A former Iowa State University (ISU) graduate research assistant is suing the university and the Board of Regents for alleged disability discrimination and retaliation.
According to reporting by The Gazette and The Ames Tribune, the lawsuit was filed against Iowa State and the Board of Regents on July 27 in Story County District Court by Hayley Masching, who began working in ISU’s Department of Chemistry in 2020.
Masching claims she was in good academic standing before disclosing her disabilities and requesting accommodations. She was a head quantum mechanics teaching assistant for multiple semesters and had received a teaching excellence award in 2022.
According to the lawsuit, Masching has “multiple documented disabilities, including anxiety, depression, PTSD-like symptoms, and chronic spinal injury with bilateral sciatica,” which were disclosed to the university.
The lawsuit alleges that after Masching requested accommodations, she was retaliated against by being reassigned to manual labor cleaning abandoned laboratories where she encountered “severe chemical hazards,” despite her safety concerns.
The suit reads that “despite medical documentation showing manual labor aggravated her spinal injury,” Iowa State denied her repeated requests for clerical duties and accommodations.
While on approved medical leave for her disabilities, ISU allegedly terminated her health insurance with “ambiguous notice,” resulting in Masching racking up thousands of dollars in medical debt.
Her insurance was reportedly reinstated after Masching notified University Counsel of potential legal claims.
Additionally, Masching alleges she was subjected to harassment from her adviser, chemistry professor Emily A. Smith, who pressured her to leave her academic program and demeaned her.
The university allegedly refused to assign her a temporary adviser in August 2025 and terminated her stipend and pay in wake of her medical leave of absence for fall 2025.
Masching claims she’s suffered loss of wages and benefits; physical injury aggravation; emotional distress, anxiety, humiliation and trauma; loss of academic standing and career opportunities and damage to professional reputation.
Masching is seeking damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, medical expenses and other losses.
The university has declined to comment on the pending litigation.