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Relocated For Job Only To Find Out It Didn't Exist

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  • 08-23-2007, 11:33 AM
    fishguytx
    Relocated For Job Only To Find Out It Didn't Exist
    Exactly one month ago, I interviewed and was hired by a High School Principal in the New Orleans area to accept a certified teaching position as a Journalism Teacher.

    On the day she offered me the job, the school district's internet wasn't up and running (summer break), so she could not print out the required "Employee Action Request" form for me to take to the district's personnel office to be processed. She hoped to print it the following day, but got called away to a meeting all day, off-site. Then, the district offices closed for a week, and then the principal took a week's vacation.

    During this time, I was in continual communication with the principal, concerned that I did not have a contact yet. She assured me that it was going to be fine, just to trust her, no problem.

    So, while everyone was on vacation or closed up, I leased a house and moved my furnishings and family from Dallas to New Orleans. When the principal returned from vacation, the district's internet was still not working at her school. So, she called the personnel office directly to have me processed, and she was amazed to find out that the district's HR director has changed the rules while she was out of town. Principals no longer have hiring authority for their own schools; all hiring comes only from the district. Worse, they had "hired everyone they needed," and promptly told the principal that they were sending her a journalism teacher of their choosing.

    I found all this out yesterday, and was absolutely flabbergasted. An entire month has passed since she told me I was hired. And when she told me that, this policy was NOT in place. I spent hours yesterday at the district HR office, and they just shrugged and said, "Sorry, if only her computer had been working when she offered you the position."

    Do I have any recourse? The principal does seem to be incensed at the situation. She is equally as shocked. I am simply amazed that the school district will not stand behind a decision she made prior to the policy change.

    Any guidance would be GREATLY appreciated! I am at a total loss for what to do next!!

    Thank you,

    Hal K.
  • 08-23-2007, 11:36 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: Relocated for job only to find out it didn't exist
    Was any of this in writing?
  • 08-23-2007, 11:42 AM
    fishguytx
    Re: Relocated for job only to find out it didn't exist
    Unfortunately, no, it was not. However, there were several emails back and forth between a member of the personnel team and myself about a funding issue for the journalism position--and at no time in this person's email did she mention that I wasn't even eligible for the position--and these emails were sent/rec'd after the new policy.

    It seems odd to me that she didn't catch it or say something to me.

    Also, when I was hired, there were two other staff members in the room. Do witnesses count for anything?
  • 08-23-2007, 11:50 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: Relocated for job only to find out it didn't exist
    You certainly relied to your detriment on a verbal contract.

    Or what you thought was a contract.

    Get a lawyer in Louisiana (that state has Roman law) who knows the skinny on contracts.
  • 08-23-2007, 12:16 PM
    fishguytx
    Re: Relocated for job only to find out it didn't exist
    Thanks for the help. What's frustrating is that all I want is my job! A friend how is an attorney told me I've got them over a barrel, and he can't believe that the school district is so obviously opening themselves up to such a liability. We can only assume that the HR director has not shared this information with anyone who could advise her otherwise.

    I'd like to meet with the Superintendent and explain the situation. If I could meet with this man, I think he'd see the light. One question to consider though is this: Do I play the legal rights card in such a meeting?

    It's been my experience that when people start mentioning lawyers, everyone starts running to get their own lawyer. But I don't want these people to think I'm just going to shrug this off either. What they've done is blatantly wrong on many levels.
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