Considerable attention is often given to student liability issues, but it is equally crucial to acknowledge the legal responsibilities of schools and educational institutions regarding employee rights. This is particularly pertinent for employees of public K-12 schools and universities, though employees of private and other academic institutions may have contractual rights.
School Liability Expert Group’s team comprises court-qualified teacher termination experts who handle expert consultations, testimonies, and reports for plaintiff and defendant attorneys. We also support schools in upholding employee rights. For school employees, if you didn’t know and are wondering, “Do employees have rights?” and “What are my rights as an employee?” we are here to enlighten and empower you to advocate for your legal rights to a safe and healthy work environment. Our school employee screening, hiring, and termination experts have unparalleled expertise in teacher employment rights, wrongful termination of school employees, negligent teacher retention, and other violation of employee rights cases.
What Rights Do Employees Have?
Teacher termination experts are well-versed with all general employee rights rooted in state and federal laws. The following statutes are just but a few meant to protect employees in public entities including public schools and universities:
- The right to be free from discrimination and harassment based on protected characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.
- Entitlement to fair wages and job-protected family and medical leave.
- Right to safe and healthy working conditions and compensation for work-related accidents.
- The right to due process in disciplinary actions, including notice of charges, a hearing, and an opportunity to present evidence and witnesses in their defense.
- Free speech and expression protections
A teacher termination expert can help schools uphold all relevant laws to avoid costly violations of employee rights cases. Other public or private employees’ rights may include protection from retaliation for exercising their legal rights or reporting violations of laws and policies and the right to representation by a union or legal counsel in employment-related matters, including disciplinary proceedings and negotiations with the employer.
School employee screening, hiring, and termination experts also understand that employees with employment contracts or those working in private entities may have additional rights and protections outlined in their contracts, such as terms of employment, job responsibilities, salary, benefits, and procedures for termination. Our teacher termination experts will work with you in cases involving wrongful termination of school employees, negligent teacher retention, or other teacher employment rights violations. We review the education institution’s policies, procedures, and practices to determine whether any legal or professional standards were violated.
What Rights Do Teachers Have?
The rights of teachers can vary depending on factors such as their employment status (e.g., full-time, part-time, tenured, contractual), the type of institution (public, private), and applicable laws and regulations specific to their state. Public school teachers are entitled to most state and federal rights by virtue of public employment. Teacher termination experts also clearly understand other legal protections specific to teachers including tenure rights, academic freedom, teacher contracts, teacher certification, privacy rights, and more.
Tenure laws defined by most states can help prevent wrongful termination of school employees, particularly public school teachers while protecting them from salary deductions, demotion, and other potential violation of employee rights cases. Tenure laws typically include a probationary employment period and afterward, an automatic or board-granted tenure that renews annually. Tenures also typically require teacher dismissals to be procedural and substantive in line with constitutional due process rights provisions. A teacher termination expert can be consulted on such matters.
State tenure laws do not protect private school teachers but they can still enjoy other general civil rights like non-discrimination and more. They are also entitled to other rights stipulated in their contract documents. Ignorance about such teacher employment rights by employees or schools can attract wrongful termination of school employees, negligent teacher retention, and costly violation of employee rights cases. Luckily, school employee screening, hiring, and termination experts can help shed light on such matters and resolve any arising issues.
Some Limitations in Teacher and School Employee Rights
The challenge with education laws is that certain rights guaranteed to school employees are more precisely specified than others. As a teacher termination expert will emphasize, teachers have certain responsibilities to uphold when it comes to student rights and school policies.
The Right to Free Speech and Academic Freedom
Less sharply defined school employee rights are the teachers’ freedom of expression, specifically the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. It is vital to understand that many school employee rights intersect with student rights. In the context of academic freedom in the classroom, a teacher’s right to free speech is curtailed by a student’s right to an undisrupted education. In exercising this right, teachers should tread carefully as some of their actions will not be protected by the constitutional provisions.
A teacher termination expert is well-versed in student rights, enough to determine wrongdoing in scenarios where student and teacher employment rights overlap. This includes scenarios where negligent teacher retention resulted in student harm or wrongful termination of school employees due to retaliation for reporting school policy and legal law violations. Teachers are expected to adapt their academic freedom to ensure all students, including those with disabilities, are equally set up for success in their classroom. Just as teachers are protected from discrimination, school employees must not discriminate against or otherwise harm students while exercising their freedom of expression. Essentially, within the confines of their responsibilities and duty to students, teachers can choose how they express themselves in the classroom.
The need for teacher termination expert consulting services to review the violation of employee rights cases usually stems from the gray areas, such as what exactly qualifies as “disruptive.” To understand what qualifies as wrongful termination of school employees, it is important to note the limitations of academic freedom. Examples of speech and expression rights that schools can restrict include but are not limited to statements resulting from personal or political agendas and commentary or social media posts that are found to be disruptive of the educational process.
A 1968 Supreme Court case, Pickering v. Board of Education clarified that a public employee’s right to free speech is protected as long as the employee did not knowingly or recklessly share false statements. However, in the case of Damiano v. Grants Pass Sch. Dist., a district court ruled that the school’s imperative to safeguard the safety and welfare of its students took precedence over the plaintiffs’ right to express opinions on issues of public concern, such as the district’s policies on gender identity.
Our court-qualified teacher termination experts have a solid understanding of changes and nuances arising from such violation of employee rights cases every day. As part of our school employee screening, hiring, and termination expert services, we will work with you to assess the applicable laws and the institution’s employment policies, practices, and facts of your case to determine any teacher employment rights violations.
The Right to Non-Discrimination
Freedom from discrimination is protected and defined by the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. However, discrimination allegations are serious. They may be difficult to prove and a school or its district will fight hard against any accusations by school employees.
For this reason, a teacher termination expert is valuable in cases of wrongful termination of school employees due to discrimination. Even in negligent teacher retention that shows a discriminatory bias, schools may be liable for negligence if proper evidence is provided. It is vital to document any potential instances of discrimination and other rights violations, as schools are highly likely to deny any wrongdoing when matters escalate to litigation.
School Employee Screening, Hiring, and Termination Expert Witness Services
Are you a school employee seeking a teacher termination expert’s consultation services or representation in matters involving discrimination, unjust dismissal, or other teacher employment rights violations? Or perhaps you are a plaintiff or defendant attorney seeking expert consultation, case reports, and deposition or trial testimonies regarding negligent teacher retention, wrongful termination of school employees, or other violation of school employee rights cases? Maybe you are a school seeking expert consultation, employee training, or recommendations to improve your program quality to maintain compliance with employee rights provisions and avoid costly lawsuits.
School Liability Expert Group is ready to assist with your case. Our team comprises highly trained experts with diversified experience in school administration and supervision and school liability issues. We have worked with hundreds of law firms throughout the entire United States and Canada. As such, our expertise in this unique industry is unparalleled. Book a call today to discuss your matter with one of our teacher termination experts.