Many California college professors understand the meaning of non-tenured work. Some have faced challenges regarding one-year contracts, such as a now former-professor in another state. Under such agreements, a college can decline to renew said contracts without giving explanation of their decisions to their employees. This has led some, including the man in another state, to believe administrators are using this as a loophole to prevent employees from gaining tenure, which may then lead to employment litigation.
In this particular situation, the man involved was on track for tenure when his employers suddenly declined to renew his contract. The former instructor says the college used trumped-up allegations of misconduct to sever his ties with the school. He apparently visited the Amazon during his course of employment, returning with dead insects for which he reportedly did not fill out the appropriate form as required by the U.S. government.
The school adamantly reminded reporters that it has every right to not renew one-year contracts and is not obligated in any way to provide explanation for such decisions. The unemployed professor says he plans to prove that the supposed misconduct was the reason for his being forced out of a job. He also said that the past year, since losing his job, was the worst year of his life, as he had spent an entire decade preparing for his position at the college and is extremely angry and frustrated that he was let go in such a manner.
It will be up to the court to determine whether the man’s employment litigation claim is valid. Wrongful termination situations can be quite complicated, and it often takes aggressive representation to effect a positive outcome in court. A California business and commercial law attorney can assist anyone in this state facing similar problems.
Source: retractionwatch.com, “Career derailed, ex-prof to sue Montana State for wrongful termination“, Accessed on June 22, 2017
