Most of the time, when we hear stories about teachers getting fired, they involve shocking events and some unsavory business. However, there are cases when they get fired for doing the right thing, or rather, being a good coworker. Recently, a school in Illinois got rid of a teacher because they reported an incident to the HR department. Yet, some coworkers thought they were being “untrustworthy,” which led to the teacher’s untimely departure from the school.
The user Admirable-Society919, with their not-at-all ironic username for this case, turned to r/legaladvice for guidance. The conflict started because, according to OP, a school employee verbally assaulted another teacher. Every thing went down in front of a group of kindergarteners. OP did not plan to do anything, but the assaulted teacher went to talk to the head of school first. The boss was not present, so the teacher “called and texted” and waited for some sort of response. However, since no one replied, the victim approached HR to discuss the incident. Unfortunately, teh teacher mentioned that OP had witnessed the entire event. So, OP felt compelled to give their side of the story and avoid the “he said/she said.” In the end, they went to talk with HR.
Sadly, things didn’t play out the way they wanted. The problem stems from the fact that the inappropriate employee is closely connected to the headmaster of this Illinois school; consequently, she fired OP for discussing the incident with HR. The boss allegedly took this action against OP because “she could no longer trust me”. That is why Admirable-Society919 wanted to know if there was something they could do. Fortunately, many users responded in their favor:
That sounds like it may be a violation of Title IX. You may be considered a mandatory reporter, and as such, getting fired for reporting a Title IX infraction is expressly illegal. Contact an employment lawyer.
georgecm12
Most of the other comments alluded to the fact that OP, because of their position at the school, is obligated to report incidents like that to HR, and that it is the clear choice to make. So the fact that the boss would fire OP for something like that is entirely in violation of several laws and unprofessional, especially if it is to protect the other employee. So, everyone agrees that OP has a legal case and needs a lawyer urgently. Others even said that it is necessary to call the police, not because of the firing, but because the other employee verbally assaulted the other teacher.
