Former employees sue Arecibo Observatory for discrimination

Nature : Two former employees at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have filed a lawsuit after a US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation determined that they were discriminated against and wrongfully terminated. In November 2015 Elizabeth Sternke informed the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), which oversees Arecibo, that she intended to file a complaint with the EEOC. Soon after, her contract job was terminated early. Subsequently, James Richardson, Sternke’s husband and fellow USRA employee, filed his own EEOC complaint. In April 2016 the USRA terminated his position as well. The EEOC investigation found that both Sternke and Richardson had been terminated in retaliation for their complaints. On 4 October the couple filed suit against the USRA and Arecibo’s deputy director Joan Schmelz for $2 million in back pay and damages. According to the EEOC, when Schmelz began working at Arecibo, she intentionally sidelined Richardson in favor of younger employees and “marginalized and ostracized” both Richardson and Sternke. Additionally, the USRA altered the job description of a position that Richardson was applying for and subsequently appointed a much younger staff member to fill it.