Johnson v. North Union Local School District Board of Education

**Johnson v. North Union Local School District: Court Rules Against Arbitrary Vacation Denials** This case involved a school district employee who was denied vacation requests by the North Union Local School District Board of Education. The employee claimed the school board violated Ohio law and breached their employment contract by arbitrarily refusing to approve vacation time that should have been granted under the district's own vacation policy. The court ruled in favor of the employee. Both the trial court and appeals court found that the school board had "abused its discretion" by denying the vacation requests. The courts determined that the school board applied its vacation policy in an arbitrary and unfair manner, which violated Ohio state law (specifically R.C. 3319.084) that governs how school districts must handle employee vacation time. This ruling matters for workers because it establishes that employers cannot arbitrarily deny vacation requests when employees are entitled to time off under company policy or state law. Employers must follow their own policies consistently and fairly. If a vacation policy exists, it must be applied reasonably, not based on favoritism or arbitrary decisions. Workers have legal recourse when employers abuse their authority over vacation approvals.