What the lawsuit alleges

As quality assurance director, one of Chen’s responsibilities was to monitor and review data and reports to ensure the IR-4 Project’s compliance with U. S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. As a part of this responsibility, Chen would have to report any potential study misconduct or data manipulation for corrective action.

According to the lawsuit, Chen conducted an audit of two lab reports around January 2021 where he noted that data had been manually manipulated. After reporting the manipulation, through Freedom of Information Act requests, Chen discovered that management had begun holding “secret meetings” to find a reason to terminate him, the lawsuit says. 

"Dr. Chen’s report of these discrepancies should have earned him praise for protecting the program’s academic and scientific integrity," the lawsuit says. "Instead, his report had the opposite effect."

The lawsuit alleges that in an email obtained through these requests, Chen’s supervisor, John Wise, discussed three potential avenues for terminating Chen.

1. If he was found guilty of professional misconduct
2. If his performance reviews said he was not meeting expectations
3. If his position was no longer funded

After being investigated and cleared for professional misconduct, Chen was then accused of providing “substandard work” and hindering the quality assurance department. However, the lawsuit states, Chen completed more audits himself in 2020 than the rest of the team combined. In May 2021, Chen received his first “does not meet expectations” on his performance evaluation after more than 20 years at MSU. 

In November 2021, Chen was told his position would be terminated due to a lack of funding. According to the lawsuit, his responsibilities were assumed by a younger, Caucasian employee, and the IR-4 Project appointed another younger, Caucasian employee to perform his equivalent position.

The case against MSU

The lawsuit first lays out the argument for MSU having discriminated against Chen on the basis of race and national origin. 

As a naturalized U.S. citizen from China, Chen said he felt animosity directed at him because of his race and national origin, especially at MSU, where he watched several Asian colleagues be released and then replaced by Caucasian employees, the suit says. 

The filing says that despite the fact that Chen held the necessary qualifications, education, and experience for the job, Chen was terminated and replaced by a younger, Caucasian natural-born U.S. citizen. 

Additionally, Chen is 59 years old and was two years away from retirement when he was terminated, meaning he could not qualify for retirement benefits from the university. The lawsuit argues that this, along with Chen being replaced by younger employees, constitutes discrimination on the basis of age. 

What’s next

As a result of the alleged discrimination, Chen and his lawyer, William Selinsky, are demanding Chen receive:

1. Backpay for the period he was without a job after being terminated from MSU and relocation fees to a new job
2. Full retirement benefits that he would’ve received after 25 years of service at MSU
3. Damages for emotional distress and the insomnia, depression and stress that resulted from the discrimination
4. Additional punitive damages

They also demand the case be tried in front of a jury. 

MSU declined to comment at this time. Selinsky was not immediately available for comment.