In Springfield School Committee, 44 MLC 129 (February 16, 2018), a bargaining unit member working under a voluntary resignation agreement that restricted her to working in the reference library and warned her she would be dismissed for insubordination, charged the Committee with interfering with her right to seek mutual aid and protection from the Union when the Principal further restricted her contact with other members of the unit. In soundly rejecting the charge, the DLR Hearing Officer found the Principal was actually protecting other employees from being interrupted by the Complainant’s
attempts to socialize while they tried to work. The Hearing Officer also praised the Principal for exercising restraint in working with the employee to allow her to complete the rest of the school year prior to the effective date of her resignation.
