Birmingham, Ala. – An Iranian-born cancer researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was awarded a hefty sum in a discrimination lawsuit after enduring years of harassment that escalated to threats with a firearm. The federal jury ruled that the university should compensate Fariba Moeinpour with $3 million, while her colleague, found to have harassed her, must pay nearly $1 million in both compensatory and punitive damages.
Moeinpour, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran, began her tenure at the university in 2011, working in a cancer research lab. She claimed that the harassment started almost immediately and persisted throughout her employment. Mary Jo Cagle, identified as the primary harasser in the lawsuit, purportedly used racial slurs and even brandished a gun in one incident involving Moeinpour and her daughter in the university parking lot.
Documents presented during the trial showed that Moeinpour reached out to the human resources department multiple times over the years, reporting the ongoing harassment. However, the university and the director of employee relations, also defendants in the case, allegedly failed to take appropriate action. This inaction was highlighted in the lawsuit and weighed heavily in the jury’s deliberations.
The harassment was not limited to the workplace. In one incident, a security guard at a local mall testified that he witnessed Cagle following Moeinpour and her daughter, hurling racial epithets at them—a behavior consistent with what was regularly occurring at the university.
The situation reached a critical point in 2020 when Moeinpour, after another confrontation with Cagle, informed her lab’s head, Clinton Grubbs, that she intended to file another complaint. According to the lawsuit, Grubbs tried to dissuade her from reporting Cagle, citing fears for his own safety due to Cagle’s alleged volatile behavior. During this conversation, Grubbs reportedly physically restrained Moeinpour, leading to an altercation where Moeinpour defended herself. Subsequently, Grubbs called the police, and Moeinpour was arrested and detained overnight. She was terminated from her position five days later.
The jury’s verdict also indicated that the university’s actions in arresting Moeinpour and subsequently terminating her employment were motivated by an intent to prevent her from engaging in her right to report discrimination—a federally protected activity.
The university afterward issued a statement expressing respectful disagreement with the jury’s verdict. They emphasized their commitment to values of integrity, respect, and collaboration and articulated their ongoing efforts to ensure a welcoming, safe, and supported environment for all community members. Meanwhile, further legal actions are on the horizon, as Moeinpour has initiated separate assault charges against Grubbs in Jefferson County state court as well as a civil case against Cagle.
This case underscores the challenges individuals face when confronting workplace harassment and discrimination, especially within institutions that fail to uphold their obligations to protect their employees. This lawsuit not only highlights systemic issues within academic settings but also serves as a reminder of the legal protections available to those who stand up against discrimination.