Court decisions from across the country have implications right here in Ohio. Here is a selection of recent cases, and why they matter.
Can you avoid granting a nonteaching employee a continuing contract if you re-employ him under a one-year limited contract pursuant to a settlement agreement after the employee has been nonrenewed? The answer is “no” according to a 2-1 decision by the Eleventh District Court of Appeals in the case of Brannon v. Lakeview Local School […]
In the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Assn., 578 U. S. ____ (2016) an equally divided United States Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of a federal appeals court upholding agency fees for nonunion members. At issue in Friedrichs was the continued validity of “agent shop” agreements, which empower public employers to require that employees […]
In the case of Brooks v. Skinner, S.D.Ohio 1:14-cv-412, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140546, three biracial students sued the school board and its employees for racial discrimination and harassment. The students alleged that they were subjected to racial epithets on a daily basis and that the school personnel were indifferent to that harassment. A federal […]
In the case of Bellourdo v. Jefferson Township Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2016-Ohio-1265, a teacher appealed her termination for academic fraud. In making the termination decision, the school board rejected the referee’s recommendation to reinstate the teacher. The court agreed with the board’s decision to terminate the teacher, finding that the referee ignored […]
In the case of Salemi v. Cleveland Metroparks, 145 Ohio St.3d 408, 2016-Ohio-1192 the Ohio Supreme Court found that the Metroparks’ customer list constitutes a trade secret and, as such, is exempt from disclosure under the Ohio Public Records Act. Salemi, a competitor of the Metroparks’ golf courses, sent a series of public records requests […]
In the case of a potential landmark decision, a federal district court in Connecticut ruled that “employment discrimination on the basis of transgender identity is employment discrimination ‘because of sex’ and constitutes a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.” In Fabian v. Hosp. of Cent. Conn., No. 3:12-cv-1154 (D.Conn. March 18, 2016), […]
In the case of Brown v. Cincinnati Public Schools, 2016 Ohio App. LEXIS 64, a former teacher sued her school board for breach of contract after the board failed to pay her $60,000 for accrued sick leave under the collective bargaining agreement. The appeals court held that, since the claims “arise from and are dependent […]
Over the past decade, McGown & Markling has been surprised by the number of school districts of residence that refuse or fail to provide special education and related services to their students in community corrections facilities and juvenile detention centers as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (“IDEA”) and accompanying federal and […]