Retaliation: Did college unlawfully terminate faculty member for complaining?

By Brian J. Kurtz, FordHarrison LLP

Does the First Amendment protect the head of an adjunct faculty union who writes a letter critical of the community college that fired her? Read on to find out.

Robin Meade was an adjunct faculty member at Moraine Valley Community College, a public institution in Palos Hills. She became upset in August 2013 when the college sent her a one-page document that set out her course schedule for the coming term.

The document got Meades attention because the words EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT were emblazoned across the top, followed by two paragraphs of text stating that it was not a contract for full-time employment and stating further that the college might not employ her at all if there was no need for her services. Ever been so mad you could write a letter? Meade wrote a letter.

Specifically, Meade composed a letter to the League for Innovation in the Community College (LICC), an organization the college was reapplying to for membership. LICC includes 800 member institutions and over 150 corporate partners. The college had asked adjuncts to write to LICC supporting its application. Meades letter declined to do so and instead pulled no punches regarding the reasons she couldnt support the reapplication.

Meade accused the college of treating its adjunct faculty like a disposable resource and a separate, lower class of people. She accused the college of underpaying its adjunct faculty, denying them access to health care, and denying them access to certain courses. Meade said that adjunct faculty taught 60 percent of the colleges course load, but the college devoted most of its teaching resources to full-time faculty.

Meade also accused the college of prohibiting adjuncts from working on an hourly basisas opposed to a per-course basisthus deterring them from spending time tutoring students. On this point, Meade implied that the practice was contributing to the colleges high failure rate in developmental classes.

She dramatically concluded that all of those factors had created a chilling effect which affects adjunct performance and erodes the confidence the idyllic atmosphere and beautiful buildings and grounds strive to project. Meade sent the letter on the letterhead of the colleges adjunct faculty union, the Moraine Valley Adjunct Faculty Organization, of which she was president.

Meade sent her letter to LICC on August 20. Two days later, she received a notice from the college that her services were terminated. The notice referred specifically to her LICC letter and accused her of spouting misrepresentations and falsehoods.

The notice went on to complain that her letter wasnt responsible advocacy on behalf of her union but instead was a personal attack designed to undermine the colleges relationship with LICC. The college followed up the termination notice with a warning that if she was seen on campus, she could be arrested for trespassing. Meade sued the college in federal court, alleging that she was terminated in retaliation for expressing views protected by the First Amendment.

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Retaliation: Did college unlawfully terminate faculty member for complaining?