An arbitration award that reinstated a teacher accused of making repeated sexually explicit comments toward his female co-worker violated the public policy against sexual harassment and cannot be enforced, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.
A split en banc panel found Sept. 18 in Neshaminy School District v. Neshaminy Federation of Teachers that imposing on Jared Katz a 20-day suspension but not dismissing him from his job as a ninth-grade teacher posed an unacceptable risk in the classroom and demonstrated a tolerance for sexual harassment.
