In a twist on the parenting-versus-career dilemmas facing many American women, the former athletic conditioning director at Miami University claims in a lawsuit that he was forced out of his job for taking paternity leave when his wife had twins.
The suit was filed in federal court in Cincinnati by Paul Harker, who was Miami’s athletic conditioning coach for six years until his departure in June. Represented by attorney Chris Jenkins, Harker seeks unspecified monetary damages from the university for retaliation and denial of his Family and Medical Leave Act rights.
A Miami spokeswoman said the university had no comment on the suit. “We can’t comment on litigation involving personnel,” says Claire Wagner.
Harker’s twins were born Jan. 20 and his wife and new son and daughter were discharged from McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford three days later. He applied for paternity leave the next day, and Miami approved his paid time off until Feb. 9.
“This infuriated Miami’s head football coach, Chuck Martin, who complained that every other man who had ever worked for him was back at work the next day after his wife gave birth and told Mr. Harker he needed to decide whether he was a football coach or a family man,” the suit states.
Martin, head coach since December 2013, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Also named were Miami’s athletic director of five years, David Sayler, and Associate Athletic Director Steven Brockelbank.
Harker’s lawsuit drives home the point that taking time off did not sit well with Martin. While on paternity leave, Harker says Martin left him a voicemail saying they needed to discuss “Mr. Harker’s future with the program.” In a Feb. 7 meeting, the suit states, Martin told Harker that his future with Miami was “in jeopardy” because of Harker’s “non-commitment” to the program. It was at this meeting that Harker says Martin posed the “football coach or family man” question. The meeting ended, the suit states, with Martin saying he would be talking to Sayler about Harker’s future at the college.
Ten days later, Harker says he met with Martin again and was told that the decision had been made to let Harker’s year-to-year contract expire on June 30. Harker says Martin told him to “find another job quickly so his replacement could be hired.” Harker says he took that to mean that he’d been given notice of his termination.
Although upset, Harker says he continued to do his job, even as Martin asked him “several times” if he’d been hired elsewhere. Harker says he had indeed begun a job search and, expecting to move, sold his house in Oxford.
Harker was wearing thin on Brockelbank, too. In an April 6 email to Kristin Henegar in Miami’s human resources office, Brockelbank cited the athletics’ department’s mounting dissatisfaction with Harker. He wrote that Harker skipped two 2016 away football games and a Dec. 26 bowl game in Florida. Brockelbank wrote that Harker’s twins were delivered Jan. 20 in a C-section “scheduled in advance.” Harker, in his suit, says he requested — and received — permission to stay home during the bowl game because his wife was “35 weeks pregnant, unable to travel and at risk for early delivery.”
On March 31, Harker told Martin that he wanted to take another nine weeks of paternity leave, his suit states. Martin, it says, replied that he and Brockelbank would not “fight” the request if Harker would resign June 30. And if he resigned, the suit says, Martin would serve as a reference in Harker’s job search.
Harker went on his second, unpaid paternity leave from April 3 to June 4. Upon returning to work, he says in the lawsuit he told Martin that he had sold his home and had signed a contract to buy one in Michigan, where his wife’s family lived and where he was focusing his job search. But on June 7, he says Brockelbank gave Harker an “expectations letter” containing new requirements for his job at Miami.
That was news to Harker because Martin had told him in February that his contract would not be renewed. In an internal email dated May 2, Henegar wrote that “Steve (Brockelbank) said they absolutely want to move forward with a termination.” Yet on July 31, Harker says, he received a letter from Miami that he had “voluntarily terminated” his employment.
Harker, who played football at Michigan State University, landed on his feet. Today he’s assistant athletic director at Wayne State University in Detroit, the job he held before moving to Miami University in 2011. Even though the job pays less, it was a step up of sorts: Miami had a won-loss record of 5-7 this year. Wayne State went 5-6.
CONTACT JAMES McNAIR at jmcnair@citybeat.com, 513-914-2736 or @jmacnews on Twitter
This article appears in Dec 13-20, 2017.