By Scott E. Randolph, of Holland & Hart LLP
Posting family reunion pictures on your Facebook page seems like a pretty benign thing to do. For Pocatello High School’s girls basketball coach Laraine Cook, however, one reunion picture showing her boyfriend touching her clothed breast cost her her job. Although Cook removed the photo within 24-48 hours of it being posted on Facebook, the school district fired her. Cook filed a grievance and a three-member grievance panel (Panel) recently concluded that Cook’s firing was unduly harsh and unfair, recommending that Cook be reinstated as head basketball coach and a substitute teacher. In re Cook, Pocatello Sch. Dist. Grievance Panel, No. 14-03, 12/23/13.
Photo Was a “Misstep” in Judgment But Not Immoral or Indecent
Cook worked as a substitute teacher with the Pocatello School District and as head coach for the girls high school basketball team. Her boyfriend was the high school’s football coach. After both attended Cook’s family reunion in the summer of 2013, Cook posted numerous photos from the reunion on her public Facebook page. In one photo, Cook and her boyfriend stood by a lake wearing bathing suits. Each had one arm around the other’s waist and her boyfriend’s other hand rested on Cook’s breast.
After the Pocatello High School Athletic Director and Assistant Principal saw the photo, they told Cook’s boyfriend to tell Cook that “it was not a good idea to post such a photo.” A number of Pocatello High School students were Facebook “friends” with Cook. After being informed of the Athletic Director’s concerns, Cook immediately removed the picture from her Facebook page. A few months later, administrators for the school district became aware of the photo. Despite the lack of any prior performance or disciplinary issues with Cook, the school district fired her. The district also reported Cook to the Idaho State Department of Education Professional Standards Commission for posting “a picture of a sexual nature on a social media website.” Although the football coach was also in the photo, the school district did not terminate his employment but according to reports, “reprimanded” him.
The Panel deciding Cook’s grievance looked at whether the school district’s decision to fire her was a violation of school district policy or whether the decision was unfair. The Panel decided that Cook’s conduct was not in any way immoral or indecent or a violation of the Code of Ethics for Professional Educators. It instead determined that Cook’s decision to post the photo on her public Facebook page that students could access was a “misstep in professional judgment and inappropriate” and contrary to the best interests of the school district. The panel therefore concluded that Cook was properly subject to discipline under the district’s corrective disciplinary policy. The Panel decided, however, that termination of employment was not warranted in Cook’s case as she removed the photo when the issue was brought to her attention, expressed sincere regret and had no prior performance problems. The Panel deemed Cook’s firing as unduly harsh and unfair.
The Panel concluded that a fair resolution would be to reinstate Cook as a substitute teacher for the district and to hire her as the head girls basketball coach at the high school for the 2014-15 season. The Panel further recommended that its decision be provided to the Professional Standards Commission in support of Cook. Finally, because the school district lacked a social media policy, the panel found that the district should adopt a policy and instruct employees about the standards of conduct related to the use of social media to help alleviate any confusion about what was acceptable or not.
Will Panel’s Reinstatement Decision Stand?
Will Cook actually be reinstated in time to coach this season? It depends. The Pocatello School District Board of Trustees has the ability to overturn the Panel’s decision at its next regularly scheduled public meeting. Either party then has forty-two (42) days after the filing of the board’s decision to appeal to the district court in Bannock County. Stay tuned to see if the reinstatement decision stands and Cook returns to coach this year.
Does the Panel’s Decision Offer Lessons for Employers?
Employers should consider what lessons they may learn from this much-publicized personnel decision. First and foremost, employers should consider adopting a social media policy that spells out what is acceptable (or not) and the potential consequences for violating the policy. Employers that have a progressive discipline policy must take that policy into account when making employment related decisions based upon employees’ violation of the standards of the organization. Finally, employers should take into account all the circumstances when making employment decisions, such as past performance, the employee’s willingness to accept responsibility, and any efforts to mitigate a questionable social media post.
