Governor Beshear has reversed the finding of the Bevin administration’s Labor Cabinet that teachers broke the law when using “sickouts” to protest the education policies of the Bevin administration.
According to Beshear, nearly 1,000 teachers were “wrongly accused of violating state labor laws,” which could have resulted in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.
In a press release, Beshear said “We are rescinding the prior administration’s stance to make clear that our teachers and educators never broke the law and are welcome in Frankfort. In order to do what is best for our public education system and each student, we must respect each other and find ways to work together.”
Added Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, “In our administration we are focused on bringing Kentuckians together to solve our most pressing problems. And that starts with making sure we recognize the constitutional rights of our employees, educators and all Kentuckians.”
Beshear reversed the finding by having the current Labor Cabinet secretary, Larry Roberts, send a letter to the cabinet’s inspector general, Michael Wright. In the letter, Roberts states that the previous finding was “improper and contrary to law,” since there was no strike or work stoppage, and because the teachers were exercising their First Amendment rights instead of disputing the terms of their employment.
–30–