Federal judge sides with Beshear and returns teacher sickout case to state court
A legal battle over access to the attendance records of Kentucky public school teachers who called in sick to attend Capitol protests earlier this year was returned to state court Thursday by a federal judge.
Attorney General Andy Beshear, along with the Jefferson County Teachers Association, initially filed the lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court last April, alleging that Kentucky Labor Secretary David Dickerson had acted unlawfully in seeking the information.
Dickerson successfully removed the action to federal court in May, claiming the case involves claims “arising under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States.” Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd, whom Gov. Matt Bevin has labeled an “incompetent hack,” had been scheduled to hear the suit.
In an eight-page ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves said “only state-law claims are presented” in the case and the federal court does not have jurisdiction over it. He denied Beshear’s request for attorney fees and costs.
Beshear, the Democratic nominee this year to challenge Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s re-election bid, said in a news release that Bevin’s effort to move the case to federal court “was a stall tactic intended to further intimidate our Kentucky teachers.”
“I will continue to fight in state court to ensure no teacher is bullied or fired by this administration,” he said.
The Bevin Administration had no immediate reaction.
Beshear’s lawsuit tried to block subpoenas the Labor Cabinet issued to 10 school districts seeking attendance records that could identify school employees who called in sick to protest during this year’s legislative session. Teachers lined the hallways of the Capitol to protest a bill to restructure the board of the Teachers’ Retirement System.
Three days after Beshear filed his suit, the Labor Cabinet obtained the information by sending a subpoena to the state Department of Education, which complied with the request.
The lawsuit claims the Labor Cabinet lacks authority to seek records and names of teachers and possibly fine them up to $1,000 a day for allegedly using sick days to attend rallies in support of public education.
Beshear said his suit is still important because it could “prevent Bevin from fining teachers up to $1,000 a day.”
Beshear has said the Labor Cabinet’s subpoenas are “unlawful because they targeted constitutionally protected speech” and because it does not employ the individual teachers.
School districts in Fayette, Jefferson and several other counties said they received subpoenas asking for absence records, medical affidavits confirming illnesses, records of teachers making requests for absences, documents regarding the closing of schools and district policies.
Other school districts subpoenaed were Bath, Boyd, Bullitt, Carter, Letcher, Madison, Marion and Oldham counties.