Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

Unfair Termination

My wife is a third year employee of a public school system. She was denied continuing contract with her school district this year on the recommendation of a probational first-year principal who had only known my wife for 5 months. For 2 prior years, and for the first 5 months spent under this principal, no derogatory information had ever been posted to her employee file. However, one incident of parental complaint led to a knee-jerk response of the principal, to recommend that she not be offered tenure. My wife was provided a copy of the official letter of non-renewal recommendation written by the principal. It was full of half truths and complete fabrications, including supposed meetings where my wife was warned that her job was in perril. One such meeting was supposed to have taken place on Nov 11, 2006 which was a Saturday and therefore impossible. The school district gave us no opportunity for rebuttal or appeal and in a closed door meeting made their final decision. Virginia is a so-called ''Right to work'' state. In such cases, do we have any recourse?


Asked on 6/12/07, 11:14 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Unfair Termination

I would think not unless you could show that your wife fits into one or more of the protected categories involved in federal antidiscrimination law and was specifically targeted for dismissal/non-renewal of her contract

on the basis of her race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, etc.(Not too likely, I would think.)

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Answered on 6/12/07, 11:39 am


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