A Klamath Falls teacher placed on administrative leave after an uproar over a film clip containing profanity has won an Oregon Supreme Court ruling saying he is entitled to unemployment benefits.
August 9, 2010
By The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. —Robert McDowell was a probationary first-year high school language arts and drama teacher for the Klamath County School District when he showed his senior English classes a clip from the film “Glengarry Glen Ross,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Mamet.
The clip contained some profanity intended as a lesson about language use and misuse.
McDowell resigned on March 9, 2007, the day the school board was going to decide whether to fire him. The state denied him unemployment benefits, contending he voluntarily quit, a decision the Oregon Supreme Court overturned on Aug. 5.
In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Virginia L. Linder, the court decided McDowell resigned for “good cause,” meaning his situation was so dire he had no other reasonable alternative.
McDowell was less than six months into his job when he broke district policy by failing to get approval from the principal before showing the offending clip. McDowell had never been alerted to the policy and it was not contained in his employee handbook.
A district personnel director informed McDowell that he would recommend his firing at the school board meeting. A union attorney, meanwhile, told McDowell there was “absolutely no chance” the board would overrule a district recommendation.
McDowell, concerned a firing would harm his future employment prospects, opted to resign.
The court action sends McDowell’s case back the state Employment Appeals Board.
“Mr. McDowell, if he has an otherwise valid claim, will be paid retroactive back to the date he filed the claim,” said Tom Fuller, spokesman for the Oregon Employment Department. “And he will paid for every week he claimed and was entitled.”
Fuller said the department will also analyze the court decision to see if it modifies the definition of a “voluntary quit.”
McDowell could not be located for comment in time for this story and his attorney was out of the country.
The state attorney general’s office argued the case on behalf of the Employment Department. Spokeswoman Kate Medema said the office respected the ruling.