Harvard Files Motion to Recover $3,319 From Librarian

Harvard University filed a motion last week to recover some of the legal costs it incurred while defending itself against a discrimination lawsuit filed by a black female library assistant in 2003.

The motion, filed on June 28, would make Desiree A. Goodwin repay the $3,319 associated with deposition transcripts and filing fees from her unsuccessful lawsuit.

Goodwin’s suit against the University ended in April when a six-member federal jury deliberated for less than four hours before ruling that the University did not illegally discriminate against her in passing her over for promotions.

Goodwin alleged that she was denied advancement because of her race and the “sexy” manner in which she dressed. She said that since she earned her Master of Library Science degree from Simmons College in 1999, she had applied for 16 professional librarian positions at Harvard but received only two interviews and no job offers.

Goodwin, who is still employed by Harvard as a billing supervisor and research assistant at the Graduate School of Design’s Loeb Library, characterized Harvard’s motion as an act of retribution.

“I can’t imagine that a law would be built into the American [j]ustice [s]ystem for the purpose of punishing plaintiffs who have lost discrimination claims, but I do think the move is punitive and retaliatory on Harvard’s part,” Goodwin wrote in an e-mail.

Goodwin said that because the University has so much money, it should not pursue petty claims against individual workers.

“Going through this process, I have seen Harvard management subvert the truth repeatedly for the purpose of winning. Money is another weapon for them, withholding it from deserving employees, using it to mount an overwhelming defense, and then punishing plaintiffs by handing them a bill for an amount that would be a drop in the bucket for them, but very burdensome for an underpaid employee,” she said.

The Harvard Office of General Counsel did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.

Goodwin, who also holds degrees from Cornell University and Boston College, told the Boston Herald last week that she has $43,000 in student loan debt and has taken out a home-equity line of credit to pay for her legal fees.

According to job postings on the University’s employment website, full-time library assistant positions—like the one Goodwin holds—offer salaries ranging from $25,169 to $47,006.

Goodwin’s attorney, Richard D. Clarey, declined to comment on the motion, He did say he has asked to discuss the matter further with the University.

Geoff Carens, a representative for Goodwin’s union, the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, accused the University of using Goodwin’s case to make a statement that those who speak out against discrimination will be punished.

“They’re spending much more money to make this thing happen than they’re ever going to get out of her. I would consider it an act of economic violence against her,” Carens said. “To Harvard, what difference does it make whether they get three grand out of her?”

Carens said that the union could demonstrate to protest the motion.

“There’s definitely going to be a fight back,” he said.

Harvard cited a competitive labor market for professional librarians when it successfully defended itself against Goodwin’s charges this year.

Both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination dismissed Goodwin’s case without a hearing, the EEOC finding that Goodwin’s case was without merit and that comments allegedly made by her supervisor did not demonstrate racial or gender bias.

—Staff writer Samuel C. Scott can be reached at sscott@fas.harvard.edu.