Legal issues related to personnel and employment consistently rank as one of the top (along with special education) areas of need by public school districts, both in terms of legal services in general and cost avoidance measures by properly implementing preventative, compliance training in particular topics. Whether identifying, properly evaluating and building the case for the nonrenewal or termination of ineffective teachers under the Georgia Fair Dismissal Act, responding to EEOC claims of discrimination under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act, or performing a self-audit of Fair Labor Standards or Family and Medical Leave compliance, the early identification and proper management of personnel and employment law issues is a critical area of risk management.  The principal instructor for each of these presentations is a regular and requested speaker of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators at the regional and national level.   

Georgia Teacher Evaluation and Fair Dismissal
 (full or half day)

This program is designed for the principal and assistant principal, and begins by addressing Georgia legal issues in the teacher evaluation process.  The Georgia Fair Dismissal Act is also discussed in considerable detail both as to procedural requirements (sufficiency of notice provided by the District, etc.), and substantive rulings of the Georgia State Board of Education and/or the Georgia Appellate Courts regarding the grounds for discipline under the Act (incompetency, neglect of duty, immorality, etc.)  The principal instructor for this presentation is a repeat presenter of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators' webinar "Firing the Incompetent Teacher."    

Family and Medical Leave Act (full day)

The program is designed for the Human Resources or School Business official who frequently serves as the District's primary resource problem to solve leave questions under and relating to the FMLA.  A particular focus in this program is coordinating school district sick leave with FMLA issues.  Upon completion, attendees should be able to competently handle many compliance issues, as well as to identify those matters which should be referred to legal counsel for advice.  The instructor for this class recently completed The FMLA Compliance Manual 2009 Supplement (AASPA, 2009). 

Family and Medical Leave for the General Administrator (half day) 

This program is intended to teach a comprehensive awareness of when a given personnel matter may have FMLA implications, and alert the general school administrators to the importance of contacting and coordinating with HR, personnel, the business department, payroll and/or benefits administrators to resolve such issues.

Fair Labor Standards Act (full day)

Similar to the full day FMLA training, this program is intended for the Superintendent, business or HR official who frequently serves as the District's ultimate in-house authority on wage and hour issues.  The program addresses both recurring issues of exempt/nonexempt employee situations in the typical school setting, as well as the importance of developing and institutionalizing compliance with the District's overtime policies.

Fair Labor Standards for the General Administrators (half day)

This program is focused upon equipping the general administrators (principal, transportation or maintenance director, cafeteria managers, etc) with the skills to recognize and competently enforce basic overtime compliance issues with their personnel. 

Harassment Training and Prevention (full day)

This program is designed to meet prevailing Supreme Court standards for training in the prevention of harassment (sexual and non-sexual), and is suitable for both the frontline supervisor as well as the central office administrator with ultimate authority for enforcing harassment prevention policies.  Given the importance of coordinating enforcement in this area of employment law, it is recommended that Human Resources supervisors attend the same training as the District's first line administrators. 

Employment Law Updates & Customized Trainings

In addition to the presentations listed above, we are also pleased to offer half-day programs focused upon recent developments under the FMLA, the FLSA, or employment law in the school setting generally.  We have also and gladly customized our programs to focus upon compliance issues within a particular school district. 

For more information, please contact Dan Murphy at 770.867.7446 or dan@cslap.org.  Thank you