Former Liberty University Employee Suing For Discrimination, Retaliation
A former professor and investigator at Liberty University has filed a federal lawsuit against the school and its leaders for discrimination and retaliation under Title IX, the Uniformed Services Reemployment Rights Act and the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law.
Peter Brake is a Liberty graduate and an attorney who served for over 20 years as a U.S. Army judge advocate. He was employed in 2019 as a full-time civil rights investigator in Liberty’s Office of Equity and Compliance/Title IX and as an adjunct professor.
While employed at Liberty, Brake took a 3½-year leave of absence starting in January 2020 to serve active duty with the U.S. Army. He had moved to reserve military duty at this point.
According to the lawsuit, Brake was subsequently referred to by Liberty administrators as a “problem” and a “squatter” because they were required to hold his position while he served in the U.S. Army.
Upon his return in October 2023, Brake claims he suffered discrimination in violation of the USERRA.
When he inquired about his salary under USERRA and whether it was commensurate with others in the office, Brake claims that Liberty’s compliance officer Ashley Reich lied to him about others’ salaries, said she would not discuss his salary until the following year, and told him he was “lucky” that an investigator position was open.
Brake also claims he was fired after making “good faith reports” about violations of Title IX and the Clery Act at Liberty.
In November 2023, Brake claims he told Liberty President Dondi Costin about the Title IX office ignoring grievance procedure requirements, noting that some cases had been sitting idle for a year without resolution.
Brake said he gave Costin a letter citing instances where Brake had been instructed to take pro forma steps so that cases could be dismissed and citing the hostile reception upon his return from military service.
In an email exchange with Costing after Brake gave him the letter, Costin allegedly assured Brake that “your leadership understands that retaliation is not allowed around here, so don’t give that possibility another thought.”
On Nov. 15, 2023, Brake complained to Liberty’s human resources department about the discriminatory treatment he was receiving. The next month, Brake received a raise, retirement contributions and bonuses.
After Liberty reached a settlement agreement of $14 million for Clery Act violations, Brake said he reported more violations to Reich. He was then allegedly subjected to a “humiliating and unusual interrogation” by Liberty’s human resources department and other harassment.
In May, Brake filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against Liberty and filed a Title IX complaint against Reich, saying he’d been subject to discrimination and mistreatment. Brake was fired in June.
Brake is seeking damages to his physical well-being, and his reputation, loss of career opportunities, lost wages and benefits, plus attorney’s costs and fees. He is also seeking an injunction to prevent Liberty from continued violations of Title IX, USERRA and the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law.
“In doing his job, Dr. Brake has repeatedly tried to protect the students and employees from the injustices occurring at Liberty University,” Brake’s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, wrote in a statement. “He is coming forward now to hold Liberty University accountable after it harshly retaliated against him.”
“Liberty takes all allegations of wrongdoing seriously and has impartial measures in place to assure the fair and equal treatment of all employees,” Liberty said in its statement to USA Today. “While we will not respond to these allegations in the media at this time, we disagree with its claims and are prepared to defend ourselves in court.”
This article has been republished with permission from Ministry Watch.
Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.