Adjunct Law Prof Blog

School Law Jobs

School Law Jobs
Job Title	Employer	Job Location
Legislative Counsel	Americans United for Separation of Church and State	Washington, D.C.
Associate	Scheuer, Yost & Patterson	Santa Fe, New Mexico
General Counsel	Victory Education Partners	New York, New York
Senior Staff Attorney	National School Boards Association	Alexandria, VA

 

Federal district court upholds school officials’ Cinco de Mayo Day ban on students’ American flag T-shirts

Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified Sch. Dist., ___F.Supp.2d____ (N.D. Cal. Nov/ 8, 2011), is an interesting case. A lower court has granted an assistant high school principal’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the free speech, equal protection and due process claims of students whom he prohibited from wearing T-shirts displaying the American flag on Cinco de Mayo Day. The claims against the principal were stayed because he had filed for bankruptcy. The court also dismissed all the claims against the school district on the ground that it was entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity from the suit.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

PACER Training

PACER maintains a free site where you can test out the system with old cases. It is available here. Anyone looking to brush up may want to check it out.

Hat Tip: Legal Skills Prof Blog

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Finally Law School Finally Gets Hit With A Failure To Hire Law Professor Suit

Suit by Conservative Sees Bias in Law School Hiring is an important Jan. 9, 2012 article from the New York Times. It about an 8th Circuit ruling in favor of a law professor who was not hired because her political views. No doubt this was a 1983 action under the First Amendment which would not apply to private universities. 

Perhaps this decision will be a wake up call to law schools that they are employers just like everyone else. There ivy league tower's windows can be broken; particularly when law schools practice discrimination. I expect a wave of similar suits, most probably for age discrimination where law schools shun practical experience for no rational reason.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

 

Novel About Adjunct Abuse

Psychology Today, of all places, published a review of Fight for Your Long Day, which won the 2011 Independent Publisher's Gold Medal for Best Fiction from the Mid-Atlantic Region by Alex Kudera, available here. It is a $14.34 paperback day-in-the-life satire that follows the eventful misadventures of a college adjunct instructor who teaches at four urban universities. 

Though I recognize that this is satire and it is a novel, it appears to highlight how badly adjuncts are treated by universities. It is no secret that we are grossly underpaid, have no benefits and many work at more than one institution. It is also no secret that most law schools would not be able to operate without us because we are the only ones that have any useful experience.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip: Professor Rick Bales Workplace Prof Blog

CUNY Law School Sub-Par Bar Passage Rates (again)

Unfortunately, the New York Post is reporting that CUNY Law School Bar Passage rate has dipped to 67%. To improve this, CUNY has reported instituted mandatory bar prep classes. I wonder if the students receive academic credit for those classes. In my day, we had to pay for the class which were given by private companies. If students get academic credit for those courses, then it takes away from other classes that they might otherwise take. Seems to me that bar classes offerred by law schools are therefore, a double edged sword.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

California Makes It Unlawful To Knowingly Misclassify Workers

California becomes the first state, to my knowledge, to make it unlawful to knowingly misclassify workers as independent contractors. California also makes it unlawful to advise an employer to misclassify a worker. Interestingly, that section of the statute has an exemption for attorneys.

Chapter 706, Senate Bill 459, to be codified at Calif. Labor Code Sec. 226.8 and 2753, available here. 

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

There Is No Privacy Expectation In Facebook or Social Media

Patterson v. Turner Construction Co., ____A.D.3d___(3rd Dept. Oct. 27, 2011), is a short, but interesting case. Indeed, expect more litigation like it. The court holds that an individuals Facebook account is like a diary and not shielded from discovery, if relevant. As the court explained:

The postings on plaintiff's online Facebook account, if relevant, are not shielded from discovery merely because plaintiff used the service's privacy settings to restrict access (Romano v Steelcase Inc., 30 Misc.3d 426, 433-434 [2010]), just as relevant matter from a personal diary is discoverable (see Faragiano v Town of Concord, 294 A.D.2d 893, 894 [2002]).

Hat Tip: Above The Law

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

School Law Jobs

School Law Jobs
Job Title	Employer	Job Location
Legislative Counsel	Americans United for Separation of Church and State	Washington, D.C.
Associate	Scheuer, Yost & Patterson	Santa Fe, New Mexico
General Counsel	Victory Education Partners	New York, New York
Senior Staff Attorney	National School Boards Association	Alexandria, VA

 

10th Circuit holds district’s decision not to renew contract did not violate employee’s due process or free speech rights

Cypert v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. I-050 of Osage Cnty, No. 10-5122 (10th Cir. Oct. 19, 2011), is an interesting case. The 10th Circuit held that an Oklahoma school board did not a violate a former high school secretary’s procedural due process rights by failing to conduct an impartial non-renewal hearing. The panel also concluded that the employee had failed to state a valid claim for First Amendment retaliation, or age or sex discrimination.The panel decided that the employee had failed to establish that her signing of a petition calling on the state grand jury to investigate school board members was a motivating factor in the non-renewal of her contract.

Employee fired while absent for pregnancy complications could proceed on discrimination, FMLA, and equal protection claims; contract and due process claims failed

A state employee who was fired while absent to deal with pregnancy complications established disputed issues of material fact on gender discrimination and FMLA claims. Been v New Mexico Dept of Info Tech, ___F.Supp. 2d___(D. NM., September 30, 2011). The fact that the employee established her claim for gender discrimination also sufficed to state a claim for equal protection violations. However, because the employee was on probationary status, she had no contract to support a contract claim or property interest to support due process claims, so those claims failed as a matter of law.

Breaking News. President Makes 3 Recess Appointments To NLRB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELASEJanuary 4, 2012
President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Posts
WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama announced today his intent to recess appoint four individuals to fill key administration posts that have been left vacant.

  *   Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  *   Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations Board  *   Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations Board  *   Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board
President Obama said, "The American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day - whether it is to enforce new consumer protections or uphold the rights of working Americans.  We can't wait to act to strengthen the economy and restore security for our middle class and those trying to get in it, and that's why I am proud to appoint these fine individuals to get to work for the American people."
The President announced his intent to recess appoint the following individuals:
Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection BureauRichard Cordray is Chief of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Immediately prior, Cordray served as Attorney General of Ohio from January 2009 to January 2011.  As Attorney General, Cordray recovered more than $2 billion for Ohio's retirees, investors and business owners and took major steps to help protect its consumers from fraudulent foreclosures and financial predators.  Prior to his tenure as Ohio's Attorney General, Cordray spent two years as Ohio's State Treasurer and four as the Treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio.  In 2008, he received a Financial Services Cham pion award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Government Service Award from NeighborWorks America.  In 2005, he was named "County Leader of the Year" by American City & County Magazine.  Earlier in his career, Cordray was an adjunct professor at the Ohio State University College of Law (1989-2002), served as a State Representative for the 33rd Ohio House District (1991-1993), was the first Solicitor General in Ohio's history (1993-1994), and was a sole practitioner and Of Counsel to Kirkland & Ellis (1995-2007).  Cordray has argued seven cases before the United States Supreme Court, including by special appointment of both the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments.  Cordray is a graduate of Michigan State University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago Law School.  He was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and later clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.

Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations BoardSharon Block is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor.  Between 2006 and 2009, Ms. Block was Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, where she worked for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Ms. Block previously served at the National Labor Relations Board as senior attorney to Chairman Robert Battista from 2003 to 2006 and as an attorney in the appellate court branch from 1996 to 2003.  From 1994 to 1996, she was Assistant General Counsel at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from 1991 to 1993, she was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson.  She received a B.A. in History from Columbia University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she received the John F. Kennedy Labor Law Award.

Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations BoardTerence F. Flynn is currently detailed to serve as Chief Counsel to NLRB Board Member Brian Hayes.  Mr. Flynn was previously Chief Counsel to former NLRB Board Member Peter Schaumber, where he oversaw a variety of legal and policy issues in cases arising under the National Labor Relations Act.  From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Flynn was Counsel in the Labor and Employment Group of Crowell & Moring, LLP, where he handled a wide range of labor and employment issues, including collective bargaining negotiations, litigation of unfair labor practices, defense of ERISA claims, and wage and hour disputes, among other matters.  From 1992 to 1995, he was a litigation associate at the law firm David, Hager, Kuney & Krupin, where he counseled clients on federal, state, and local employment and wage hour laws, NLRB arbitrations, and other labor relations disputes.  Mr. Flynn started his law career at the firm Reid & Priest, handling labor and immigration matters from 1990 to 1992.  He holds a B.A. degree from University of Maryland, College Park and a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board

Richard Griffin is the General Counsel for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  He also serves on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, a position he has held since 1994.  Since 1983, he has held a number of leadership positions with IUOE from Assistant House Counsel to Associate General Counsel.   From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Griffin served as a member of the board of trustees of the IUOE's central pension fund.  From 1981 to 1983, he served as a Counsel to NLRB Board Members.  Mr. Griffin holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.###

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Co-employees' ageist ridicule no evidence of pretext in 71-year-old plaintiff’s discharge for assaulting supervisor

The First Circuit held that an employee who was discharged, after more than 50 years on the job, for attempting to strike his supervisor during an argument lacked a triable ADEA claim. Bonefont-Igaravidez v Int’l Shipping Corp, ___F.3d____( 1st Cir, October 14, 2011).  Evidence that he faced ridicule from coworkers about his age and his health was not a basis for establishing pretext where the individuals responsible for the discharge decision were unaware of, and not swayed by, these comments.

Personal interests not protected by the Taylor Law

 

Westhampton Beach Police PBA and Village of Westhampton Beach, 35 PERB 3026

 

An employee making complaints unrelated to any specific provision in the collective bargaining agreement and that essentially concern matters of private, personal interest, has not established any basis for prosecuting a claim that he or she was subjected to adverse personnel action because of his or her engaging in a protected activity within the meaning of the Taylor Law. 

Reprinted by permission New York Public Personnel Law

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Iowa appellate court rules disciplinary records of school district employees are not subject to disclosure under state’s public records law

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Iowa v. Records Custodian, Atlantic Cmty. Sch. Dist., No. 11-0095 (Iowa App. Ct. Oct. 19, 2011), is an interesting case. The Iowa Court of Appeals held that a school district was not required under the state’s open records act to disclose employee disciplinary records. The appellate court concluded that the records sought fell within an exception to the law’s provision that individuals have the right to access public records or information stored by a public entity. According to the court, that exception states that the following public records shall be kept confidential: “Personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies, including . . . school districts.” This information fell within that exception.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein