2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association

More documents

Recommendations

Info

AEA Legal Services AEA provides legal assistance and support to AEA members and affiliates in conjunction with certain job-related disputes through the Professional Rights and Responsibilities (PR&R) Legal Services program. The program is intended to protect employment rights and privileges of members involved in adverse employment action. All active and educational support professional members are eligible for legal services under the program. As a member of the association, you may petition the association for legal services and assistance by submitting an Application for Assistance and Support (PR&R form). Theron Stokes Nancy Perry After review of the application, if assistance is provided, AEA may assign a staff attorney, an outside attorney, or other staff member to assist you in resolving your employment problem. In cases where you are, by law, granted a due process hearing, AEA will provide legal assistance to you. A request for legal services will be considered by AEA when it involves a dispute between a school system or other institution involved in the teaching or learning process and a member or local affiliate on matters established by law or adopted policy. The following list demonstrates some of the areas for which legal services may be available: terminations, cancellations or suspensions, tenure issues, salary matters, demotions, promotions, certificate revocations, on-the-job injuries and board of adjustment claims, DHR charges of abuse, criminal charges related to corporal punishment, and transfers. Charles Norton Clint Daughtrey Tamika Reed 4 Your Liability Protection As an association member, you are insured under the NEA’s Educators Employment Liability (ELL) program, which provides payment or reimbursement of legal costs for defending civil proceedings, civil rights violations, criminal proceedings, or posting bail bonds in certain employment-related cases. The program assigns an attorney and pays legal fees for defending civil proceedings (other than civil rights violations) brought against members in the course of their work as educators. The policy provides $1 million per member in coverage in such lawsuits. The policy also provides up to $250,000 for defense, settlements, or judgements for proceedings involving civil rights violations. There is a $3 million cap per occurrence where there are multiple member defendants. As a member, you may seek reimbursement of attorney fees and other legal costs up to $35,000 if you are charged with violating a criminal statute in the course of your employment as an educator, and if you are subsequently exonerated of the charges. You may seek reimbursement of up to $1,000 for a bail bond premium if you have to post bond as a result of an occurrence arising out of your educational employment. (The insurance company is not obligated to furnish the bond.) You may also seek payment of up to $500 for damages to personal property if you are attacked during the course of your employment. The program provides coverage for educational employment activities on and off school grounds including school-sponsored athletic events, laboratory experiments, shop training, field trips, and after school trips. Defense settlements or judgements, and court costs up to a maximum of $250,000 are provided when incurred as the result of the defense of an action arising out of educational employment activities and alleging a violation of another person’s civil rights. Certain activities are excluded and the policy explicitly states those exclusions. You will receive a copy of the policy when you become a member of AEA. Read the policy to familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of coverage.
AEA Attorney Referral Program Members can get legal advice on non-job related issues through the AEA Attorney Referral Program. Don’t confuse this program with job-related problems that must be addressed through the Professional Rights and Responsibilities (PR&R) procedure. Who is eligible All active, life, educational support, or retired AEA members and, at the request of the member, his or her spouse and dependent children. What services are covered and what do they cost Each eligible member is entitled to two free consultation sessions of up to 30 minutes each on any topic (except income tax preparation) during each year of the program. If a consultation leads to follow-up legal services of at least one billable hour, or equivalent services at a flat fee, it will not be counted as one of the consultations to which the member is entitled that year. If the member decides to use the services of a participating attorney, the attorney’s regular fees will be discounted by 30 percent if the problem falls into one of the following five “core areas” covered by the program. These areas and some examples of covered matters are: • Real Estate • Wills and Estates • Domestic Relations • Consumer Relations • Traffic Violations A particular attorney’s fees will be 30 percent less than his or her regular rates for service in the five core areas, whether billing is on an hourly or a flat fee basis. (The discount does not apply to incidental fees such as court-imposed filing fees and attorneys’ out-of-pocket expenses.) Are there any legal problems that are not covered Almost any problem can be discussed with an attorney during the free advice and consultation sessions. Certain matters, however, are excluded from the 30 percent discount, including assistance with bankruptcies, preparation of federal tax returns, and defense of criminal violations (other than traffic). Also, please remember that a particular attorney may not practice in a particular area of the law. Any matter in which the attorney was retained prior to participating in the program, or involving a member’s business dealings, is also excluded. The fee in the excluded matters would be determined by you and the attorney and may be higher than the program rates. A participating attorney cannot represent you or any other AEA-NEA member under any arrangement if the adverse party is the NEA, an NEA affiliate, a UniServ Council, or another NEA or AEA member. The one exception to this is that an attorney may represent you in a separation or divorce proceeding if your spouse is also an AEA-NEA member. How do I contact an attorney The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the law firms participating in the program for your area may be secured by calling AEA at 1.800.392.5839. A convenient way of finding out who the referral attorney is in your area is to go to AEA’s website, www.myaea.org. You may consult an attorney in person or by telephone. You should always call an attorney’s office to arrange for your first appointment. If necessary, a participating attorney may be available to meet with you evenings, weekends, or other times outside your regular working hours. When you make your first visit to an attorney’s office, you must present some evidence of AEA-NEA membership. 5
Page 1 and 2: Every Child • Every Opportunity
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents President’s Mes
Page 5: Your Local Association Information
Page 9 and 10: AEA UniServ Directors Northern Regi
Page 11 and 12: AEA UniServ Directors Southern Regi
Page 13 and 14: Advantages of Being an AEA Member F
Page 15 and 16: • NEA® Pet Insurance: With this
Page 17 and 18: Improving the Quality of Public Edu
Page 19 and 20: Keeping AEA Members Informed David
Page 21 and 22: AEA Business Office and Membership
Page 23 and 24: Key Contacts Alabama Education Asso

2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?