Philosophy professor disciplined for refusing student's preferred pronouns
Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio, was formally warned in 2018 after declining on religious grounds to address a transgender student with the student's preferred title. The Sixth Circuit ruled in 2021 that he could pursue First Amendment claims; the university settled for $400,000.
In January 2018, Shawnee State University philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether addressed a transgender student as 'sir' in class. After the student requested female honorifics, Meriwether offered to use the student's first or last name only. The university issued a written warning under its nondiscrimination policy. Represented by ADF, he sued. The Sixth Circuit reversed dismissal in Meriwether v. Hartop, 992 F.3d 492 (6th Cir. 2021), holding the discipline implicated his free-speech and free-exercise rights. Shawnee State settled in April 2022 for $400,000 and rescinded the warning.