Jill Schultz, a teacher at Peekskill High School since 2018, is suing the district, saying in court papers that the district gave her two days’ notice last May to prepare for what she was told was a performance review.

However, 18 minutes before the meeting started, she allegedly was told she was about to enter a disciplinary hearing that could lead to her being fired or penalized by the district.

In her federal lawsuit, filed in June 2024, attorneys for Schultz claim she was subjected to retaliation for taking family medical leave, and that she was asked to resign after requesting time off after her father died.

Schultz says in court papers that she was granted leave several times between 2022 and 2024 while acting as a caregiver to her terminally ill parents. 

The lawsuit alleges the district violated the Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Act of 1993 by retaliating against Schultz for taking FMLA leave and subjecting her to disparate treatment and a hostile work environment.

However, attorneys for the school district claim otherwise. In court papers they say the district had a “…legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for any alleged adverse employment action.”

Caring for ill parents starting in March 2022

In March 2022, the school district approved intermittent FMLA for Schultz to take care of her mother after the mother was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. A month later, Schultz’s father had a stroke and Schultz was approved for additional FMLA for the remainder of the school year.

On May 8, 2022, Schultz’s father was released from St. Catherine’s Hospital and moved into Schultz’s home. He never returned to his home and Schultz became a caretaker for him, in addition to her full-time special education role.

Between then and December 21, 2023, Schultz’s father had roughly 29 emergency room visits and two major surgeries, in addition to regular doctor visits, Schultz’s complaint states. 

Schultz herself was hospitalized and needed an emergency appendectomy in May 2023, returning to work when she was medically cleared. Then, on December 22, 2023, Schultz’s father’s health took a turn for the worse and he was admitted to hospice care. 

Request for family medical leave denied by district

Schultz applied for FMLA, with her husband dropping off her paperwork on Dec. 28 at the request of the District’s Human Resources (HR) department, she claims. Between Jan. 4 and Jan. 10, 2024, Schultz did not hear back from the District and believed that her request had been approved, her complaint states.

Schultz’s father passed away on Jan. 10, with his wake and funeral held in Mahopac, New York, on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16. The next day, Jan. 17, Schultz received an email from HR, asking where she is with FMLA. Schultz said she did not see that email until the following day.

On Jan. 18, Schultz responded, requesting a leave of absence or FMLA, citing mental health concerns from caring for both gravely ill parents and losing both parents in a brief amount of time. (Schultz’s complaint did not state when her mother passed away).

That same day, Schultz claims, she received a response from Peekskill High School’s Human Resources (HR) department, advising her to resign if she could no longer work. Her complaint said there were a string of “extraordinarily hostile” emails with union involvement between Jan. 18 and Jan. 29. 

On Jan. 29, Schultz submitted additional paperwork that was requested, then was advised by the District HR that her request would be reviewed by “legal.” 

The following day Schultz was advised that she did not qualify for FMLA because, allegedly, she exhausted her FMLA days as of May 22, 2023. To re-qualify, Schultz was told she must work 1,250 hours. She was also told to report to work the next day, Jan. 31, 2024.

Schultz reported to work on Jan. 31, Feb. 1 and 2, though according to her complaint, her physician prepared the FMLA paperwork, stating she was unable to return to work due to anxiety, exhaustion, caregiver syndrome and neglect of her health.

According to Schultz’s complaint, the union was certain that Schultz had acquired the hours eligible for FMLA and advised her to email Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Mauricio, who allegedly requested more medical information.

Schultz’s complaint claims that even though Schultz submitted the required paperwork, the district intentionally required additional documentation from her physician. Schultz then told the union she believed she was being retaliated against due to previously taking FMLA and because of her current request.

On Feb. 2, Schultz informed the union she would retain a private lawyer to address the denial of FMLA time. She spent several days and hours running back and forth to her doctor for documentation, all while grieving the death of her father, the complaint states.

District reverses decision, grants family leave

The union told her the FMLA was granted, and that human resources erred regarding Schultz’s time and paperwork from her doctor, the complaint reads. On March 5, Schultz returned to work. 

However, on May 29, 2024, Schultz received an email from the Director of Special Services and the Director of Special Education, stating, “RE: Performance Review (please feel free to bring union representation).”

Schultz claimed she emailed back asking if this was a disciplinary meeting but received no response. On May 31, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., a meeting was held with Schultz, her union representative and the district with an agenda that was presented as a performance review but was disciplinary, the complaint says.

Schultz claimed that 18 minutes before the scheduled meeting at 1:30 p.m., she was asked to bring IEP (Individualized Education Program) Progress Monitoring Data. The school district denied this in their response.

“The meeting was hostile,” Schultz’s complaint reads. “Moreover, no administrator has ever raised concerns about anything on the agenda. [Schultz’s] teaching and outstanding observations were never mentioned.”

The last two items were allegedly reassignment and a potential “theft of services” disciplinary action. Schultz was completely blind-sided by the meeting, her complaint reads, claiming it was a direct result of her insistence on pursuing her FMLA, which the district reluctantly granted.

The complaint states the “retaliatory conduct” profoundly impacted Schultz, and that when walking out of the school building, her principal commented about Schultz to a colleague, stating, “Jill is lucky to have a job.”

Schultz claims she is now being re-assigned to another position in the high school. The complaint states she was subjected to unfounded disciplinary allegations against her and negative treatment after advising the district of her medical condition and after taking FMLA leave.

According to a November 2024 letter from attorneys for the district, Schultz now faces a 3020 — a disciplinary hearing that could lead to discipline or firing by the district. The judge put a hold on Schultz’s federal lawsuit and ordered a status update on the disciplinary hearing no later than May 30, 2025.

Schultz seeks a jury trial, reinstatement of her prior position, back pay and front pay, other damages, including restoration of lost benefits and attorney fees and costs, which cannot yet be determined.

Schultz and attorney Stewart Lee Karlin, of Stewart Lee Karlin Law Group PC, did not respond for comment.

A spokesperson for the Peekskill City School District said the district does not comment on personnel matters. School district attorneys Caroline Beth Lineen and Stanislav Sharovskiy, of Silverman & Associates, did not respond for comment.

In court papers, attorneys for the District said the District would have taken the same actions with respect to Schultz even in the absence of any alleged protected conduct under the FMLA and that Schultz was not entitled to recover damages for alleged emotional distress.

“Any injury alleged to have been sustained by [Schultz] resulted from [Schultz’s] own culpable conduct and was not the proximate result of any act or unlawful acts of the [Peekskill City School District],” the response stated.

Shultz’s complaint said that while the teacher was a caregiver to her parents, she continued to work and perform her job duties with “glowing reviews.” Attorneys for the District denied this in their response.

The District also denied Schultz’s claim she applied for FMLA following her father being put in hospice, admitting only that at some point in Schultz’s employment she applied for FMLA leave.

In addition, they denied having sent an email asking Schultz to resign if she could no longer work; denied that she brought additional paperwork requested on Jan. 29, 2024; and denied that the superintendent requested more medical information from Schultz on Feb. 1.

According to a Board of Education agenda from Feb. 6, 2024, Mauricio recommended Schultz take a non-paid leave of absence from Jan. 29, 2024 to March 5, 2024.

The school district also denied Schultz’s claim of her principal stating she was lucky to have a job. They also denied that Schultz was being reassigned to another position in the District, and that, rather, she has been assigned a Special Education Teacher assignment, which is within her tenure subject area, at the high school, for the 2024-25 school year.

According to Peekskill Faculty Association President Timothy Murphy, FMLA is given to teachers who have a “qualifying event” under the FMLA guidelines and is unpaid leave. Under their contract, the association has negotiated certain circumstances where a teacher may use their personal or family sick leave to run concurrently with their FMLA time and be paid, Murphy said.