In another state, a former teacher filed several legal claims against the school at which he once worked after he was fired from his job. The claims submitted to court included wrongful termination, retaliation and disability discrimination. For teachers in Colorado who have found themselves in situations similar to this gentleman’s, this story makes an interesting read.
In 2014, the plaintiff had just renewed his teaching contract, extending his time at the school for another three years. Months after signing his contract, he went on medical leave. While away from work, he was allegedly asked to resign. When he refused, he says that the school fired him — which he did not find out about until he called months later to get his schedule for the coming school year.
The plaintiff believed that he was fired due to his frequent requests for school administrators to make a policy change that would make his classroom safer for him and his students. These requests were always denied, and the former teacher even claims that he was made fun of for asking for the policy change. As a result of his firing and the harassment, the plaintiff filed his legal claims in 2015, seeking $600,000 in damages. Over two years later, and just before the case was set to go to trial, a settlement was reached.
Teachers, by no means, have easy jobs. When there are concerns in the classroom, particularly about safety, teachers would like to know that their school administrators are going to stand by them, not that their requests will go ignored and that they will get fired for voicing their concerns. Teachers in Colorado who feel that they are the victims of wrongful termination may seek compensation for their losses by doing with this man did and filing legal claims against their former employers in court, if doing so is deemed appropriate.
Source: pamplinmedia.com, “Pamplin Media Group“, Courtney Vaughn, Sept. 15, 2017
