A Florida professor who was denied tenure has sued his college's Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state's public universities, over a new law that limits arbitration of grievances.
Hugo Viera-Vargas, an assistant professor of Caribbean/Latin American studies and music at the New College of Florida, and the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) union filed the lawsuit last Thursday in Leon County circuit court.
The suit challenges the constitutionality of a provision of Senate Bill 266 that says grievances "may not be appealed beyond the level of a university president" or a person designated by the president.
SB 266, which builds on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' push to shape Florida's education system by regulating how schools deal with such subjects as race and gender, also blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs.
The law also bars curriculums that teach "identity politics" or "theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities." This provision targets teachings about critical race theory, a way of thinking about U.S. history through the lens of racism, which opponents argue is divisive.
DeSantis, a fierce opponent of so-called woke policies on race and gender, signed the bill into law in May at the New College of Florida days before entering the race for the GOP presidential nomination. The small, traditionally progressive liberal arts school in Sarasota made headlines in January after DeSantis appointed a group of conservatives to its Board of Trustees, leading to protests from students. The board then ousted former President Patricia Okker and replaced her with Richard Corcoran, a former state House speaker and close DeSantis ally, on an interim basis.
In April, Viera-Vargas was among five faculty members who were denied tenure by the Board of Trustees, despite receiving approvals at every other point in the process, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Viera-Vargas' application for tenure was denied on Corcoran's recommendation, according to the lawsuit, which Newsweek reviewed. When he appealed, Corcoran refused arbitration, citing SB 266.
Newsweek has contacted an attorney for the plaintiffs, the New College of Florida's Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors for comment via email. A DeSantis spokesperson has also been contacted via email.
The lawsuit argues that Viera-Vargas was denied tenure partly because Corcoran disagrees with "certain of the subjects" that he teaches. Viera-Vargas is "a cultural historian who teaches about race, gender, colonialism, and musical expressions in Puerto Rican and Caribbean societies," the suit says.
Viera-Vargas "now believes he must conform to the president's views to keep his job at New College," the lawsuit states. "The Arbitration Ban curtails Viera-Vargas's academic freedom and forces him to engage in self-censorship."
The UFF's New College chapter has a "binding" collective bargaining agreement with the college that includes a right to arbitrate grievances and is in effect through June 30, 2024, the lawsuit states.
"Grievance procedures, including arbitration, are a mandatory subject of collective bargain for public employees under Florida law," the lawsuit adds.
It continues: "The Arbitration Ban cannot survive any level of constitutional scrutiny. There is no remotely sufficient governmental interest in this prohibition. Nor do the State's means bear an adequate connection to any purported interest. Instead, the prohibition serves only to undermine Plaintiffs' constitutionally protected collective bargaining and contractual rights."
The plaintiffs are asking the court to rule that the ban on arbitration impairs the right to collective bargaining in violation of Florida's Constitution. Alternatively, they have asked the court to declare that the law does not bar faculty from arbitrating grievances during the terms of existing collective bargaining agreements.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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