Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 19, 1993 TAG: 9306190194
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Marshall Johnson, a 1990 graduate and Richmond native, filed a job discrimination grievance against the school last week with the state's Department of Equal Employment Opportunity in Richmond.
"We do have such a complaint filed," said George Gardner, director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Gardner said he could not comment further on the investigation but added, "we try to resolve our complaints within 90 days."
Johnson, who worked in the athletic department for eight months, said he was passed over for the position of television production specialist in favor of a white man from Ohio.
"I am shocked that . . . Virginia Tech would treat their alumni the way I've been treated," Johnson said. "Either the school didn't educate me well enough to get the job or . . . they're racist, because they didn't hire a qualified person who'd been working in the department for eight months."
Jeffrey Bourne, business manager for the athletic department said he was aware of the complaint but "we're not involved at this point."
Lawrence Hincker, director of university relations, said that he was not aware of a formal complaint against the university.
Hincker said Cornel Morton, the school's equal opportunity/affirmative action director, had informally looked into the matter and had said "there were not issues of discrimination involved." Morton was out of the country and unavailable for comment.
Johnson, who received a degree in communications studies with an emphasis in film and broadcasting from Tech, is now unemployed. He said he filed an racially based internal grievance with Tech's equal opportunity office on April 15.
Johnson said he was hired by the athletic department on Aug. 11, 1992. The position was "an emergency hire" because the former specialist quit.
Beginning in August, Johnson was hired to work a maximum of 1,500 hours. By January, he said he had completed those hours but continued working at Tech's request. He stopped working with the department on March 16.
"They notified me that they couldn't pay me but I told them I wouldn't work unless I was getting paid," he said. "They said, `No problem, we'll find the money.'"
Johnson said he was paid $8.65 an hour every two weeks like a regular state employee until January. He continued to work thinking he was going to get paid.
He was not paid, he said, until May 12 after he had contacted a lawyer. He said he received $3,291.86 due him for work done since January.
Johnson claims that Tech violated state law when he was interviewed because he was asked different questions than other applicants and interviewed by three people, including Jeff Bourne, athletic department business manager. The new employee was interviewed by two people, Johnson said.
In addition, Johnson said he was executive producer for the Tech basketball show, but has not been paid for the 12 shows he produced. Johnson is asking for $1,000 per show.
In addition to the $12,000 for producing the shows, Johnson said his "list of demands" includes a job offer, and a public apology distributed within the athletic department.
"They have blatantly violated policy. That's just not the way to do things," he said. "I was educated better than that."
by CNB