An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 4 - Employment Contracts And Separation Of Employees

Schools should anticipate, and be prepared to defend against, claims brought by at-will employees. Ensuring there is a documented, non-discriminatory reason for termination may be key to such a defense. A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge held that the at-will language in an employee handbook and acknowledgement form violated employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because it reasonably tended to chill employee exercise of concerted activity. 407 The NLRA grants private sector workers the right to have labor unions and also gives certain protections to employees who work in non-union environments. The handbook acknowledgement form at issue stated, “I further agree that the at-will employment relationship cannot be amended, modified, or altered in any way.” The NLRB explained that employees have a right under the NLRA to form unions and engage in other concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or mutual aid or protection. In this case, the ALJ found that the at-will language in the form could be reasonably construed to restrict otherwise permissible activity under the NLRA, since employees were essentially agreeing not to form a union or fight for the right to have terminations only for cause. As a result, schools may want to define the meaning of at-will employment in their contracts and handbook to demonstrate its mutuality. Schools should also note that, while at-will employment can be terminated for any reason, an employee cannot be separated for an illegal reason.

LCW Practice Advisor

LCW Practice Advisor

E MPLOYMENT C ONTRACT F OR A S PECIFIED T ERM

Section 3

A. C ONTRACT F OR A S PECIFIED T ERM D EFINED If an employment contract contains a specified term of employment, the employer’s right to discharge that employee within that specified time period is limited. The employment relationship is likely not at-will and the contract may only be terminated “for cause.” Where the contract or incorporated documents do not define what constitutes “for cause,” schools have to use the Labor Code’s definition of “for cause” to terminate the contract. Labor Code section 2924 only allows an employer to terminate a contract for a specified term for these three reasons:

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 108