Inset: Ohio teacher Eileen Washburn (Loveland City School District). Background: The Lakota Board of Education that Eileen Washburn is suing (WXIX/YouTube).
A teacher in Ohio who was fired for calling out of work sick for two days to allegedly attend a concert in Nashville — with her former school district accusing her of taking “falsified sick leave” — has decided to sue, claiming her termination was a violation of her “constitutional rights.”
Eileen Washburn, an English teacher at Lakota West High School in the Lakota Local School District, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Butler County late last month against the district’s board of education. The board responded to the suit in a Dec. 24 filing, saying it denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing.
“The record speaks for itself,” says attorney Erin Wessendorf-Wortman, of Ennis Britton Co. LPA — the firm representing the school board — in its response, which was viewed by Law&Crime. “Plaintiff’s claim fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
According to Washburn’s lawsuit, the school district accused her of falsifying her sick leave on Feb. 8 and 9. She allegedly informed several colleagues of her plans and said she would be attending a concert in Tennessee with her son and a friend of his, with one claiming that Washburn “didn’t want to waste $600” that she spent.
Washburn says she provided the board with a letter from her primary care physician, explaining that she needed to miss work due to side effects she was suffering from after resuming a medication. Since she was medically approved to be out, Washburn didn’t see a problem with her missing work, regardless of the reason.
“In response … the Executive Director of Human Resources Rob Kramer, asked for additional details regarding her medical condition and the prescriptions she was taking,” Washburn’s complaint says. “Ms. Washburn was reluctant to answer his questions because she believed her medical condition was a personal matter which she was not required to share with her employer.”
At the end of the meeting, Kramer allegedly “asserted that Ms. Washburn was a liar, that her doctor was unethical and that he was moving for her termination,” per the complaint.
She was told by the district that they were weighing her termination on April 3, prompting Washburn to request a board hearing and review, where it was determined by Referee Gregory S. Page that her alleged “falsification of sick leave constitutes good and just cause for termination” after evidence and colleague testimony was presented.
“Her husband couldn’t go,” alleged Sally Barker, a fellow Lakota educator who teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to students at Liberty Junior High and Lakota West High Schools, which Washburn also did before she was axed. Her testimony was outlined in Page’s report, which is included in her complaint.
“She didn’t want to waste $600 on a concert,” Barker recalled being told by Washburn.
Courtney Jacobs, another ESL teacher, claimed Washburn told her she was taking her son and his friend to the concert and “potentially a college visit because her husband was not able to take the boys on the trip,” the referee’s report says.
“The Board terminated Ms. Washburn’s teaching contract by resolution on October 28, 2024,” Washburn’s complaint states. She had been placed on unpaid leave while the district investigated Washburn’s sick days.
While she maintains her innocence, Washburn also alleges that she was given an overly strict punishment “when other district employees were disciplined less harshly or not disciplined at all for using sick pay when they were not sick.”
She is demanding to get her job back and wants to be repaid for “all of her losses, including and without limitation back pay and all contractual benefits and full restoration of seniority in all respects,” her complaint says, in addition to attorney’s fees.
Attempts by Law&Crime to reach Washburn and the school district for comment were unsuccessful.
