Former Teacher Sues For Being Fired For Facebook Pics

[tonysam]

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. -- A former Barrow County teacher is suing the North Georgia school district, alleging she was forced to step down after photos and an expletive were shown on her Facebook profile.

Ashley Payne claimed the Barrow County school district violated state labor law because she was never told she was entitled to a hearing. Her attorney, Richard Storrs, said the 24-year-old former Apalachee High School teacher was "not made aware of her rights" and should be granted the hearing.

She claimed her principal said because her profile page had of pictures of her with beer mugs and glasses of wine from when she went on vacation to Europe, she had to go.

“I visited the Guinness Brewery, I went to Italy and had wine. I went to the Temple Bar District of Dublin and drank some alcohol there like any normal adult would,” said Payne.



More


School districts and principals find all kinds of creative ways to sack teachers, including teachers using social networking sites.

A teacher in southern Oregon, however, wasn't as "lucky" as this teacher when he stupidly posted "A Guide for Male Teachers of Teenage Girls" and "Underage Girls" on MySpace which had numerous sexual references to students.

link

This idiot's license was revoked.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I hope she wins BIG

She broke no laws AFAIK. A strong victory in this case would send a message to school administrators not to break the fucking law by firing teachers for arbitrary & capricious reasons.

[tonysam]

2. I agree, although school district administrators do this all the time

and usually they are upheld by the courts or else the district will settle for a pittance.

I have to laugh about her wanting to have a "hearing." She'd probably have lost it anyway, as the vast majority of those "due process" hearings are jokes.

I know from bitter experience.

[tonysam]

3. This article, which applies to Georgia, and written by attorneys,

is about ten mistakes school districts make under the state's fair dismissal act.

link


All but three of those ten mistakes listed my school district made when they wrongfully terminated me April of 2008 and upheld in the kangaroo "due process" hearing.

I have to find a lawyer and sue their ass while I still can.

[XemaSab]

4. Since when is drinking a beer illegal?

The teacher across the street from me is PREGNANT.

You know what THAT means. :o

[tonysam]

5. She's supposed to be a role model for her students, don't you know?

:sarcasm:

[XemaSab]

9. And does getting knocked up by her hunky Latin husband

make her a role model? :P

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. Why would ANYBODY in this day and age, have a social networking

anything? I mean really! How stupid can you be? Please come watch me masturbate like a former Miss America but Shhhh, it's a secrete. Hell, I figure I have enough unwanted attention from the powers that be just for my posts on DU. I'm sure as hell not going to display my private life with all of its kinks and foibles for every pervert with an isp to see, download and judge me by. You've gotta be just stupid. I mean, anyone, anywhere, even years from now can use it against you and you give up this info voluntarily? Dumb, dumb, dumb. But hey, If I'm really, really famous, how about I allow someone to videotape me during sex? I mean, what could possibly go wrong? DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[noamnety]

7. People don't all use their social networking sites for that.

I don't have a facebook page, but our staff is encouraged to have them, and
I know a number of students who are facebook friends with our principal.

In some ways I think it's a good way to be a role model for our kids, since we know they will have their pages, too. It's a chance for us to model how to post intelligent thoughts on our pages without promoting ourselves in sexual ways.

(Me, I've stayed out of it because I don't want to be in the potentially compromising position of reading one of my befriended students' pages and finding out they're doing something illegal.)

[tonysam]

8. You have to be careful with them, that's all.

There is nothing on my FB page that could possibly be construed as controversial in any way. I do have a blog which I post under my real name, and I have had it for seven years, but I've had no problems with my content, even when I am often foulmouthed and whatever.

Of course I am not working right now, but when I was it wasn't an issue.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

10. While you defend it, you hit it on the head. Too much info. to wit

(Me, I've stayed out of it because I don't want to be in the potentially compromising position of reading one of my befriended students' pages and finding out they're doing something illegal.)

Which is exactly my point.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

11. The problem is that anyone (a potential employer for example)

will be able to Google those pages years from now. Sure, some testosterone filled kid who is feeling rebellious might post something that seems appropriate in their pre pubescent youth but that post could very easily turn up when they are applying for a job for a sensitive position somewhere and, like when you try to sue the Miss America pageant, it comes back and slaps you in the face. Just sayin. Not a good idea!

[peace frog]

12. I keep two separate Facebook profiles

with different names and email address, one private and one professional. You can guess which one is kept quietly conservative, and the other is not exactly wild 'n' crazy either. Easy enough solution and I've had no problems.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Beer mugs and glasses of wine??

I was ready to read about explicit sexual pictures, figuring one more idiot doesn't understand why you need to be careful posting pictures of yourself on the internet. Never dreamed the pics would be of beer mugs and glasses of wine. LOL

[noamnety]

14. I hope the school doesn't find out about the president having a beer

after the Gates incident. Sheesh, their heads would probably explode.

(I'm soooo glad some days to be teaching where I do. One of the parents of our kids owns a brewery and sometimes after a staff meeting the teachers and principal will go hang out there. The student is too young to drink at the brewery, but he'll pull up a chair and sit with us if he's hanging around there.)