The retaliation claim turns on what his employer did after he complained - not the firing
A chemistry professor cleared of federal charges is suing the University of Kansas, alleging it retaliated against him after he complained of discrimination.
According to a complaint filed on July 21, 2026 in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, the professor claims the university violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Kansas Act Against Discrimination. The filing describes a retaliation claim; the university has not yet responded, and none of the allegations has been tested in court.
The complaint traces the dispute to 2014, when the university recruited the professor as a tenured associate professor in chemical and petroleum engineering. It says he built a research lab supported by more than $4 million in federal funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.
In April 2019, according to the filing, an anonymous - and, the complaint alleges, ultimately false - tip accused him of "espionage." The complaint says the university reported the tip to the US Department of Justice and then assisted in building criminal charges against him. He was arrested in August 2019 and charged with wire fraud and federal program fraud.
The turn most relevant to HR professionals comes next. The complaint alleges the university terminated him on January 6, 2023, while his criminal case was still unresolved, without the hearing before its...
The UAE AI Office has issued a statement debunking social media claims that a government website is fraudulent and confirming that it is an authentic website belonging to an official government en...