Department Director framed me

[tinydancer]

Jurisdiction

California

I was hired at a school district in 2017. My 6-month evaluation was excellent, I never received any negative feedback from my supervisors or disciplinary actions. Three weeks before I was going to pass my one-year probation, I was terminated citing a ton of slanderous lies about me and my work. I was told that I could resign instead, so I did that. My issue is this:

Two weeks prior to my resignation/termination, there was an incident in our department. I sent an e-mail to the Director (cc'ing the two other employees in the office) asking how it should be handled and if parents needed to be contacted. I was concerned about the children, which is why I brought it up. Well...the day before I was terminated/resigned, I learned from the Union President that an altered version of my e-mail had been forwarded to many of the higher ups in the District by my Director.

I never saw the altered version of the e-mail; but as per the Union President my original e-mail was "vastly different than the one the Director had forwarded on." It appears that my Director pressed forward on my e-mail, then altered it entirely to make it sound like I was making threats to expose district issues to the community (my original e-mail was nothing like that). Do I have any recourse for this?

 

[zddoodah]

I was told that I could resign instead, so I did that.

Why?

Do I have any recourse for this?

You indicate you're a member of a union, so your recourse is likely governed nearly entirely by your union's collective bargaining agreement with your former employer. One potential problem is that your decision to resign may negatively impact your ability to seek recourse. I suggest you consult with your union rep and/or a local labor/employment attorney.