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A former Liberty University employee, Erika Woolfolk, has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired for cooperating with a federal investigation into the school’s handling of sexual assault cases. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, also claims Woolfolk faced a hostile work environment, racial discrimination, and unequal pay during her time in the university’s Title IX office.

This case follows similar allegations from other former employees and comes after the university was fined $16 million for Title IX violations, the largest such fine in U.S. history.

Read more about the Title IX investigation here

Background and Allegations

Woolfolk, who holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees from Liberty University, began working at the school in 2014. She started with the Liberty Flames Sports Network before moving to the Office of Equity and Compliance/Title IX in 2018.

In her suit, Woolfolk alleges she was the only Black employee in the office, paid less than less-experienced peers, and tasked with heavier workloads. She claims she was denied promotions, remote work opportunities, and was subjected to racial remarks, including comments categorizing “Blacks as either ‘black-black’ or ‘white-black.’”

Claims of Mishandled Sexual Assault Cases

Woolfolk’s responsibilities included investigating sexual violence cases on campus. She alleges her supervisors, including former administrator Ashley Reich, improperly predetermined case outcomes and shared confidential case details in ways that risked prejudicing proceedings.

According to her lawsuit, Woolfolk told the U.S. Department of Education in 2022 that Liberty engaged in “systematic efforts to minimize and downplay sexual assault reports” and “predetermined case outcomes before investigations were completed.”

The Biden-era Education Department’s 2024 findings concluded that Liberty University created an environment where students feared reporting sexual violence. The school was fined $16 million and placed under federal monitoring through April 2026.

Read the full report here.

Liberty University Response

In June 2024, Woolfolk filed an internal complaint against Reich alleging discrimination and retaliation. Days later, she was fired, along with two other investigators, including Peter Brake, who had also filed complaints.

Liberty University, in a statement to USA TODAY, denied that Woolfolk’s firing was related to her race or cooperation with federal investigators, saying it was based on “legitimate business reasons” tied to Title IX investigations.

Woolfolk seeks legal fees and unspecified damages. Reich, now employed at the Education Department, is recused from matters involving Liberty University.

Liberty has acknowledged past compliance deficiencies under the Clery Act but maintains it was treated unfairly by the Biden administration.

Visit Liberty University’s official site for more information on its programs and mission.