Anyone have legal sources for...

[seawasp]

... employer requirements for paying for things like required courses to maintain certification?

This isn't for me -- I may be certifiable, but I'm not certified in my job. My sister in law works for a private school and as such her employer has said she has to take specific courses to maintain her certification to work in this private school (New York state). Said employer is NOT paying her for the days she's missing work (to go to the courses), for the travel (to get to the courses) or the fees for the courses.

This seems to me to be certainly MORALLY wrong, and I would think/hope that there's laws saying that you can't require your employees to go take courses and pay for them and not even pay them for the time off.

Comments

[guy-jin.livejournal.com]

I have no idea; Really, you/she should talk to a lawyer.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

With most professions it is up to the individual to get and maintain certifications. While some businesses will pay to assist, it's not nomrally required.

That said, there maybe special circumstances if the law and/or the job changes.

I agree - talk to a lawyer.

[murstein.livejournal.com]

While I'm not familiar with the question, I often settle online arguments by looking at the specific laws.

New York State Law requires that teachers take courses to maintain certification to teach. For private school teachers, except for a few that the State pays for (preschool and special ed) it doesn't specify who pays for the courses. I suspect the school is acting on the theory that maintaining professional certification is the professional's responsibility.

And this takes me to the limits of my confidence in my ability as a barracks lawyer.

[alexkaufmann]

I'm a NYC teacher in the EXACT same situation. My school has offered to pay for my courses, but there is no legal requirement that they do so.

If you have to pay for your own courses, the tuition should be tax-deductible but consult a CPA on that one.

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

Public schools in Calif have a budget to cover teacher on going training. But not every training class they take is covered. I know for example that teachers at our Adult school who are hired without a certificate have to pay for the classes to get the certificate.