Liability and Litigation Risks for Colleges of Pharmacy
Liability and Litigation Risks for Colleges of Pharmacy
The potential for legal liability involving faculty members and students in higher education settings is a topic that warrants serious attention by administrators. Specific areas identified as high risk include dismissal of a faculty member, denial of tenure, misappropriation of grant-funding, intellectual property conflicts, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues, sexual harassment, student suspension, disabilities, and student privacy issues. Examples of litigation in the higher-education setting are presented, along with a list of online resources for additional information. It is important for higher education administrators, faculty members, staff members, and students to recognize the currently accepted legal rights and responsibilities associated with these high-risk areas.
Over the past 30 years, emerging laws and legal liabilities have dramatically changed the academic workplace and the institution's legal relationships with employees and students. With these changes, the educational environment has become a highly complex and regulated forum rife with opportunity for missteps by the unsuspecting pharmacy administration team. Unfortunately, even with the best-laid plans — consultation with university attorneys, specific agreements, and detailed policies, for instance — administrative decisions can lead to litigation. Private civil claims or those brought by agencies for alleged federal or state violations can burden both the organization and any administrators individually named in the complaint with years of time-consuming and expensive legal events, detracting from the purpose of the organization. To protect both the entity and the individuals involved, administrators must become familiar with areas most likely to result in litigation and take prudent steps to prevent opportunistic attorneys from dragging the organization through an extended period of uncertainty.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
The potential for legal liability involving faculty members and students in higher education settings is a topic that warrants serious attention by administrators. Specific areas identified as high risk include dismissal of a faculty member, denial of tenure, misappropriation of grant-funding, intellectual property conflicts, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues, sexual harassment, student suspension, disabilities, and student privacy issues. Examples of litigation in the higher-education setting are presented, along with a list of online resources for additional information. It is important for higher education administrators, faculty members, staff members, and students to recognize the currently accepted legal rights and responsibilities associated with these high-risk areas.
Introduction
Over the past 30 years, emerging laws and legal liabilities have dramatically changed the academic workplace and the institution's legal relationships with employees and students. With these changes, the educational environment has become a highly complex and regulated forum rife with opportunity for missteps by the unsuspecting pharmacy administration team. Unfortunately, even with the best-laid plans — consultation with university attorneys, specific agreements, and detailed policies, for instance — administrative decisions can lead to litigation. Private civil claims or those brought by agencies for alleged federal or state violations can burden both the organization and any administrators individually named in the complaint with years of time-consuming and expensive legal events, detracting from the purpose of the organization. To protect both the entity and the individuals involved, administrators must become familiar with areas most likely to result in litigation and take prudent steps to prevent opportunistic attorneys from dragging the organization through an extended period of uncertainty.
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