Real Life Story of Disparate Treatment

Irene, Teacher - Hibbing, MN

Irene applied for a full-time teaching position which involved the additional responsibility of coaching after school. The school district that she applied to refused to hire her because she had young children. The principal of the school claimed that her children's needs would be incompatible with the responsibilities associated with coaching after school. A woman with less teaching and coaching experience than Irene was hired instead. She did not have children. The school district in the past had frequently hired males for teaching positions that involved coaching responsibilities. Although the Minnesota Human Rights Act does not have a provision on discrimination based on familial status, it does prohibit employment practices that result in the unequal treatment of sexes, which occurred in this instance.

Pullar v. Independent School Dist. No. 701, 582 N.W.2d 273 (Minn.App. 1998)