Library Employment Contracts
Question
Our Board of Trustees is searching for a new director. Our Library has transitioned from a very small building to a modern, significantly larger building. As a public library, the school district we serve has a population of more than 18,000. Our former director did not have a contract.
Answer
Regular readers of "Ask the Lawyer" know one of the cardinal rules is: "Do not reinvent the wheel." So, before working on this reply, we[1] checked the "NY Library Trustees Handbook (2018),"[2] which has a whole section on hiring library directors.
Question
I understand that, as employers of a union shop, the library is required to allow the union a reasonable amount of time to conduct union business.[1] However, how much time is reasonable? Can employees meet with their shop stewards on the clock at the library for 5+ hours a week, taking both away from their duties? Is there a ballpark?
Answer
The care required when addressing union-related issues in so critical, we're going to start with a small cautionary poem: