Protecting our rights as school employees is at the core of MEA’s mission. MEA provides members with numerous safeguards to protect our rights, including legal services and professional liability insurance.

Protecting our rights: Expert legal help
MEA employs several full-time attorneys and retains prestigious law firms to help protect members’ legal rights in matters arising out of our employment. MEA’s legal work helps members and local affiliates in matters such as:

• Contract negotiations and enforcement
• Wage and hour laws
• Education funding
• Unfair labor practices
• Layoff and recall
• Discrimination and civil rights
• Retirement
• Health and safety
• Fringe benefits
• Unemployment compensation

Protecting our livelihood: $1 million in liability insurance
Whether it’s in a classroom, school bus, office or other facility, accidents happen — and they often result in lawsuits. That’s why we as educators need professional liability insurance to protect us from workplace civil and criminal claims.

MEA strongly believes that employers should provide school employees with insurance to protect them from personal financial liability stemming from employment-related lawsuits. However, this is not always the case — so MEA provides each one of us with $1 million in professional liability insurance as a benefit of membership.

This liability insurance protects members from personal financial liability for most incidents arising out of educational employment activities or duties. The insurance also includes attorney’s fees, so as members we don’t have to pay a dime out of our own pockets to defend ourselves from frivolous civil lawsuits related to our employment.

TIP: If you need MEA legal services, contact your UniServ director right away.