| There was a minimal amount of literature available either in the field of law or the field of education that analyzed the legal grounds and legal arguments used in adverse employment actions against P--12 administrators. This led the researcher to develop the following research question that guided this study: What does case law reveal about adverse employment actions against administrators in P--12 education?; The researcher identified cases involving adverse employment actions in an attempt to answer the research question. The researcher examined a broad spectrum of adverse employment action cases and incorporated every case in the national reporter system related to this topic.; By using legal methodology, the researcher identified two hundred and ninety-six cases related to the research question. Critical analysis of each case provided a full understanding of the judicial responses. Furthermore, the researcher created a data analysis form to capture common categories of information from each case to assess relationships among the cases. While the study did not use any statistical analysis, the researcher gathered quantifiable data for describing the cases collectively. The employer prevailed in 67% of the cases.; Some researchers had suggested that a richer picture of the causes for adverse actions would come by focusing on the behaviors of administrators, rather than solely on the legal grounds and arguments. Therefore, the researcher created categories of behavior to examine patterns of behaviors discovered in adverse employment actions. The categories of behaviors are intentional noncompliance, unintentional noncompliance, communication with the school district, communication with the community, communication with students, communication with parents, communication with staff, unethical behavior, sexual decadence, physical disability, and discrimination. That employers won about two cases out of three was a fairly consistent finding across all categories of behaviors.; The researcher also examined the related legal issues of reduction in force, procedural due process, and property involved in adverse employment actions. These data emphasized the emphasis that courts give to employers following the required procedures. |
