Last month, elementary school teacher, Jenalee Piercey, filed a lawsuit against Redmond School District in Eugene, Oregon. The lawsuit claims discrimination, retaliation, leave interference, and other charges against the district.
Case Details
Jenalee Piercey was hired by the Redmond School District in 2012 as a kindergarten teacher at Sage Elementary School. According to the lawsuit, Piercey “suffered discriminatory and harassing comments” from Sage staff, specifically from the school’s principal, Carolyn Espinosa. Piercey did not inform Espinosa that she was pregnant because a coworker commented that she “hated dealing with issues that arise when teachers become pregnant.”
In March of 2015, Piercey shared with coworkers that she was pregnant. The lawsuit claims that Espinosa began harassing Piercey shortly after informing other staff of her pregnancy. On March 10, 2015, Piercey was called to a meeting with Espinosa, and Redmond human resources director Lynn Evans. At the meeting, Espinosa told Piercey that her contract would not be renewed next year. Evans then told Piercey that unless she agreed to resign in the following spring, a nonrenewal would be added to her record and that the district would dispute unemployment benefits. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that Piercey was only given 24 hours to agree to the terms given by Evans. It is evidenced that this alleged coercion was a result of Piercey’s pregnancy, considering that in the previous year Espinosa had given a performance review of Piercey as a “great asset to Sage.”
The lawsuit also contains allegations of retaliation to whistleblowing. In 2014, Piercey voiced concerns regarding legal violations of the school’s special education program. Additionally, Piercey also commented that a student was not receiving specific accommodations under the Individualized Education Program.
Piercey’s pay was cut in half after agreeing to her resignation, she was not able to use medical leave, and the district disputed unemployment benefits after her resignation despite their agreement.
It is possible that Piercey could be awarded up to $750,000 in the dispute, according to court records.
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