JUST THE FACTS

Following a change in the composition of the school board, the finance coordinator for a school district was reassigned to the (newly created) position of food services assistant. As finance coordinator, she was a member of the management team that was in charge of finances for the entire school district and she supervised personnel in the finance department. She reported directly to the school superintendent. In her new capacity, she would serve as an assistant in the food services department and report to the food services coordinator. She was told to remove all of her personal items from her office and return her keys. However, her pay and benefits remained the same. The woman went on sick leave after the reassignment and never actually worked as food services assistant. While on leave, she made repeated requests to the board for a job description for the new position. She never received a job description. At one point, the board voted to eliminate the food service assistant position that they had just created and to which she had been reassigned, but then rescinded the vote. After exhausting her available paid sick leave and vacation, the woman submitted a letter of resignation.

• Was this a voluntary resignation or a constructive discharge? Why?

Reference

Employment Law for Human Resource Practice / Cengage

ISBN: 978-1-337-55532-6

Ch. 16 P. 639