What is 3020-a Arbitration?
Since 2003 Advocatz has observed and participated in compulsory arbitration hearings for tenured teachers in New York City and New York State known as “3020-a Arbitration“. These hearing are supposed to follow the guidelines established by law, specifically Education Law Section 3020-a.
No Respondent can be forced into being represented by NYSUT attorneys, but has the choice of hiring a private attorney or a nonlawyer representative to assist. The Respondent can also choose to represent him/herself pro se, for him/herself. Arbitration in New York State is not restricted to lawyer representation. However, we recommend that all Respondents use a person with experience in doing these bizarre and random hearings, as events, testimony, and the interactions between parties usually gets intense and complicated. All Respondents should take these proceedings very seriously, as a permanent record is made, and all lawsuits that follow (if filed) are based upon this record, including any Article 75 Appeal.
Open and Public Hearings
From 2003 to 2011 we observed the hearings as members of the public if an open and public hearing was requested by the charged party (the tenured employee or “Respondent”). All Respondents have the right to ask for an open and public hearing, and if he/she and/or the representative attorney/nonlawyer asks for a public hearing 24 hours or more before the first day of the hearing (best to send an email to the arbitrator), this request cannot be denied. Some NYSUT Attorneys will fight the Respondent on having a public hearing, as they don’t like anyone attending, but that is too darn bad, the Respondent has the right of way on this one.
Just Cause Standard
The charging party is the employer/Complainant, the Department of Education or the School District. The goal is almost always to terminate the employee, without regard for facts or law. But any representative or respondent must diligently fight the charges, as all too often the “Specifications” are bogus, made up by a person who dislikes the Respondent and wants him/her to be punished for doing something or nothing, or because the charged employee exposed something bad about the charging party, or is simply too Jewish, too Christian, too Muslim, too fat, too tall, wears glasses, or whatever. The Just Cause Standard can be used to challenge the fake charges. Katharine Stevens writes that “Section 3020-a is a 3,000-word section of New York’s Education Law, entitled “Disciplinary Procedures and Penalties,” which mandates that tenured teachers can be dismissed only after just cause has been established”.
What are 3020-a Hearing procedures?
There are some facts which are true for all hearings:
- There is one arbitrator.
The fact of the matter is that the United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”) and the New York City Department of Education (“NYC DOE”), have silently set up certain conditions and rules which are and have, altered hearings in NYC for tenured teachers. Why? Because during the Bloomberg administration What the tenured teacher Respondent does not have a right to do, despite the law saying otherwise, is assist in choosing the arbitrator. In New York City NYSUT and the Department of Education (NYC DOE)