Q: Hello. I am a teacher at a charter school. I think I am suffering hostile work harassment. Please advise me
A new female assistant principal started to work at my charter school. She suddenly and abruptly comes to my class, or will raise her voice at .e in front of my class. Last week she observed my class in order to grade me. This in turn, is used to see if my employment contract gets renewed the following school year. She gave me 0's and 1's. She then told me that my employment is conditional based on an improvement plan this week which she never did. I emailed her on Wednesday to see when I'll receive it. Just tonight I received a calendar invite to meet with her and the principal. No explanation as to what the meeting is about. Please help me? What should I do? I don't want to lose my job just like that. I am an art teacher and my kids love me.
A: I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Arizona and Federal employment discrimination laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of certain protected classes, such as age, sex, race, and national origin. If an employer discriminates against you because of your membership in one of these protected classes (i.e., because of your race or sex, etc.) that is unlawful. However, if your employer doesn't like you for a personal reason unrelated to any protected status and gives you a low performance score, that is not necessarily unlawful. If you have an employment contract, that provides you with some protection as well because the employer must abide by the terms of the employment contract. If you are undergoing a disciplinary process, an employment attorney can counsel you and determine if there is any discriminatory motive and can advise you on how to proceed with the employer's investigation.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
