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OREM — Utah Valley University has agreed to pay its former Title IX director $45,000 as part of an agreement settling her wrongful termination lawsuit.
The settlement dated Oct. 4 bars Melissa Frost from applying for another job at the school and stipulates that the university will absorb costs in any litigation that arises from her time at the university, shows a copy of the document obtained in a public records request.
Frost headed UVU's first Title IX office from 2014 to 2017, investigating reports of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination made by students and employees.
She sued the university in May in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City, alleging she was fired after telling the school's attorney she was about to investigate allegations by three women against white men in upper management.
The agreement prevents either party from speaking with the news media beyond a mutal statement they gave Tuesday, when each side denied any wrongdoing.
The settlement includes a job reference letter explaining that Frost helped develop policies for the university's first Title IX office and that a survey revealed that 95 percent of employees knew what to do if they received a report of sexual harassment or assault.
Frost argued that administrators were slow to refer students the Title IX office. She sought reinstatement at UVU, payment for lost wages and other damages.
Attorneys for the school countered that when Frost was terminated, administrators didn't know she was gathering information about potential Title IX violations and that it later hired an outside investigator who found Frost's claim of retaliation was unsubstantiated.
