Gender bias lawsuit settled in case where female AD sued Rock Hill school district
A former athletic director has settled a lawsuit against the Rock Hill school district after she claimed she experienced gender discrimination and was fired for speaking up.
Terms of the federal court settlement between former Northwestern High School AD Lauren West and the school district were not released in court records.
The school district has denied any wrongdoing, documents show.
The case was set for trial in December, but federal court documents show the case was dismissed in late October by U.S. District Court Judge Sherrie Lydon because of the settlement.
Equal treatment for all people
Lindsey Machak, spokesperson for Rock Hill schools, declined to comment to The Herald about the settlement or any other part of the case.
Lawyers for the school district could not be reached for comment.
West sued the school district under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 federal law. That law requires equal treatment for all people regardless of sex, gender or race.
Shannon Polvi, West’s lawyer, said in a statement to The Herald she cannot discuss the settlement, which resolved the case without a jury trial.
“I am proud to have advocated for a woman who stood up for her rights to be treated equally with the other men in the Athletic Director position,” Polvi said in the statement. “It is important for individuals to engage in protected acts when they believe their rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are being violated.”
What the lawsuit claims
West was the athletic director at Northwestern from 2011 until she was fired in 2019. West was the only woman athletic director among three top athletic jobs at Rock Hill district high schools.
The Herald first reported she was placed on administrative leave in August 2019 before she was fired. The Herald reported that she filed the lawsuit in 2020.
West claimed in the lawsuit she was treated differently by school and district staff and then fired because she is a woman.
She alleged in court documents she was fired because she complained about unequal treatment compared to male counterparts at Northwestern, and unequal treatment among her male athletic director counterparts at the district’s two other high schools -- Rock Hill High and South Pointe.
West claimed males also questioned her knowledge about football, court documents show.
School denies allegations
In court documents, Northwestern officials and the school district denied any wrongdoing.
School officials said in court documents West violated nepotism rules and was fired based on job performance after proper reviews by school and district staff. West’s lawyers disputed the school district’s claims in court documents.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 9:57 AM.
