We often like to share information about charter school claims we come across.  We hope that your school can hopefully avoid similar claims.

The following is a claim involving age discrimination.  The names have all been changed, but the circumstances are actual.

ABC Charter School had a 60-year-old employee who had worked for the school for 15 years.  Over the past few years, the teacher’s work performance declined dramatically, and the school received several complaints.  In response to the last protest, the school terminated the employee.

ABC then hired a new teacher, who is 32 years old, to replace the other one.  The recently-terminated employee then filed a charge against the EEOC, alleging the termination was because of age.

While ABC had many reasons to terminate the teacher, they did not document many poor performance issues or complaints.  During discovery, an email was uncovered in which one of the school’s administrators stated that “the school needed fresh new ideas” and “could benefit from younger employees with an eye towards a more modern direction.”

As a result, ABC was forced to settle the matter for $125,000 in damages and $75,000 in defense costs.

The claim above highlights the need for schools to carry employment practices liability insurance.  An EPLI policy protects charter schools against allegations related to sexual harassment and discrimination.   It also pays the defense costs associated with any claims, founded or unfounded.

If you would like to find out more about getting an EPLI quote for your school, please call our agency.