Employees file bias suit against U.

Citing a racially imbalanced work environment and prolonged difficulties in gaining promotion, 35 African-American employees in one of the University's research departments filed charges of race discrimination against the University last week with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Office of University Laboratory Animal Research employees -- whose department handles the care and husbandry of laboratory animals -- allege that the University segregates African-American employees interested in the field of animal research into one specific office. The charges also point to instances of unequal pay and discrimination in promotions as evidence of racial bias within the office. "Right now there exists what amounts to a university departmental apartheid experience, where blacks interested in research work in ULAR and others work as [research] technicians," said Frank Finch, attorney for the African-American employees. "In the year 2000 there is no justification for seeing racially stratified departments," he added. The charges, which have not yet formally been served on the University, open the EEOC's investigation process and are a precursor to the filing of actual discrimination litigation in federal courts. Penn officials declined to comment on the issue, saying they could not discuss the issue until charges are actually presented by the EEOC. "We have not been notified by the EEOC of any complaint, and we simply cannot comment until we are so notified," University spokesman Ken Wildes said. The employees' primary contention is that African Americans interested in animal research are steered toward ULAR -- where they say they are offered lower pay and fewer chances for promotion -- while other staff members are assigned to standard research positions. "Basically, what we have here deals with how a majority of the African-American employees? are in our department, and it's the opposite in most of the other research departments in the University," said Philip Collins, a ULAR employee and one of the lead plaintiffs in the case. "African Americans who apply for jobs are steered towards our type of work, rather than letting them extend into other research-type opportunities," he added. "We have a lack of promotion when compared to other departments, despite our qualifications." Collins further described how training practices between the ULAR employees and other research technicians bear little similarity. "We're also discussing inadequate training as compared to research technicians," he said. "Our training is mediocre compared to the opportunities the other University researchers receive." According to Finch, the employees -- who are seeking a settlement to the case before it has to go to trial -- are interested only in obtaining back pay and better advancement opportunities. "[The African-American employees] are looking for increases in pay, not at this point for monetary damages in excess of pay increases," Finch said. "They want back pay and restructuring of the salary."