Hi everyone, I thought maybe someone on this forum could offer me some guidance for what I think is kind of a unique and tricky legal issue. I just graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching in June, and was offered an early employment contract with a local school district last fall (Sept 2008). At that time, the director of human resources for that district told me that this guaranteed (his word) me a job in that school district upon completion of my master's. Well, here it is August 2009, nearly a year and one master's degree later, and the district does not seem to be honoring the contract (which does not expire). They have begun to hire other candidates without contracts for open positions in my certification area without contacting or interviewing me. Additionally, they are actively advertising such positions on the statewide job-posting website (I live in NC, if that's relevant), which is something they said they wouldn't do as I would be given priority. Besides, their only excuse to break contract was having no money to hire new teachers, but if positions are being advertised, clearly there is enough money... so it seems that they are ignoring the terms of the contract. I should mention that it was explicitly told me that they would not be expanding the hiring pool beyond those with early contracts or who had been laid off by the district the year before. Do I have any recourse, here? I've been bugging HR and others, but they aren't being very open right now. Do I need to be thinking in terms of litigation? There are some real financial damages for me if they don't fulfill their contract, but I would hate to have to go through all that. I just want the job they promised me and that I'm more than qualified to perform. Ideas? Thanks so much in advance for your replies! I look forward to seeing what folks have to say about this interesting issue... (at least interesting to me, haha)
Verbal agreements are tricky to start with as it is a two sides of the same story, he said/she said scenerio and that can easily be the difference between what was said and what was heard or the difference between what was said and what was meant. The actual specifics are extremely important and only an attorney getting your testimonial can really advise you... normally that should be a free first consultation and you'll get a better idea of the potential. If it doesn't work out give me a shout; I might be in the market for someone of your potential caliber.
Contact the NC Bar and get a referral to an employment attorney. You can find that here: http://www.ncbar.org/public/lrs/
Fathom and Browntwn, thank you both for your replies. I guess I should be clear and mention that I actually have a written, signed and dated early employment contract with the district, so it's not solely a verbal agreement, which I imagine makes my argument a good bit stronger. Good to know that initial consultations are generally free -- I've never needed an attorney before, so this is new territory for me. And Fathom, what is it that you do? I'm definitely open to any opportunities that might come my way. Thanks again! Looking forward to seeing what others might have to say...