Recently, the Sixth Circuit issued a unanimous decision that established “discrimination on the basis of transgender and transitioning status violates Title VII.” In EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes, Inc, the employer, a funeral home, fired an employee, Aimee Stephens, who was in the process of transitioning from male to female. The employee sued, claiming that the employer discriminated against her on the basis of sex.
Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating...
In a case handled by Thrun Law Firm, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) decision, which found that a union committed an unfair labor practice by demanding to arbitrate a school’s decision to issue a written reprimand to a teacher. Ionia Co Intermediate Ed Ass’n v Ionia Co Intermediate Sch Dist, Case No. 334573 (February 22, 2018). While MERC has consistently held that a decision involving teacher discipline is a prohibited...
MDE issued a memorandum this month reminding schools of sexual harassment obligations under State and federal law. MDE noted that both Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act prohibit sexual harassment, a prohibition that protects all individuals, including students, employees, parents, and guardians.
MDE stressed that schools have numerous obligations under Title IX, including the following:
Boards planning to nonrenew an administrator’s employment contract must take steps to comply with the timelines and procedural requirements in Section 1229 of the Revised School Code. Failure to follow the statutory nonrenewal process (or related contract provisions) may result in the administrator’s contract renewing for an...
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reissued an opinion letter from January 15, 2009 that it had previously withdrawn. The reissued opinion letter provides guidance about how school districts should classify and compensate community members who serve as athletic coaches. The DOL determined that certain athletic coaches who are not otherwise employed by the school district meet the “teacher exemption” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
By meeting the “...
A California federal court recently granted a student’s motion for preliminary injunction, holding that the student athlete was entitled to kneel during the playing of the national anthem as part of the pregame ceremonies. V.A. v San Pasqual Valley Unified Sch Dist, Case No. 17-cv-02741-BAS-AGS (SD Cal, Dec. 21, 2017). The...
While school board elections take place on the even-year November election date, a school district may place millage and bond propositions on the ballot on any of the three regular election dates each year (four election dates in a presidential election year), as well as on certain petition initiative election dates.
The 2018 regular election dates for millage or bond proposals are:
May 8, 2018
August 7, 2018
November 6, 2018
A certified...
The Michigan Legislature recently passed HB 5126 amending the definition of “school personnel” as it applies to Revised School Code Sections 1307-1307h, which address the use of emergency seclusion and restraint in schools. Thrun attorney Dan Martin testified on the bill before the House Education Reform Committee, emphasizing the need for clarifying legislation to exclude law enforcement officers from the definition of school personnel in those sections. We anticipate that Governor Snyder...
When Andy Williams sang “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” he clearly was not singing to school administrators! The next couple of months can be stressful for school officials seeking to navigate the holiday season without violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Our gift to you is guidance on how to handle...