I am an assistant teacher with a salary of $30,000 per year according to my contract. Recently, due to the coronavirus, our school decided to switch to online learning. I offered to help the teacher I assist and said I am willing to take on any position to help in this time because I can't afford to lose my pay. Administration said that they cannot guarantee that I will be paid my salary because of the shut down. However, my salary is distributed evenly between all my paychecks with no overtime when I work extra hours. I only work 9 months of the year due to the regular school year but my pay is split into 12 months so that I can be paid during summer months as well. The school sent out an email a couple days ago explaining that parents are still required to pay tuition during this time since learning will be done remotely. My question is, are they allowed to not pay me my salary but pay others theirs? I have offered to do my part and I have explained that I cannot afford to not have my paycheck. I have signed a contract and my pay is distributed to me evenly throughout the whole year including winter break, spring break, and summer vacation.
You are probably a member of the union? IF so, it would be WISE to reach out to them for guidance. I'm mostly answering here to follow this interesting thread. Good luck with it.
Very few contract questions can be answered without reviewing the document in question. If, for instance, the parties agreed that a "force majeure" event could relieve the parties' performance, than the coronavirus would almost certainly be considered a force majeure event that would relieve your employer from its obligations under the contract for a prescribed period, or perhaps indefinitely.
See your own lawyer for review of your specific contract's language.
