style did not align with Mr. Norman’s vision for the department,” according to the suit. He then notified Maduro that she was terminated from her position.
Maduro appealed her termination around June 30, 2023, but it was upheld by ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, according to the suit, who stated that Maduro couldn’t create a “collaborative work environment” or “implement Mr. Norman’s vision within the department.” There was an investigation into the department, Wintersteen confirmed, but not into Maduro herself. It also began on April 12, 2023, before she entered her new role, according to the suit.
Two other managers in the department were also terminated at the same time as Maduro, but were already in their positions when the investigation began and were interviewed as part of it.
Though the university has a policy of progressive discipline, according to the suit, Maduro never received any notice of violating rules or regulations that would create the need for that policy. She was also never told to alter her management style or conduct, and never held meetings with Norman to discuss his vision, her lawsuit claimed.
According to the suit, the university has given a variety of reasons for Maduro’s termination, though her resignation letter only stated that Norman was exercising his rights to terminate her as an at-will employee. When applying for unemployment benefits, the suit alleged that the university challenged it and said she was fired for “gross misconduct and not following instruction, policy or contract,” of any which she was informed about.
“Ms. Maduro’s employment was permeated with discriminatory and hostile views, specifically from Mr. Norman, towards older women in the workplace who worked in Ms. Maduro’s management position,” the suit alleged.
Maduro filed employment discrimination and termination charges against ISU and Norman with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in November, and received a letter indicating her right to sue in May. She was the first woman to hold the role of director of facilities services, according to the suit, and oversaw 300 employees in facilities services departments across campus.
“At all times material, Ms. Maduro enjoyed her position and desired to continue her tenure with ISU, believing in the positive impact she had on the company,” the lawsuit stated.
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