James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled against a cancer researcher who alleged sexual harassment by the director of the Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University.
Though Judge Karen Marston had allowed Alana O’Reilly’s lawsuit to proceed earlier this year, on Oct. 2 she granted Fox Chase’s motion for summary judgment – and began her ruling with a bit of regret.
“This case presents a long, complicated history of troubling conduct from an influential male figure and responses to that conduct that are far from exemplary,” Marston wrote.
“But when it comes to employment discrimination and retaliation, the scope of the law is limited, and this is one such case where, unfortunately, those limits are particularly apparent.”
O'Reilly started at Fox Chase in 2007 and in 2014 said she began suffering sexual harassment from her then-supervisor, Dr. Jonathan Chernoff. It came in the form of "numerous personal messages about his feelings for her and other women," O'Reilly says.
He allegedly sent her a poem originally intended for a former mistress, then advanced to "more demanding" messages about how "special" she is. He also told her to meet him in person but she refused, prompting him to visit her laboratory, the lawsuit says.
She reported the conduct to another supervisor, and the result was Chernoff being told she would only communicate with him about work-related issues, the suit says. The personal messages persisted, she claims.
In late 2014, after a message on Christmas morning, she reported Chernoff to Temple's Title IX officer. Rather than Chernoff being fired, as initially promised by the university, O'Reilly was reassigned so she would no longer report to Chernoff.
Six years went by with no further harassment, as Dr. Jeffrey Peterson protected O'Reilly from Chernoff, the suit claims. In 2021, Chernoff was named director of Fox Chase.
In 2023, Peterson passed away. O'Reilly paid tribute during her annual research presentation at a seminar, at which Chernoff was present. It is alleged Chernoff took pictures of O'Reilly during her speech then emailed her five days later, asking for her help on a grant application.
Other colleagues said Chernoff was scrolling through photos he took of O'Reilly while she spoke and was zooming in on them.
Meanwhile, O'Reilly had grant issues of her own. She needed to secure funding to support 50% of her salary, benefits and lab expenses and sought a letter of support for money from the National Institutes of Health.
Instead, Fox Chase refused and said there were other initiatives "that were of a higher priority." It was confirmed that Chernoff made or participated in that decision, leading to O'Reilly's retaliation claim.
She filed her PCHR complaint in August 2023, then sued. On the issue of being deprived grant opportunities being retaliation, Marston said O’Reilly’s salary was not affected.
“(D)espite Defendants’ denial of Dr. O’Reilly’s request for a letter of support for her ReWARD grant application, Dr. O’Reilly received a positive annual performance review in June 2023, including with respect to funding efforts,” Marston wrote.
“Under these circumstances, Defendants’ denial of Dr. O’Reilly’s initial request for an institutional letter of support, which precluded her from the opportunity to apply for the ReWARD grant during its June 2023 funding cycle, did not ‘substantially decrease [Dr. O’Reilly’s} earning potential.
“Thus the Court finds it does not rise to the level of a ‘tangible employment action’ to support a quid pro quo sexual harassment claim.”
