FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky teachers who participated in the "sickout" during the 2019 session of the General Assembly violated Kentucky law. The Labor Cabinet's Office of Inspector General ruled 1,074 teachers engaged in an illegal work stoppage.

KRS 336.050(2) allows the Cabinet to prosecute and assess fines of  $1,000 per person, per day of a work stoppage. Labor Cabinet Secretary David Dickerson said teachers will not be penalized in this instance, but said the investigation was necessary to ensure public schools stay open during the upcoming school year and that similar stoppages don't happen in the future.

“Kentucky law clearly prohibits public-sector employees from engaging in work stoppages that many teachers engaged in during the early months of 2019,” noted Dickerson. “Those teachers who participated in this concerted effort were in clear violation of the law, as noted by the Kentucky Education Association and recently affirmed by a federal court.”

United States District Judge Danny Reeves said the Labor Cabinet had every right to investigate the teachers for their conduct. 

“Kentucky statutes explicitly grant the Labor Cabinet the authority to prosecute and assess civil penalties against public employees, which includes public-school teachers who may have violated KRS Chapter 336,” Reeves stated. “Students are expected to attend classes. If they fail to do so without a valid excuse, their absence is duly-noted and appropriate action is taken. But the teachers at the center of this controversy expect[ed] different treatment.”

“It is important to note what the Court explicitly stated,” added Dickerson. “Citizens of the Commonwealth have a strong and continuing interest in public schools remaining open during the school year. The purpose of the Cabinet’s investigation was to undertake a thorough investigation into conduct by some public school teachers and ensure that work stoppages do not happen again so that public schools will be able to fulfill their mission to educate the children of Kentucky. The Cabinet remains dedicated to that mission and will continue to monitor any future ‘sickouts’ closely for further violations of Kentucky labor law.”

“Let it be clearly understood that the grace extended in this instance will not be extended for future such proven violations,” said Dickerson. “The public cannot tolerate another illegal work stoppage in our schools. It is important for public school teachers to understand the level of seriousness that, by law, the Labor Cabinet must and will give to any future work stoppages. We dedicate ourselves to students and parents across the Commonwealth to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, and that our schools will remain open.”