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?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

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 11 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.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption