Judge Calls Delay In Tufts Bias Suit

U.S. District Court Judge Frank Murray decided December 4 to postpone a sex discrimination suit brought against Tufts University by two professors until January.

Barbara E. White and Christiane Joost-Gaugier are charging Tufts with a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which says that any person who feels unfairly dealt with "by an employer because of race, color, religion, national origin or sex" has the right to file charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The two women filed charges with EEOC in 1972 when Tufts refused tenure to White and did not rehire Joost-Gautier.

The case was postponed to allow the court time to handle criminal cases and a more pressing sex discrimination suit, Robert Smith, a clerk for Murray, said yesterday.

During the recess, Tufts has provided the plaintiffs' lawyers with lists of employee salary scales, which were apparently requested for the purpose of showing salary discrepancies between men and women at Tufts.