Providence Teachers' Union Local 958 v. City Council of Providence

**What Happened** A teachers' union in Providence, Rhode Island challenged the city's residency requirement policy. The dispute centered on whether the school board unfairly enforced rules that required regular teachers to live within the city limits while allowing substitute teachers to live anywhere. The union argued this selective enforcement violated teachers' equal protection rights under the law. **What the Court Decided** The Rhode Island Supreme Court sided with the city. The court ruled that the school board did not violate equal protection laws by having different residency rules for regular teachers versus substitute teachers. The court found it was legal and reasonable for the city to apply stricter residency requirements to full-time teachers while exempting substitutes from the same rule. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling shows that employers can legally have different requirements for different types of employees, even within the same workplace. Workers should understand that equal treatment doesn't always mean identical treatment—employers can justify different rules for different job categories as long as there's a reasonable basis. Public sector employees, in particular, may face residency requirements as a condition of employment that courts generally uphold.