A: It depends. There is always a chance that a departing employee can file a lawsuit or discrimination claim against the school. The question becomes, “On what basis can the school protect itself?” Ideally, the strongest protection is a well-documented corrective action (warning) process. Where that hasn’t occurred, the school has several factors to consider:
- It is never a good idea to engage in a sham process—i.e., if you’ve already decided to not renew the teacher’s contract, there is no point in putting him through a corrective action process that would give the false hope that he might be able to improve his performance enough to avoid non-renewal.
- It is important to ensure that all employment decisions are job related—i.e., that the decision is based on their demonstrated performance on the job. If there is not a well-articulated reason for not renewing the employee (i.e., “he demonstrated non-mission appropriate behavior by repeatedly doing or saying such and such”), the school would be at risk for potential discrimination claims.
- All sensitive non-renewal or termination decisions should be reviewed with your employment attorney. By knowing your culture and values—as well as the case law and statutes in your state, of course your attorney can advise you as to whether or not the non-renewal carries with it undue risk.
Once a month, ISM’s Human Resources Consultant, Michael Brisciana, will answer an HR-related question submitted by one of our readers. To ask Michael a question to be in addressed in future e-letters, please click here.
