Teacher sues school board after being fired for allegedly calling in sick to attend concert in Nashville

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio. (WXIX/Gray News ) – A Cincinnati teacher who was fired after she allegedly called in sick for two days to attend a concert in Nashville is suing the school board.

At the time of the incident, Eileen Washburn was an English teacher at Lakota West High School in Lakota Local School District.

According to the lawsuit, the school district said Washburn “falsified sick leave” on Feb. 8 and 9 and told several co-workers that he attended a concert in Nashville.

The school board said Washburn declined to answer questions about her whereabouts during that time and declined to discuss details about her alleged need for medical leave.

Washburn was placed on unpaid leave as the district investigated the incident. However, in October, she was officially fired.

Her lawyer claims her behavior did not amount to sick leave abuse.

According to the lawsuit, she provided the board with a note from her primary care physician explaining that she had to miss work on Feb. 8 and 9 due to side effects from resuming treatment.

Washburn said he had a medically approved reason to use the sick days, so the termination was wrongful.

The suit also alleges the board treated her differently from similarly situated employees by firing her for allegedly abusing sick leave “when other district employees were disciplined less harshly or not at all for having used sick pay when they were not sick”.

in the file Washburn wants the school board to reinstate the teacher, back pay and full reinstatement of seniority in all respects.

Lakota responded to the lawsuit with a filing of its own, denying the allegations and saying “the record speaks for itself.”