LSU spokesman makes offer for reporter to reveal anonymous source

by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
December 23, 2024

One avenue for workers who believe they face discrimination on the job is to file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which could potentially launch an investigation into the workplace in question.

 EEOC complaints could result in a fine or lawsuit against an employer if federal authorities find evidence of wrongdoing. Given their sensitive nature, the complaints are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, a federal law that provides public access to government records. This confidentiality protects the employee from retaliation and spares employers from stigma when complaints are unfounded.

Yet when the Illuminator and Tiger Rag posed questions to LSU regarding allegations of a toxic work environment at its Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX, the university’s spokesman responded with an unusual offer.

If a reporter provided the name of an anonymous source, LSU Vice President for Communications Todd Woodward said in a text message the university would provide its response to an employee’s EEOC complaint. The Illuminator and Tiger Rag declined. 

An employee at LSU’s Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX confirmed with a reporter that she filed the EEOC complaint against LSU. The woman asked that her identity not be revealed because she fears retaliation as she is currently a student at the university. 

 Scott Sternberg, an attorney with expertise in public records law, said that while EEOC complaints are technically not exempted under Louisiana’s public records law, state custodians of public records treat them like they are. 

“Every time I’ve seen [requests for EEOC complaints] come up in the past, the state has claimed that FOIA exemption applies,” Sternberg said. 

Woodward was asked if LSU’s response to the EEOC complaint is a public record. 

“We can provide,” he responded via text message. “It’s not public yet but I got legal to bend on this one.” 

“Legal” refers to LSU’s Office of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, headed by Winston DeCuir, who was criticized for his handling of a campus scandal that broke in 2020 after USA Today reported how the university mishandled sexual misconduct allegations. 

When the Illuminator and Tiger Rag made a public records request for the information Woodward offered, that same office denied the request. 

LSU associate general counsel Johanna Posada wrote in an email that the “records are not subject to public release or disclosure.” Any submission by LSU in response to an EEOC charge is part of the charge file. 

“Moreover, the submission by LSU to the EEOC in response to an employee complaint to the EEOC contains information in which the employee has a privacy interest protected by the right of privacy,” Posada added. 

LSU Title IX investigations can take as long as seven months to complete

Sternberg said LSU’s offer is a significant breach of its standard practices. 

“The idea that this information would be sort of exchanged and traded in the same way … any other piece of information is so out of the norm that I don’t know what to call it other than disturbing,” Sternberg said. 

LSU terminated the employee Aug. 14, a few weeks after she lodged her complaint with the EEOC. Her firing date was confirmed through a copy of her personnel file, which the employee shared with the Illuminator and Tiger Rag.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected].