State ex rel. Ohio Ass'n of Public School Employees v. Batavia Local School District Board of Education

School District Cannot Use Private Contractors to Avoid Worker Protections

This case involved the Batavia Local School District, which laid off nonteaching employees (such as custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers) and then hired a private company to do the exact same work. The Ohio Association of Public School Employees, representing these workers, sued the school district, claiming this violated state employment laws that protect public school employees from improper layoffs.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the workers. The court found that the school district broke Ohio law (specifically R.C. 3319.081) by laying off employees and immediately contracting out their identical jobs to a private company. The court determined that while the workers' union contract allowed for some layoffs, it didn't override the stronger state law protections that prevent this type of contractor substitution.

This decision matters because it prevents public school districts from using a common tactic to avoid employment protections – firing workers and hiring contractors to do the same jobs. It establishes that employers cannot simply work around employee rights by calling the same work something different or having someone else perform it.