Two Female University Coaches Settles Gender Discrimination Case For $3.4 Million
Two female head coaches sued the Florida Gulf Coast University alleging gender discrimination and Title IX retaliation. Flood was the head of the University women's volleyball team and Vaughn was the head of the University golf team. Both women were paid less than their male counterparts, had sub-par offices and were not given office equipment that other less qualified male coaches were given. Both were also given year-to-year contracts while their male counterparts were given multi-year contracts.
Both women complained to the interim athletic director who rebuffed them and allegedly said
"if you don't like it here, you can get the hell out."The University President was made aware of the situation and nothing changed. The following month Flood was given a performance review appraisal of below expectation and placed on probation. Flood was next put on administrative leave and the university began to conduct several investigations without telling Flood of the investigations. While this was taking place, Flood was named "Coach of the Year" by the school's volleyball conference. Several months later, Flood was terminated by the University.
Vaughn was rated as "marginally meets expectations" even though the evaluator had never attended one of her practices, team meetings, or tournaments.
The parties settled before trial for a total of $3.4 million, with Flood getting $2.97 million and Vaughn getting $435,000.
Flood and Vaughn sued alleging they were subjected to a hostile work environment in retaliation for complaining about gender inequality in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. Section 1681. They also alleged defamation for releasing false information to the public.
