Judy Pearson grew up believing that fairness in America meant that the best qualified person got the job. She was shocked when in 1986 she applied for a principal ship in her home town and discovered that a small group of men, in an illegal, closed door meeting, said, "Hell would freeze over before we'll hire a woman to be principal of Cook High School." Instead, they chose a substantially less qualified male candidate who had lied about his qualifications.
Pearson is a respected educator with professionalism and passion for quality community education. All she ever wanted was to teach and administer public school education in the town where she lived. She has the credentials to do it too. Plaintiff's Blues details her saga of fighting back against a system of bias, discrimination and retaliation.
Pearson's first brush with discrimination occurred when she delivered her first child, and took 11 of 12 accrued sick leave days before resuming work. These were sick days, not maternity leave, and she had earned them. The school district docked her pay and she had to file a grievance. She eventually was paid those days but in the process she had begun to learn the emotional and political capital known as the Plaintiff Blues.
Later she sued the district over being denied the principal ship and won, but gained little in the victory. In fact her fight initiated long term retaliation against her in the workplace. Despite winning praise and commendation for her work from students, teachers, parents, peers, and community leaders, she was transferred and denied benefits that other male administrators were awarded, sometimes secretly. Eventually though, the people who denied her and who retaliated against her were discredited. Others who had been similarly harmed came forward. Although hell never froze over at Cook High School for her, because of her fight, other women in the school district did eventually receive positions as principals and administrators.
Plaintiff's Blues details not only the actions against her, but also tells in a personal way the stress and insecurity of being a plaintiff and fighting a large system. Pearson inter-mixes the legal play-by-play of her actions with the personal and emotional stories of her childhood, her marriage, her children, and her love for lake living in Northern Minnesota. She laughs now at the incredulity of two small town incongruous rumors, one that claimed she was having an affair, and one that said she had a heart attack and drowned in her bathtub (a teacher acquaintance said he knew it couldn't be true because "the Pearson's don't take baths in summer, they take saunas").
Plaintiffs, potential plaintiffs, and anyone who has been wronged in the workplace would be wise to read this firsthand account, and heed these tips by Pearson:
- You have to know your rights to have your rights.
- Check out the other guy! Be on the lookout for bogus credentials. Do not believe everything you read or hear about another's credentials.
- Watch out for advisory committees!
- Beware hidden agendas!
- Local newspapers are your watchdog!
- Keep your eye on the process!
- Watch the calendar, timelines are huge!
- Be prepared for the long haul!
- Make sure a thorough vetting job has been done!
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