Fired Librarians File Discrimination Claims Over Book Bans, Seeking Workplace Reinstatement

Claims filed with EEOC include charges of discrimination for association with marginalized groups, with one librarian already winning a $250,000 settlement; response from EEOC on current claims expected by end of next year.

• Suzette Baker, who headed the Kingsland, Texas, library system, was fired after refusing to ban books about racism and LGBTQ experiences. She and two other similarly fired librarians have filed workplace discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, seeking redemption and possible reinstatement.
• Brooky Parks, a fired librarian who stood up for programs on anti-racism and LGBTQ stories at the Erie Community Library in Denver, won a $250,000 settlement in September which required her former employer to give librarians more say in decisions involving library programs.
• The wrongful termination claims are being compared to civil rights era legal battles. According to Rutgers University law professor David Lopez, the librarians might be able to prevail on the grounds of the 1964 Civil Right Act which states that employees may not be discriminated against for associating with certain classes of people.
• The process of an EEOC investigation can take over a year and can result in a settlement out of court, a lawsuit taken up by the EEOC or a letter stating the employees have grounds to sue independently. Therefore, a response from EEOC on the fired librarians' claims is not expected before the end of next year.
• The firings of Baker and another librarian, Terri Lesley, followed the appointment of new library board members by local officials who were more aggressive about pulling books. Lesley described this as a well-executed attack on the library, the LGBTQ+ community, and the books.

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