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Download NowWhat happened. Sandy Cuddeback worked for Dr. Hong Gang Wang in the
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of South Florida.
Not only did she receive free tuition and a stipend for her work, as well as
academic credit, but she was also covered by a collective bargaining agreement
and given paid time off for illnesses and vacation. In January of 2000, Dr.
Wang listed a number of problems with her work, including failure to follow
research guidelines and interpersonal difficulties with colleagues, and asked
her either to improve or to leave the lab at the end of April. She had hoped
to stay until the semester ended.
Early in April, she contacted a doctor to report a hand injury and request
a week off. When the other doctor learned that she had not informed Dr. Wang
of these actions, he tried to send her a certified letter three times asking
her to do so. But she refused either to accept it or to bring her boss up to
speed. And, by May 1, she had applied for a full-time job outside the university,
which was against policies for graduate student researchers or teaching assistants.
And she went over Dr. Wang's head to ask for a leave of absence again
without telling him.
When she did not return to work after April 20, he hired a man to replace her.
She took her discrimination claim to federal district court, where it was dismissed,
so she appealed to the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
What the court said. Before appellate judges, the university argued
that Cuddeback was not an employee, so she couldn't be protected by Title
VII. Judges did not agree. They reversed the lower court in one way, ruling
that she had shown at least the basics of a possible case a prima facie
claim. But they dismissed it anyway because Dr. Wang proved his unbiased reasons
for replacing her. Cuddeback v. University of South Florida, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, No. 03-12634 (8/25/04).
Point to remember: Judges said the simplest way to tell an employee
from a student is whether he or she is paid.