State pays former UIHC fellow quarter-million to settle discrimination lawsuit

IOWA CITY — The State of Iowa, on behalf of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, has agreed to pay a former pediatrics fellow more than a quarter-million dollars to settle a lawsuit in which she accused UIHC of denying her disability accommodations, retaliating against her, and breaching its contract with her.

Before agreeing July 25 to pay Kristin Riley $265,000 to settle the discrimination lawsuit that was filed Sept. 3, 2021, the state in defending UIHC argued, among other things, that Riley “cannot show that she is a disabled person. The settlement includes $133,197 for her claims of lost pay and $99,516 for her claims of emotional distress.

Riley, from California, graduated from Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2012 and spent years in California-based children’s hospital internships and residencies before applying to and being accepted into UIHC’s Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program in 2019, according to her lawsuit.

As part of her presumed three-year fellowship, Riley signed an annual contract — with the expectation it would be re-upped at year intervals.

Riley began her stint at UIHC on July 8, 2019 and over the coming weeks and months sought “reasonable accommodations” — all of which were denied — on at least three occasions, according to her lawsuit.

In addition to requesting that she not be forced to work excessive hours, Riley also asked for a closer parking spot. She was told the only way to get a closer spot was to get a disabled parking placard.

“Riley’s condition is not severe enough to warrant a disabled parking placard and her requested accommodation did not require a spot designated for individuals with disabilities,” according to the lawsuit.

Riley then requested to do her research remotely — back in California, according to the university’s response to the lawsuit.

The university said Riley submitted her own resignation twice — although she didn’t give a date — and, despite later indicating she wanted to stay, ultimately was not renewed for her contract.

Riley, who accused UIHC of making that decision too late to meet contract stipulations, was able to land another position as a fellow with the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine. But, she said in her lawsuit, that job doesn’t let her research hemodynamics, the field that led her to UIHC.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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