New Orleans Teachers File for Wrongful Termination Four Years after Katrina

August 28, 2009

A recent article about the devastation, which has still not been fully cleaned up, in New Orleans, Louisiana said that a group of teachers in the city are banding together to create a class action lawsuit for wrongful termination. Four years after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans is still in shambles.

Thousands of individuals who were pushed out of the area have still not been able to return home, because their homes no longer exist and were never rebuilt. Unemployment rates are still sky high and housing for the homeless meets roadblock upon roadblock.

However, one of the most shocking aspects of the disaster is that the education system has still not gotten back on its feet. Of the 126 schools in New Orleans, 120 are under state control or are charter schools. A post-Katrina state law bans collective bargaining for teachers. However, the United Teachers of New Orleans are filing wrongful termination charges against the state, in hopes of recovering some funds to support themselves and their families in this difficult time.