University demotes employee the same day she submits FMLA paperwork

At a June 6, 2022 meeting to discuss the role, Fields-Arnold asked why the salary was lower than what Dr. Thomas had initially mentioned in an earlier conversation. The mood shifted. Dr. Thomas questioned her husband’s salary, told her she was not his choice for the position, and said she talked too much like his wife. He repeated that last remark in a subsequent meeting weeks later when Fields-Arnold tried to push back on criticism of her social media work. 

Fields-Arnold spent less than two months in the Executive Director role. On August 2, 2022, she was handed a demotion letter during a meeting with CSU’s HR director and chief of staff. The letter cited her inability to fulfill the job’s responsibilities but gave no specific performance examples. 

That same day, Fields-Arnold had submitted updated FMLA paperwork after weeks of correspondence over incomplete documentation. Her leave request was eventually approved. So were all subsequent requests she filed after the demotion. 

She was replaced by a white woman. Fields-Arnold, who is African American, stayed on at CSU in her previous role until June 2024. 

Fields-Arnold sued in April 2023, claiming race, sex, and age discrimination, hostile work environment, and FMLA retaliation. CSU won summary judgment at the trial court level, and Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed that decision on March 12, 2026.