EAST LANSING ― Michigan State University is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former employee, Zhongxiao Michael Chen, who accused the school of race and age discrimination.
The legal battle between the two began in March, when Chen, 59, filed a two-count lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan that the university terminated him because of his race, national origin and age, and replaced him with a person in an equivalent position who was younger and a “natural-born” U.S. citizen.
MSU attorneys say Chen didn’t file his lawsuit and pay the filing fee on time, that his claims of discrimination weren’t justified and should be dismissed because state entities like MSU are protected from claims for monetary damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act under the Eleventh Amendment.
Chen’s Denver-based attorneys have submitted a response in opposition to MSU’s motion to dismiss, leading to another request by the university for dismissal.
In their second motion to dismiss, university attorneys said, “First, Plaintiff’s lawsuit must be dismissed… because he failed (to) pay the filing fee within 90 days of receipt of his right-to-sue notice. Thus, Plaintiff’s lawsuit is untimely and must be dismissed in its entirety. Second, Plaintiff’s lawsuit must be dismissed… because Plaintiff’s amended complaint fails to state plausible discrimination claims against MSU. Specifically, Plaintiff failed to plausibly plead that MSU replaced him with a person outside his protected classes or treated him differently than a similarly situated person outside his protected classes… Thus, Plaintiff’s lawsuit must be dismissed in its entirety. Third, and alternatively, Plaintiff’s ADEA claim (Count II) should be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction… because the Eleventh Amendment bars Plaintiff’s claim for monetary damages under the ADEA against MSU, a state entity.”
University spokesperson Mark Bullion declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Chen’s attorneys were not available for comment Friday morning.
In MSU’s motions for dismissal, MSU attorneys laid out that the university is a subrecipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s IR-4 program, which is headquartered at North Carolina State University. North Carolina State University “coordinates research activities with four IR-4 Regional Center Subrecipients,” and MSU houses the North Central Region Analytical Laboratory, where Chen worked as a senior academic specialist and quality assurance director.
In November 2021, MSU was informed that the North Central Region Analytical Laboratory would close on July 31, 2022, and the IR-4 headquarters at North Carolina State University decided it would no longer fund Chen’s position, MSU attorneys said.
“MSU was disappointed by the decisions to close the laboratory and pull QA position funding, which impacted the IR-4 Program at MSU and would ‘result in the elimination of [Plaintiff’s] Academic Specialist position,'” MSU attorneys said.
MSU attorneys said Chen did not clarify whether he was replaced with a person outside his protected classes or if the position was eliminated altogether. They also stated that Chen did not clarify whether MSU or a separate entity was responsible for replacing him.
Chen said in his initial complaint that he sought information from MSU through a Freedom of Information Act request and discovered that John Wise, an MSU supervisor, was conducting “secret” meetings to determine what reasons could result in Chen’s dismissal. Among the reasons were if he was found guilty of professional misconduct, if his performance reviews stated he was not meeting expectations, and if his position was no longer funded.
Chen outlines in the suit how each excuse was attempted in order to fire him. He says he was first accused of negligence in his role, but was later cleared. In March 2021, an executive said Chen was providing substandard work and actively hindering the department during a period of low capacity, and they could not justify funding his position.
In Chen’s initial complaint, he said that a younger, white person took over his “equivalent position.”
Chen is seeking back pay for the time he was without a job and reimbursement for relocation fees to a new job. He is also seeking the full retirement benefits from the university. He said in the suit he was two years away from achieving full retirement benefits for 25 years of service.
Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com. Follow her on X @sarahmatwood.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU wants former staffer’s race and age discrimination lawsuit dismissed
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