advise on non family matters

[argus]

dear socrateaser,
you helped me win a support issue in the past. i live in PA.
!) can you advise on an employment issue, family law excluded ?

[socrateaser]

>dear socrateaser,
>you helped me win a support issue in the past. i live in PA.
>!) can you advise on an employment issue, family law excluded

I can try.

[argus]

I worked for a PA school district for 28 yrs ... for the last few years, ive been penalized for outrageous trumped charges, escalating to my recent termination.  our union atty is grieving a variety of supervisory violations which could take months (without any income).

I was recently notified by mail that my medical insurance was termintated retroactively, although i had medical treatments during the interim (date of termination until the day I received letter). the following day i received my 'official' termination letter. there was a subsequent letter regarding cobra eligibility which i dont think we could have afforded even when i was working.

1) can medical insurance be terminated retroactively without advance notice ?

2) legally, can a supervisor in a school district repeatedly behave abusively toward select employees using obscene language, pointing baseball bats toward them while ranting, & violently screaming to the point of spitting in their faces in view of witnesses ?

3) the above action caused sufficient anxiety to produce what witnesses thought was a heart attack to the subordinate employee & called for an ambulance. employee was treated & medicated at the hospital for anxiety & off for sick time. medical claim was denied as being 'non-work related' - is this work related ?

4) if a subordinate employee can be penalized for alleged discourteous & disrespectful behavior, is their supervisor obligated to be penalized per these same regulations ?

5) can a school district hire a convicted felon ? if there is a law regarding this, can you direct me ?

thank you

[socrateaser]

>1) can medical insurance be terminated retroactively without
>advance notice ?

Seems like a very narrow corner case. I suspect that a judge would likely view this as punitive on the district's part, but as a practical matter, your insurance is terminated, and now you'll have to fight to be reimbursed.

>
>2) legally, can a supervisor in a school district repeatedly
>behave abusively toward select employees using obscene
>language, pointing baseball bats toward them while ranting, &
>violently screaming to the point of spitting in their faces in
>view of witnesses ?

First, it's not about what happens, but about what you can prove in court with objective disinterested third party witnesses. So, assuming that someone else witnessed the alleged behavior and that person is prepared to testify on your behalf, and that person is a credible witness, then:

1. If the behavior created a "hostile sexual environment," because it was aimed at degrading or abusing you due to your gender, then that would be grounds for a disparate impact action, under federal employment law.

2. If the behavior created conditions under which no reasonable person would continue to work, and you quit, then that would be a constructive wrongful termination, for which you could obtain compensation for wages and benefits lost. However, you didn't quit, so this is a dead end.

3. If the person created an "imminent apprehension of physical harm," then that would be grounds for a civil assault action, but would probably not yield and significant damage award.

4. If the person made false and defamatory statements to others about you to management, or to you while management or other third parties were present, then that would be a defamation action, for which you could gain significant damages, and for which the district could be held vicariously liable as the employer of the supervisor. However, this action would be limited unless the supervisor's actions were known to district management and they did nothing to stop it from continuing.

>
>3) the above action caused sufficient anxiety to produce what
>witnesses thought was a heart attack to the subordinate
>employee & called for an ambulance. employee was treated &
>medicated at the hospital for anxiety & off for sick time.
>medical claim was denied as being 'non-work related' - is this
>work related ?

If you are stating that the supervisor's behavior was so extremely outrageous that you actually suffered extreme mental distress and manifested physical symptoms such that you required medical care, that would be a prima facie case of Intentional/Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, for which you could obtain substantial damages from the supervisor, once again, limited by whether the district was aware of the behavior and did nothing to prevent it from continuing.

>4) if a subordinate employee can be penalized for alleged
>discourteous & disrespectful behavior, is their supervisor
>obligated to be penalized per these same regulations ?

Depends on whether or not the supervisor knows, and whether the subordinate is acting within the scope of employment or authority when the alleged behavior occurs. Also, discourtesy and disrespect do not rise to the level of an injury that a court is likely to allow. You need something extreme, like your statement about suffering heart attack symptoms, because the behavior is objectively outrageous to anyone in your community subjected to similar circumstances.

You must convince a jury that the defendant acted in a manner that a majority of random jurors in your locale would not find acceptable. If you do, and the school district attorney(s) agree that the jury is likely find in your favor, then they will probably settle and not go to trial to test their defense.

>
>5) can a school district hire a convicted felon ? if there is
>a law regarding this, can you direct me ?

Yes, the district can hire whomever it believes can do the job, that the person is hired to do. However, if you can show that the hiring was negligently done, and the result was that someone who objectively should never have been hired on the merits was hired and that person injured you in a manner that someone else without a similar record of criminal behavior would likely have acted, then you could have an action for negligence against the district.

[argus]

thanks for reply... i want to check some things out then get back to you. thanks again!

[argus]

I cannot find an employment attorney that thinks i have a case - even in larger cities - because they feel that it is a union matter & that i'm soley locked in to union discretion & procedures. If this is the case, the union  is not fighting for nearly the issues that i have posted to you previously. they are not contesting many of the issues at hand, partic the abusive behavior of the supervisor that management has been aware of.

1) am i locked into union procedures for fighting these issues ?

2) where else do i turn ?

2) if there is a time limit on contesting issues mentioned previously ? if so, can you direct me ?

thank you

[socrateaser]

>I cannot find an employment attorney that thinks i have a
>case - even in larger cities - because they feel that it is a
>union matter & that i'm soley locked in to union discretion &
>procedures. If this is the case, the union  is not fighting
>for nearly the issues that i have posted to you previously.
>they are not contesting many of the issues at hand, partic the
>abusive behavior of the supervisor that management has been
>aware of.
>
>1) am i locked into union procedures for fighting these issues
>?

I don't know -- I'd need to read the contract between you and the union and between the union and the school. It seems to me that if you present issues to the union attorney that the attorney refuses to advance, and you believe that those issues are valid, then you can sue the union to enforce your rights under the contract.

So, if you have employment attorneys who are saying that you're stuck with the union process, and you don't like that process, then you need to have your own attorney analyze that process and try to join it on your behalf.

>2) where else do i turn ?

See above. You may want to try talking to the media in your area. Sometimes a news report of someone getting screwed by government/union goes a long way to breaking a logjam.

Also, you may have a complaint route available with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This is an area of law re which I am completely unfamiliar, so I really don't know if you have a complaint or not. But, you could contact the NLRB and ask.
>
>2) if there is a time limit on contesting issues mentioned
>previously ? if so, can you direct me ?

There probably is a statute of limitations for many of the issues, however the complexity of your case would make an analysis by me impossible unless I had all of the relevant documents and case files at my disposal.

[argus]

I don't know -- I'd need to read the contract between you and the union and between the union and the school. It seems to me that if you present issues to the union attorney that the attorney refuses to advance, and you believe that those issues are valid, then you can sue the union to enforce your rights under the contract.

1) would you be interested in reviewing the contract if i got it to you ?

[socrateaser]

>I don't know -- I'd need to read the contract between you and
>the union and between the union and the school. It seems to me
>that if you present issues to the union attorney that the
>attorney refuses to advance, and you believe that those issues
>are valid, then you can sue the union to enforce your rights
>under the contract.
>
>1) would you be interested in reviewing the contract if i got
>it to you ?

It depends on how long and involved the contracts are (union-school, union-you). I suspect that the contract between you and the union is described in (a) policy manual(s), rather than in some single express agreement, and thus it could be very lengthy. And, the agreement with the school is probably pretty lengthy too.

A little more than I'd be willing to tackle for free.

[argus]

A little more than I'd be willing to tackle for free.

1) if interested, please let me know then how much.
thanks

[argus]

>>So, if you have employment attorneys who are saying that you're stuck with the union process...>>

i do not have an employment attorney.. have yet to find anyone interested that will look beyond the scope of union jurisdiction.

1) if you can direct me to some sources where i can check, would you please?

thanks

[socrateaser]

>>>So, if you have employment attorneys who are saying that
>you're stuck with the union process...>>
>
>i do not have an employment attorney.. have yet to find anyone
>interested that will look beyond the scope of union
>jurisdiction.
>
>1) if you can direct me to some sources where i can check,
>would you please?

This concerns me. Most employment attorneys work for employers. The ones who don't usually look for cases where there's a big score available, especially a class action. Evidently, those who you've contacted don't think that the union has any liability to you. This may be true, and I'm not competent on labor law such that I could argue differently without doing substantial research.

I suggest, for a start, that you contact:

http://www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/shared_files/brochures/engulp.asp

and then let me know how they respond.

[argus]

>I suggest, for a start, that you contact:
http://www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/shared_files/brochures/engulp.asp
and then let me know how they respond.>

thanks - i'm already on it & have forwarded questions. i will be in touch.

[argus]

ok, im now living in the twilight zone... i called the nlrb. they said they dont have as much authority, more or less, as the plrb (pa), so i called them (besides 20 other gov agencies that are a wash).

plrb atty (referred to as atty) says that i actually have additional labor violation issues that need to be grieved in a timely manner & that if the union cant get off their lame butts to advance my causes, i can file personally for at least one issue. however, although he is disgusted with what sounds like a not very aggressive union at the least, hes almost at a loss as to how i can proceed. he says that i have multiple labor law violations & to get a hold of another faction of the union out of town, which i will.  but it looks grim.

although also atty sees the merit in utililizing an employment atty & my need for one, he cannot advise me of who to use or where to look. hes baffled that i can find no one but that there must not be enough money in it for them (as you may have said). he also said that to proceed by myself is incredibly stressful if i file grievance personally.

also, a federal arbitrator will now hear my case - i just dont have a date yet. i cannot stress how important it is that i advance ALL the issues at hand at this hearing but i am concerned that the union atty is not filing for nearly the issues he should be.

the media is a wash - no return call as of yet & the district is very politically connected. media wont take on controversial issues of corruption in this small town, unless its old news.

the state reps office has given me her deepest sympathies (along w/the federal reps office) & sent me valuable info on convicted felons but it would take an atty to interpret this to me. shes is amazed also at the level of corruption & the lack of recourse i have.

my unemployment has been appealed by the employer for the second time; we have no medical benefits; i have been denied for private med insurance because of the incident of my ER treatment after the verbal attack by my supervisor & i was put on antianxiety meds. thats now considered a pre-existing condition which precludes me from insurance. ironically, my workers comp has denied this claim as non work related. cobra is unaffordable at 1200/month. we make too much for welfare & too little for state med assistance.


1) what can you advise ?

2) the plrb atty agreed that there is a prima facsie issue here, but if i cant find an atty to rep me, what do i do ?

3) you said this was too much to tackle for free, are you permitted to charge me ?

thank you

[argus]

>> then that would be grounds for a disparate impact action, under federal employment law. <<

forgot to mention, i am a white middle aged male.... not much of a protected class.  

management is also aware of the supervisory abusive behavior. you mentioned taking civil action ... at least to do it successfully i presume,

1) civil action would require an attorney, right ?

thanks

[socrateaser]

>1) what can you advise ?

>2) the plrb atty agreed that there is a prima facsie issue
>here, but if i cant find an atty to rep me, what do i do ?

Have you tried the ACLU. This is a long shot, but if the plrb thinks you have a case, then maybe the ACLU will find a civil rights violation. Needless to say, they are not a likely candidate to complain about a union, but ya never know.

I would also think that you may be able to interest national media, i.e., Nightline, 60 Minutes, John Stossel, etc.

>3) you said this was too much to tackle for free, are you
>permitted to charge me ?

My hotel room service bill will exceed your annual salary. You need to find someone in your area. It's really hard to find employment attorneys, because most of them are retained by employers, and as a result they are unable to represent employees in litigation.

The only other thing I can think of is to seek out attorneys in the largest city in your county, followed by the largest city in your next neighboring county, on the theory that (1) you may find someone who doesn't usually practice in your county, but who is close enough in drive time to be willing to do it, or (2) that you may have a case for a federal court action based on a federal employment laws and that the case will be heard in the federal district court with jurisdiction over your area of the State. If #2, then you should find out where your federal courthouse is located and try to find an attorney who's located proximate to that courthouse.

There are all sorts of issues here, because there are many circumstances where a person cannot sue a State in Federal Court, and almost never for damages. And, in order to interest most attorneys, you either need to be able to pay fees from your pocket, or there must good damages to recover, so this could be partially why you're running into a road block.

Honestly, this is an area of law where I am not very knowledgable at all, and in order to figure out what exactly is happening, I'd probably have to retain an employment lawyer to give me some more education on the subject.

One thing you could try is to buy a one month subscription to versuslaw.com. then go into the database and check your State and Federal appellate court jurisdictions, and then use a keyword search like:

(union and employer and school)

Then, when you get some cases, select the most recent, and look at the names of the attorneys who appear as representing the employee. Then, call the State Bar or look in the phone book and call those attorneys.

They will probably be the most qualified attorneys in your locale.

[socrateaser]

>>> then that would be grounds for a disparate impact action,
>under federal employment law. <<
>
>forgot to mention, i am a white middle aged male.... not much
>of a protected class.  
>
>management is also aware of the supervisory abusive behavior.
>you mentioned taking civil action ... at least to do it
>successfully i presume,
>
>1) civil action would require an attorney, right ?

Yes, but not an employment attorney. You are looking for a Civil Tort attorney. And, there may be one who will take your case on a contingency, because your opponent has deep pockets based upon the theory of vicarious liability, under which the School district may be liable for the torts of its employees, if they are done within the scope of employment or with the employer's knowledge and acquiesence.

[argus]

>> My hotel room service bill will exceed your annual salary....<<

                     time for another zoloft.

thanks for all your time & help. ill pursue your suggestions. appreciate it!