Can a school district legally hold your teaching contract hostage and prevent you from being employed elsewhere for trying to leave the teaching job mid-year?
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Can a school district legally hold your teaching contract hostage and prevent you from being employed elsewhere for trying to leave the teaching job mid-year?
Do I have enough ground to file a lawsuit with the school district for this. I hold a special education, deaf/hard of hearing teacher credential. I plan to give my letter of resignation when we return from thanksgiving break. I feel I can no longer work there due to hardship. I live 1 hour away each way and I am pregnant. The drive is killing me and I get migraines almost every other day for which I cannot take aspirin due to my pregnancy. I am also constantly feeling stressed in the job and have expressed this to my principal.
Asked on November 17, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
A contract is enforceable as per its plain terms. If you are contracted to teach for a certain amount or length of time, your employer can indeed take legal action against you if you breach the terms of your contract, even if you have what you consider good reasons for the breach. You should have your contract reviewed by an employment law attorney to see what you can and cannot do in this situation.
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