TEACHER EMPLOYMENT 8.1. The Board agrees to employ only those teachers who hold at least a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university and are certifiable by the New Hampshire State Department of Education. This provision shall not apply in the instance where the availability of personnel is critical and an appropriate waiver is granted by the New Hampshire State Department of Education.
8.2 Teachers shall not be assigned outside the scope of their teacher certification and major or minor field of study except temporarily and for good cause.
8.3 For purposes of this Agreement, the period of service shall not be more than one hundred eighty-nine (189) days, including a maximum of 180 teaching days. Non- teaching days will include at least the following: Pre-School Year Faculty Meetings 1 Parent-Teacher Conferences 2 Teacher In-Service 3 Teacher Planning Days 2 Professional Development Day 1 Total Contract Days 9 The agenda for the Teacher Planning Days will be set by the teaching staff in each building, and shall be used for teachers to plan curriculum and/or curriculum development only. The Teacher Planning Days will be scheduled either immediately prior to the first day of school, during the school year, and/or after the last day of school, but no later than June 30. The Professional Development Day shall be scheduled in the fall and devoted to any activity that furthers the individual teacher’s Professional Growth Plan. Parent- Teacher Conferences will be scheduled to accommodate and meet the needs of parents. Two (2) weeks notice will be given for make-up days. Teachers new to the District may be required to report one extra day.
8.4 Teachers employed by the District will be given an individual contract (See Appendix C-1 and C-2 attached hereto) each year of their employment. The contract will include teaching assignment, years of service, continuing contract status and annual salary. Continuing contract status will be issued according to NH RSA 189:14-a. The notice of employment shall require that teachers certify they hold a valid New Hampshire certificate, license, or permit to teach. The Board agrees to reimburse for half of the State mandated recertification fee. The individual contract shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
8.5 The workday shall begin for those teachers who have assigned duties at a time consistent with the individual schedules of each building. Those teachers who do not have duties before the start of the school day shall be required to report twenty (20) minutes prior to the first scheduled homeroom or class in their building each day. The workday for teachers will end at such time as necessary to carry out their professional duties including, but not limited to, faculty meetings, conferences with parents or students, extra help, open house, or conferences with administrators as required. Such meetings shall be of reasonable duration with end of day faculty meetings being no more than one (1) hour. Otherwise, the teacher workday shall end ten (10) minutes after the last period or class in their building each day, except for those teachers who have assigned duties consistent with the individual schedule of each building. In-service activities or workshops that are required of teachers by administrators will be conducted during the time regular classes are scheduled. Nurses shall not be assigned duties, such as bus duty or recess duty, before, during or after the school day. School counselors may be excused from such duties with the approval of the building administration.
8.6 The Board will make every effort to provide a thirty (30) minute duty-free uninterrupted lunch period. In the event that a thirty minute lunch is not available for all teachers, a committee made up of three teachers appointed by the Association and three persons appointed by the Board shall study the situation and issue a report with recommendations as to how the thirty minute lunch period might be implemented for all teachers prior to the next annual District meeting. However, in no instance shall it be less than twenty (20) minutes. When a thirty (30) minute time period is not scheduled, teachers of self-contained classrooms will be provided a fifteen (15) minute relief period each day.
8.7 The administration will make every effort to provide at least 3.5 hours per week as preparation time for teachers in grades Pre-K – 8.
8.8 Teachers will be notified of their employment status and teaching assignments on or before April 15th, and will return their contract signed, no later than May 1st; however, a teacher’s request for extension of the May 1 deadline may be granted for extenuating circumstances at the Superintendent’s discretion. In the event a teacher rejects a reassignment, the teacher shall be employed to fill any open position which may then be available, provided the Superintendent recommends to the Board that the teacher is qualified and certifiable. A teacher's refusal to accept the reassignment, or any open position which then may be available shall constitute a termination of contract without prejudice. Any change in assignment after April 15th shall be considered an involuntary transfer and shall be effected only for cause.
8.9 When involuntary transfers are effected for a necessary reduction in a school's staff allocation due to reduced student enrollments or the closing and/or consolidation of a building, resignations or leaves of absence, said transfers will be made on the basis of years of service in the District; that teachers in the affected building possessing the least amount of service and applicable certification being transferred first. Such transfer due to resignation or leave of absence shall be for a period not to exceed one (1) year.
8.10 Teachers actively engaged in credited coursework and/or matriculated in degree programs, should give notice by November 1 of their intent to pursue a salary lane change in the following year. All paperwork and formal grade documentation must be filed with the Superintendent’s office by August 1 in order for the salary adjustment to take effect for the upcoming contract year. Time requirements specified in this section may be extended by mutual agreement.
8.11 The Board agrees to submit to the Association for its consideration, suggestions for the school calendar on or before January fifteenth (15th) of the preceding year. The Board reserves the right to establish the school calendar and to make appropriate changes at any time.
Employer Grievance The Employer may institute a grievance by delivering the same in writing to the President of the Local Union and the President shall answer such grievance in writing within five working (5) days. If the answer is not acceptable to the Employer, the Employer may, within ten (10) working days from the day the President gives her answer, give ten (10) working days notice to the President of the Local Union of its intention to refer the dispute to arbitration.
Project Employment A. Permanent project employees have layoff rights. Options will be determined using the procedure outlined in Sections 35.9 and 35.10, above.
B. Permanent status employees who left regular classified positions to accept project employment without a break in service have layoff rights within the Employer in which they held permanent status to the job classification they held immediately prior to accepting project employment.
Policy Grievance – Employer Grievance The Employer may institute a grievance alleging a general misinterpretation or violation by the Union or any employee by filing a written grievance with the Bargaining Unit President, with a copy to the Labour Relations Officer within twenty (20) days after the circumstances have occurred. A meeting will be held between the parties within ten (10) days. The Union shall reply within ten (10) days after the meeting, and failing settlement, the matter may be referred to arbitration.
(a) Where a difference arises between the parties relating to the interpretation, application or administration of this Agreement, including any questions as to whether a matter is arbitrable, or where an allegation is made that this Agreement has been violated, either of the parties may, after exhausting the grievance procedure established by this Agreement, notify the other party in writing of its decision to submit the difference or allegation to arbitration, and the notice shall contain the name of the first party's appointee to an Arbitration Board. The recipient of the notice shall, within ten (10) days, inform the other party of the name of its appointee to the Arbitration Board. The two appointees so selected shall within ten (10) days of the appointment of the second of them, appoint a third person who shall be the Chairperson. If the recipient of the notice fails to appoint a nominee, or if the two nominees fail to agree upon a Chairperson within the time limit, the appointment shall be made by the Minister of Labour for Ontario upon the request of either party.
(b) Within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of notice referred to in Article 8.12(a) above, either party may require a process for a sole arbitrator where the grievance concerns:
i) a job posting ii) a short term layoff
Labor Relations; Employees (a) Except as set forth on Section 5.15(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, (i) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreement or any similar agreement, (ii) no such agreement is being negotiated by the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries, and (iii) no labor union or any other employee representative body has requested or, to the knowledge of the Company, has sought to represent any of the employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries in the past three (3) years. In the past three (3) years, to the knowledge of the Company, there has been no labor organization activity involving any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and there has been no actual or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened strike, slowdown, work stoppage, lockout or other labor dispute against or affecting the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, in each case except as would not be or reasonably be expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(b) Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries are, and have been for the past three (3) years, in compliance with all applicable Laws respecting labor and employment including, but not limited to, all Laws respecting terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, wages and hours, holiday pay and the calculation of holiday pay, working time, employee classification (with respect to both exempt vs. non-exempt status and employee vs. independent contractor and worker status), child labor, immigration, employment discrimination, disability rights or benefits, equal opportunity and equal pay, plant closures and layoffs, affirmative action, workers’ compensation, labor relations, employee leave issues, unemployment insurance and contributions required to be made with respect to any statutory plan, program, practice or arrangement that is required under applicable law and maintained by any Governmental Authority, except where the failure to comply would not be or reasonably be expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(c) Except where it would not be or reasonably be expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in the past three (3) years, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not received written (i) notice of any unfair labor practice charge or material complaint pending or threatened before any applicable Governmental Authority against them, (ii) notice of any complaints, grievances or arbitrations arising out of any collective bargaining agreement or any other material complaints, grievances or arbitration procedures against them, (iii) notice of any material charge or complaint with respect to or relating to them pending before any applicable Governmental Authority responsible for the prevention of unlawful employment practices, (iv) notice of the intent of any Governmental Authority responsible for the enforcement of labor, employment, wages and hours of work, child labor, immigration, or occupational safety and health Laws to conduct an investigation with respect to or relating to them or notice that such investigation is in progress, or (v) notice of any complaint, lawsuit or other proceeding pending or threatened in any forum by or on behalf of any present or former employee of such entities, any applicant for employment or classes of the foregoing alleging breach of any express or implied Contract of employment, any applicable Law governing employment or the termination thereof or other discriminatory, wrongful or tortious conduct in connection with the employment relationship.
(d) To the knowledge of the Company, no present or former employee, worker or independent contractor of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries’ is in material violation of (i) any restrictive covenant, nondisclosure obligation or fiduciary duty to the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries or (ii) any restrictive covenant or nondisclosure obligation to a former employer or engager of any such individual relating to (A) the right of any such individual to work for or provide services to the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries’ or (B) the knowledge or use of trade secrets or proprietary information, in each case except as would not be or reasonably be expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(e) Neither the Company nor any of the Company’s Subsidiaries is party to a settlement agreement with a current or former officer, employee or independent contractor of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries that involves allegations relating to sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or discrimination by either (i) an officer of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries or (ii) an employee of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries at the level of Director (for the avoidance of doubt, such title does not refer to a member of the board of directors) or above. To the knowledge of the Company, in the last three (3) years, no allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or discrimination have been made against (i) an officer of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries or (ii) an employee of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries at the level of Director (for the avoidance of doubt, such title does not refer to a member of the board of directors) or above, in each case except as would not be or reasonably be expected to be, individually or in the aggregate, material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
Employer Union Relations No employee or group of employees shall undertake to represent the Union at meetings with the Employer without the proper authorization of the Union. To implement this, the Union shall supply the Employer with the names of its officers and similarly, the Employer shall supply the Union with a list of its supervisory or other personnel with whom the Union may be required to transact business.
Other Employment Executive shall not be obligated to seek other employment in mitigation of the amounts payable or arrangements made under this section 3, and the obtaining of any such other employment shall in no event result in any reduction of Company’s obligations to make the payments and arrangements required to be made under this section 3, except to the extent otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement.
Employer The term “
Employees; Labor Relations (a) The Company is not a party to any collective bargaining agreement and there is no unfair labor practice or labor arbitration proceedings pending with respect to the Company, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, and there are no facts or circumstances known to the Company that could reasonably be expected to give rise to such complaint or claim. To the knowledge of the Company, there are no organizational efforts presently underway or threatened involving any employees of the Company or any of the employees performing work for the Company but provided by an outside employment agency, if any. There has been no work stoppage, strike or other concerted action by employees of the Company.
(b) All employees of the Company are employed at will, and no employees of the Company are represented by a union. Section 3.16(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth, individually and by category, the name of each officer, employee and consultant, together with such person's position or function, annual base salary or wage and any incentive, severance or bonus arrangements with respect to such person. Except as described in Section 3.16(b)(ii) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in any payment or increased payment becoming due from the Company to any current or former officer, director, or employee of, or consultant to, the Company, and to the knowledge of the Company no employee of the Company has made any threat, or otherwise revealed an intent, to terminate such employee's relationship with the Company, for any reason, including because of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The Company is not a party to any agreement for the provision of labor from any outside agency. Since the Company's date of incorporation, there have been no claims by employees of such outside agencies, if any, with regard to employees assigned to work for the Company, and no claims by any governmental agency with regard to such employees.
(c) Since the Company's date of incorporation, there have been no federal or state claims based on sex, sexual or other harassment, age, disability, race or other discrimination or common law claims, including claims of wrongful termination, by any employees of the Company or by any of the employees performing work for the Company but provided by an outside employment agency, and there are no facts or circumstances known to the Company that could reasonably be expected to give rise to such complaint or claim. The Company has complied with all laws related to the employment of employees and, except as set forth in Section 3.16(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, since the Company's date of incorporation, the Company has not received any notice of any claim that it has not complied in any material respect with any Laws relating to the employment of employees, including without limitation, any provisions thereof relating to wages, hours, collective bargaining, the payment of Social Security and similar taxes, equal employment opportunity, employment discrimination, the WARN Act, employee safety, or that it is liable for any arrearages of wages or any taxes or penalties for failure to comply with any of the foregoing.
(d) The Company has no written policies and/or employee handbooks or manuals except as described in Section 3.16(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule.
(e) To the knowledge of the Company, no officer, employee or consultant of the Company is obligated under any Contract or other agreement or subject to any Order or Law that would interfere with the Company's business as currently conducted. Neither the execution nor delivery of this Agreement, nor the carrying on of the Company's business as presently conducted nor any activity of such officers, employees or consultants in connection with the carrying on of the Company's business as presently conducted, will conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, constitute a default under, or trigger a condition precedent to any rights under any Contract or other agreement under which any of such officer's, employees or consultants is now bound.
Re-employment An employee who resigns their position and within 90 days is re-employed, will be granted a leave of absence without pay covering those days absent and will retain all previous rights in relation to seniority and benefits subject to any benefit plan eligibility requirements.
