A federal judge has denied a motion by Florida Atlantic University to dismiss a lawsuit alleging sexual discrimination and retaliation filed by the school’s former Dean of Students.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe for the Southern District of Florida issued the 12-page order following a referral from U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon. The ruling clears the lawsuit filed by Audrey L. Pusey against FAU’s Board of Trustees to move forward.
Pusey, who worked at FAU from 2017 until early 2025 in roles including Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Dean, and Dean of Students, alleges that the university violated the federal Civil Rights Act. Her complaint claims FAU subjected her to sexual discrimination, retaliated against her complaints, and permitted a hostile work environment.
According to court filings, Pusey alleges that her supervisor, Dr. Larry Faerman, excluded her from search committees, high-level meetings, and operational planning sessions, including renovations planned for her own office. The filing also states that the Office of the Dean of Students was left out of marketing materials and social media channels, and that Faerman passed a termination letter back and forth in front of her during an unrelated meeting.
The complaint states that Pusey submitted more than 19 informal complaints to university administrators during 2023 and 2024, along with written complaints to Deputy General Counsel Daniel Jones. She also initiated a inquiry with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 24, 2024.
Following these reports, Pusey alleges the university retaliated through lower performance evaluations, further exclusion from operational tasks, and physical intimidation, including door-slamming. Pusey states that the environment led to severe health issues, including anxiety, elevated blood pressure, and weight gain, which resulted in her resignation on Feb. 16, 2025. Her employment officially ended on Feb. 19, 2025.
In its filing, FAU sought to dismiss or limit the scope of the claims, arguing in part that certain alleged events fell outside the 300-day window required for federal employment claims and that the timeline lacked clear dates linking protected complaints to adverse actions.
Judge McCabe rejected FAU’s request to restrict the factual scope of the discrimination claims.
“In the Court’s view, the mere fact that a pleading contains facts outside the 300-day window does not mean the pleading should be dismissed, limited, or clarified,” McCabe wrote in the order. “A plaintiff may include such facts – at both the pleading stage and at trial – as part of the background evidence to support a timely claim of discrimination.”
Regarding the retaliation claim, McCabe ruled that the detailed timeline was sufficient for this stage of litigation.
“A complaint need only ‘provide enough factual matter to plausibly suggest intentional discrimination or retaliation,’” the order states. “The Court agrees that, as a matter of logic, a plaintiff cannot show but-for causation unless the adverse action chronologically follows the protected activity. In this case, however, Plaintiff alleges multiple acts of protected activity and multiple adverse employment actions.”
McCabe added that “a complaint need not connect the dots between every protected activity and every adverse employment action.”
The judge also allowed the hostile work environment claim to proceed, though he noted the legal hurdle Pusey faces as the case progresses, pointing to previous court rulings that dismissed similar claims involving “far more egregious” conduct.
“Nevertheless, the Court finds the allegations of Count 3 minimally sufficient to survive dismissal,” McCabe wrote. “Defendant remains free to revisit Count 3 at summary judgment with the benefit of a full factual record. In the meantime, the motion should be denied.”
Under the judge’s order, both parties have 14 days from the service date to file written objections with Judge Cannon. Parties not planning to object must file a formal notice within five days.
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