Teresa Wagner, a former George Mason University School of Law professor is suing the University of Iowa in federal court for employment discrimination, alleging that she was not hired by the University of Iowa as a law professor because of her conservative political ideology. In December of 2011, a three-judge panel ruled unanimously that there is enough evidence to suspect that the Dean of The University of Iowa College of Law rejected Wagner's application for hire at least in part because of Wagner's political affiliations.
According to the Times report, an overwhelming minority of the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Law are registered Republicans (Only one or two out of approximately 50 members of the faculty). This has caused fear that academia will not consider the conservative viewpoint, despite objectivity in political affiliation being one of the ideals to which academic institutions strive.
This case demonstrates that employment discrimination can sometimes go further than the typical protected categories of race, gender and sexual harassment. Sometimes, politics can play a role in employment discrimination as well. Schwartz and Perry is a New York City law firm with particular focus in employment discrimination law.
The full article can be found on the New York Times website.