discrimination/breach of contract
I currently have a grievance pending against my Graduate School regarding my dismissal from a PhD program because of a medical leave of absence that I took. I know it is a violation of Federal Law to terminate an employee because of an approved medical leave. However, because I was a graduate student, I am told that law does not apply. Is there any action a student can take against an educational institution for discrimination?
Below is the response I received from another attorney re this matter. She indicates that as a TA (I was a teaching assistant), I might be covered under some form of employment law (such as contract law). Also, the university has dragged the grievance process out for so long that I was unable to file with the campus EEOC (they have a 180 day time limit for investigating complaints.) So the time element is an issue. What is the statute of limitations on issues of contract law?
Re: discrimination/breach of contract
There are several issues buried in your questions.As a general matter you should be guided by the school policy if there is one. If you are going through a grievance, is that based on policy or union contract? If it is a union contract you will be an employee.
There are laws in New York protecting against discrimination because of disabilities but I dont know if this is a case of discrimination because of disabilities.
