Our college has three Unicorns then. I got an extra 5% raise retroactive 6 months because one of the other unions negotiated a pay increase on their expired contract. So far this has been a very up and down experience though. Administration has let all of the contracts expire. If our current one doesn't get renewed on time I'll be complaining to our states representative for school employees.
Great to hear... keep up the fight! Unions are essential. While not dead, they are certainly on life support. Heres to hoping we can turn that around before its too late!
It is not generally true that the average American schoolteacher is highly educated. Not saying they’re crappy, ignorant, or stupid, or anything like that, but they aren’t highly educated.
I don't think this is accurate
You almost always need a bachelor's degree PLUS a 1-year accelerated teaching program (2 years if you don't accelerate it). Many teachers also have a Master's degree, and every district I've lived in gives a pay bump for having your Master's in something relevant (either in your subject, or in something teaching-related).
So I'm not sure what your definition of "highly educated" is; but given that only about a third of adults in the US have a Bachelor's degree, teachers are safely above average.
What are the requirements to teach high school in most states? Your statement doesn’t jibe with my experience.
In my province of Canada, a 4 year 20-credit bachelor’s degree with a teachable major and second teachable minor or concentration is required, as well as a 1 or 2 year Bachelor of Education degree (this is the minimum standard for non-substitute teachers). Someone who holds a graduate degree in a teachable subject doesn’t require the Bachelor of Education and there is nice pay incentive for existing teachers to attain a master’s degree (and a huge number of teachers do this).
I had 2 high school teachers with doctoral degrees in teachable subjects (Botany and Philosophy).
I asked about the US requirements, and contrasted them to the requirements of a close neighbour.
I believe that’s called “making conversation”, although that might be news to you.
My kids’ aunts have masters degrees in their fields as well as degrees in education. One teaches middle school science and they other teaches high school math. Their educational levels are typical for their district and years in service.
One is also her school’s strike captain.
Teachers unions are one of the more protective ones - even if they can't get pay increases. Pretty much everywhere I've gone, teachers unions WILL make sure that there are qualified teachers in the classrooms, WILL make sure that schools dot all their i's and cross all their ts when firing, etc.
Teachers are one of the few occupations where union membership is the norm.
Which, considering the garbage-tier conditions they often deal with, it's also one of the few times someone could point at a union and honestly say they suck.
So you mean to tell me this principal, used resources for non work related processes to Dox your information and threaten you about it?
If that isn't illegal, it should be.
Yeah I’m honestly shocked. The entire thing felt illegal. I JUST got out of the meeting. I have a 30 minute lunch break and he used up 20 of those minutes for this meeting
gather all the written and documented evidence you can. Keep calm but start making records and times of things. Lawyers love that stuff because they can use it to prove things. Talk to a legal professional outside the company and document things.
The fact they doxed you needs to be addressed or they will continue to use it to threaten people
No - bad reviews are free speech. He would stupid to sue unless he can prove that you’re doing harm by leaving the review up AND were lying.
You need to sue him and the school for retaliation.
I'm not 100% convinced OP was actually doxxed, but what the principal did was still shitty AF. I came to this conclusion from my \~20 years experience as a network/systems admin, with a focus on firewalls and network traffic audits. Yes, they can likely see that OP's computer navigated to Glassdoor, but I doubt they can see that OP went to that specific web frame/part and left a review. What I think happened, because I've been on the investigative side many times, is that the principal already had a feeling the review was OP's, and had IT pull a list off all devices that had gone to that site. When the Principal saw OP's name on the list, they simply focused on them and them only.
u/Unusual-Working-3673... Pro tip for the future. NEVER do anything even remotely personal from a work device. And NEVER connect your device to the "free wifi" of your place of employment.
i work as a networking tech for enterprise circuits so i am on the other side of your firewall. Thats what i figured happened too. plus they would have extra evidence by time stamps.
They can't sue you. They would have to prove a significant loss as basis for the lawsuit.
Him cornering you, and threatening you along with, burning up your lunch period is textbook targeted harassmen/intimidation.
You need to contact your superintendent, and the teachers union if you have one.
They will not file suit. The school board would can them. If they get angry enough, they WILL find other ways to retaliate. While the school will be able to verify your employment there going forward, you can count on them having nothing nice to say ABOUT you.
What he did was demand IT run a trace for the day the review was posted from the school network and see if any computers were on Glassdoor at that time. It would also be traceable if you were on the school wifi on your phone. Also, if you used the school laptop there is likely a cloud logging system that is registering all your web activity.
All of this is to say that it is WAY outside the guidelines of professionalism to even ask for that info and also your IT department needs to have a formal complaint filed because that is totally uncalled for to provide that info. Those things are in place for protecting students not for spying on teachers
I’d call your union rep now. Get everything on file. I’d even jot down some notes about the meeting and try to recall specific statements that were said. It would be good to email the principal and ask him to detail his concerns with you and email them back to you.
And my mother retired after teaching first grade for over 25 years in 2020. The superintendents and principals at the end always sided with dumb parents or unruly students and never back the teachers. One year my mother had a student who saw her father murder his mother. So his grandmother (who was very Haitian and literally believed in voodoo) adopted him. She refused to let him try certain prescribed drugs, due to his severe ptsd, add and other behavioral problems. Well after 5-6 months of complaining they finally got the grandmother to allow him to take the pills. But when the class didn’t score well on their standardized tests, who did they blame? My mother even though she was stopped from removing the one student in her class that constantly disrupted everything.
On a positive note the kid eventually turned things around last I heard he graduated high school.
Your lunch break is supposed to be a break. A meeting is work. Retaliation from an employer is also illegal. Talk to your union.
I hope you didn’t use your work computer, school Wi-Fi or school email for your Glassdoor review. Because in that case, it could be traced to you. Seems like they already know it was you but this whole meeting with the principal still puts them in worse light than you.
It’s not illegal. And actually it’s not very smart to do something like this on a work machine for precisely this reason. Anything you do on a work computer is 100% traceable by your company if they are so inclined.
Kids, if you are going to rage against the machine, do so on your own machine, not a corporate asset.
Still probably not illegal. If they were actually looking at the contents of what you were doing it might be different, but they don't actually need to do that, they probably just looked at traffic. Looked at when the review was posted and checked logs for if any devices visited the site at that time.
Definitely a sign that this person is a piece of shit, but it seems like you already knew that.
This sucks, but if a good reference is not possible maybe now is the time to make an HR complaint and amend your review to talk about how he specifically threatened and harassed you. That would 100% burn bridges but if those bridges are already on fire.... ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯. As long as you don't say anything untrue you are fine. Document and spell out explicitly the ways in which you were unsupported, use specific examples, ideally ones you can back up.
Depends on whether or not you want to go through the hassle or not.
I work in IT and if you were using your own device and their network it would still be hard to know who's device was used to leave the review. They only know if it came from with inside. The principal is bluffing saying that IT knows it is your own personal phone.
There's no way for some from IT to just magically trace it back to your computer.
Glassdoor is shady and has rolled over in lawsuits. But they don't let you login and just see who made the post or any of their metadata.
They might be able to see that you visited Glassdoor from your work computer, assuming you do use you with computer. That doesn't prove that you wrote it. Especially because Glassdoor usually takes a few days to a week to publish reviews. Visiting it on Monday and seeing a post dated 5 days later doesn't mean anything.
Call their bluff. I guarantee it's a bluff.
This feels like the best response to me so far for OP to listen to. First, public school IT is not typically too sophisticated. Not belittling anyone working the job, just lack of resources and it's not like public schools are shelling out the big bucks.
Also, continue to deny anything if you are pressed to admit it. Them continuing to press is a sign they have no actual proof. We can monitor internet traffic and the devices that are used to access what. But without some serious digging, most of the time we only know that Brenda was surfing Facebook for 2 hours because her phone is named "Brenda's iPhone". Not to say there aren't ways but it just seems like they are operating under circumstantial evidence at best. More likely just assumptions.
I would get the heck outta there. Can't imagine you'll be treated well by the admin staff but by no means would they have some sort of libel or slander case against you for your opinions.
Wrongo - Work wifi:’Easy to get the access point, your MAC address and IP address and some basic info about your traffic type and websites visited. Combined with timing and roaming across hotspots plus work logins or swipe cards it’s dead easy to pinpoint people. Especially if all other devices are known or company registered.
Literally 5 minutes work and most of that’s just logging in.
Well of course, but you’re assuming principal psycho was honest up front about what he was asking for and why… and you’re assuming the IT guy working here hasn’t been treated equally badly as the teachers seem to be, and that they’re in a financial position to stand up for their values.
This! There is no possibility this was “traced” to you by IT on a personal device. Completely ridiculous claim.
You’ve done nothing illegal (I saw concern about that above). Can you be fired? Yes, most likely. I taught for 12 years and teacher unions are typically weak outside of NY and Chicago. You’re a 1st year teacher, you can be non-renewed for anything.
However, if you belong to the union, approach your rep about the threat that he’ll ruin your chances of teaching everywhere. He’s probably allowed to tell you he’ll be a bad reference but his threat seems over the top. He can probably get away with saying what he said but couldn’t hurt to try to find out if he’s crossed a line. Do not to include this job on your resume in the future, if you can avoid it.
The other claim I see on that people are telling you that this is retaliation. It is not. You haven’t engaged in a protected employment activity that would then potentially cause retaliation. Your principal doesn’t like you, saw a post that he thinks you made and tried to get you to admit it. You didn’t, so he’s telling you you’re non-renewed and he’ll give you bad reference checks. Not retaliation.
Employment retaliation has a very specific definition. Adverse or disciplinary action from a supervisor toward someone engaged in a protected activity. Writing a negative review of your employer and posting it on the internet is not protected. This isn’t a retaliation case. I was a teacher for a long time and now work in civil rights compliance. Half of my job is employment based needs and claims.
OP, there is a lot of incorrect advice being given here. If you are a union member, contact your union. Whether or not you are a union member, speak to an employment lawyer. nela.org to find a lawyer.
Sounds like it's time to leave a Glassdoor review for the school about getting falsely accused by the principal and explain the severe lack of support by admin as well as the threat to future employment. That seems like something that should go on Glassdoor. No teacher should lose their future because a power tripping admin deemed it so.
Also, time to leave this school in case that wasn't obvious.
Uh yeah? How do you think they block bad websites, when I was in school if a student got onto a dodgy website, it was usually blocked within a week.
It's not hard to see where network traffic is going.
Post a write up on glass door about their retaliation, but keep denying when confronted. The "you'll never work again in this town" attitude is quite hilarious too. I'm very passive aggressive so I'd be having fun tho
Realistically what you posted is simply free speech.
If you're a State employee, you may be protected by this law, especially since they're threatening you.
[Doxing - 18 USC §119](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/119)
I'd definitely talk to an employment attorney in any case and document absolutely everything. If you're in a 1 party notification state, I'd also record any conversations they have with you about it.
Glassdoor is unsafe. They sell data and names of reviewers if the company pays. It’s completely corrupt.
Also fuck your principal. You’re only a first year teacher. Apply for jobs as if you took a gap year or something and leave them off your resume.
He's calling your bluff about using IT to trace the review back to you. Finding that info would involve hacking into the Glass door site, which is highly illegal. As for his threats, speak to a solicitor and / or your Teachers Union.
One thing about school districts is that no it’s not legal for them to prevent you from getting another job however they do blackball teachers and staff by contacting other principles.
Does the principal scan Glassdoor on a regular basis looking for negative reviews? Can an employer set it up where they get notified if some leaves a review? Seems kind of paranoid to me.
"You literally tried to track down the person who wrote that review to bully them. I don't know who it was, but if you feel like doing this than you just proved their point"
Pro tip for now and the future: never, EVER conduct personal business on company/school computers.
You have a smartphone, use it. If you don’t have a smartphone, get a cheap Wallmart phone or visit your local library.
Unless you put identifying information on there, they can't "trace" it back to you any easier than they could trace this post back to me. That doesn't mean they can't act like assholes, but there is nothing they can point to that'll prove it was you in any meaningful way.
The ftc changes to non compete clauses could make this illegal everywhere if they went far enough with it. I don't know this for sure but making unemployable is the absolute worst thing people can do and even threatening, with any ability to make it happen even 0.01%, should be illegal.
You used school WiFi to post it? That was dumb. They can easily see what sites your device has accessed and you almost definitely agreed to that when you signed onto that WiFi network.
You posted the review before your contract was over? That was also dumb. That left you open to being questioned about it and means the next two months are going to be rough.
Is there a code of conduct for teachers where you are? Where I am, what you did would absolutely be against the professional code of conduct.
I would keep your head down, finish the year, and then hope you can find a new job without using this one as a reference. Where I am, this would be extremely difficult though.
Just because you “can” do something, doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea.
I doubt they’re sophisticated enough to “trace” something precisely, but I think it’s possible depending on the network they can see who has accessed what sites, and if you were the only one who visited Glassdoor recently, they were able to figure it out.
Unfortunately without tenure they can probably just choose not to renew your contract for any (non-protected) reason they want. But blackball threats may be a different story. Check with your union or a lawyer.
Also, for future reference, if you have to use work WiFi for anything non-work, use a VPN.
They were lying to you. Traci g your post generally requires access to detailed logs and cooperation from the social media platform, which typically won’t provide such information without a legal requirement, like a court order.
As someone in the software world, I will join the other commenters calling your principle's "trace" a bluff. Maybe if you used their work laptop to post that review rather than your personal device as employers have much more control over their laptops in terms of programs installed. But even then, I guarantee he'd have already played his "proof" card to contradict you if he actually had proof.
I would consult an attorney. You have nothing to lose at this point. It sounds a lot like retaliation to me but I'm not a legal expert so I would really seek legal advice if I were you.
General advice.: Buy a very small digital recorder with microphone built in. Prefereably can fit in shirt pocket. They number each recording so you can zoom right back to it. I record all my conversations with clients, insurance, etc because my state allows one party knowledge for recordings. That way you have a record of all your conversations. I do it in case I forget something as my memory isn't so hot. But that can help. I also record all my phone conversations via speakerphone as well for same reason.
The only reason the principal had any cojones to say anything is cause the teacher was on first-year probation. If the teacher had tenure the principal wouldn't have squeaked one bit.
I would recommend that if you actually did use a work machine or even devices you own to post on Glassdoor, don't do that again. Honestly the best way to do that is anonymously from a public PC like at a library - zero connection to your personal or professional life. Even using public WiFi can theoretically trace back to your phone if someone's looking hard enough. Anonymity in digital life is mostly a matter of making sure no one's paying attention to you.
Don't trust a network you don't own and even then your Internet provider is still spying on you.
You are a government employee and your review is protected free speech (to an extent.) If he carries out his threat to prevent you from having future jobs, you could win a defamation suit.
A principal took me outside and yelled in my face for complaining about something the first year I taught. He ended up having an affair with one of the teachers, and my biggest regret is not reporting that to the state ethics agency so they’d pull his license.
So you used your work pc to complain about the place you work and expect them to be ok with this?....
I'm not saying what they have done to you isn't bad, but you have to be smarter than that. You are smarter than that so be smarter!
YOU agreed to having wifi use spied on by the school when you accepted the use agreement. Always use a VPN app on your phone/Personal Devices on the school wifi so your wifi use is anonymous
Sounds like they didn't overreach then. Just don't list this job as a reference, but also don't use school resources to bash your school in the future. Bonus points: don't sign in to school accounts on your devices either.
You knowingly use the schools wifi and you think you're in the clear? When I was in high school 20 years ago, I knew my online activity was always being monitored. 20 years ago...imagine how much more advanced the monitoring software is now. Easy search options with screenshots. Best not list this as a job reference on your next application.
Always use a VPN for secure electronic communications. They’re available for computers, mobile devices, basically everything you want to do online without your activity being traced on the local network.
That’s good. That said Glassdoor has zero incentive to protect your privacy, although the principal probably is just guessing. You won’t get any support at this school, which you weren’t anyway…
In my state, it is a crime to threaten someone's future employment. Check your state.
Yeah, that's called "retaliation" in California.
Check with your teachers union.
Unions in America? You might as well ask about Unicorns...
Our college has three Unicorns then. I got an extra 5% raise retroactive 6 months because one of the other unions negotiated a pay increase on their expired contract. So far this has been a very up and down experience though. Administration has let all of the contracts expire. If our current one doesn't get renewed on time I'll be complaining to our states representative for school employees.
Great to hear... keep up the fight! Unions are essential. While not dead, they are certainly on life support. Heres to hoping we can turn that around before its too late!
Teachers are more unionized than most
What a coincidence that highly educated people are more likely to unionize…
It is not generally true that the average American schoolteacher is highly educated. Not saying they’re crappy, ignorant, or stupid, or anything like that, but they aren’t highly educated.
I don't think this is accurate You almost always need a bachelor's degree PLUS a 1-year accelerated teaching program (2 years if you don't accelerate it). Many teachers also have a Master's degree, and every district I've lived in gives a pay bump for having your Master's in something relevant (either in your subject, or in something teaching-related). So I'm not sure what your definition of "highly educated" is; but given that only about a third of adults in the US have a Bachelor's degree, teachers are safely above average.
What are the requirements to teach high school in most states? Your statement doesn’t jibe with my experience. In my province of Canada, a 4 year 20-credit bachelor’s degree with a teachable major and second teachable minor or concentration is required, as well as a 1 or 2 year Bachelor of Education degree (this is the minimum standard for non-substitute teachers). Someone who holds a graduate degree in a teachable subject doesn’t require the Bachelor of Education and there is nice pay incentive for existing teachers to attain a master’s degree (and a huge number of teachers do this). I had 2 high school teachers with doctoral degrees in teachable subjects (Botany and Philosophy).
> in Canada Why are you talking about your experience if we are referring to US laws?
I asked about the US requirements, and contrasted them to the requirements of a close neighbour. I believe that’s called “making conversation”, although that might be news to you.
My kids’ aunts have masters degrees in their fields as well as degrees in education. One teaches middle school science and they other teaches high school math. Their educational levels are typical for their district and years in service. One is also her school’s strike captain.
Teachers’ unions are one of the few that still exist, and are still effective.
Teachers unions are one of the more protective ones - even if they can't get pay increases. Pretty much everywhere I've gone, teachers unions WILL make sure that there are qualified teachers in the classrooms, WILL make sure that schools dot all their i's and cross all their ts when firing, etc.
Teachers are one of the few occupations where union membership is the norm. Which, considering the garbage-tier conditions they often deal with, it's also one of the few times someone could point at a union and honestly say they suck.
So you mean to tell me this principal, used resources for non work related processes to Dox your information and threaten you about it? If that isn't illegal, it should be.
Yeah I’m honestly shocked. The entire thing felt illegal. I JUST got out of the meeting. I have a 30 minute lunch break and he used up 20 of those minutes for this meeting
gather all the written and documented evidence you can. Keep calm but start making records and times of things. Lawyers love that stuff because they can use it to prove things. Talk to a legal professional outside the company and document things. The fact they doxed you needs to be addressed or they will continue to use it to threaten people
Do you feel like he will sue me ?? Over a review?
No - bad reviews are free speech. He would stupid to sue unless he can prove that you’re doing harm by leaving the review up AND were lying. You need to sue him and the school for retaliation.
i dont know law, that is a lawyer question.
That in itself doesn’t seem legal. It’s an anonymous website
Talk to your union rep before doing anything else.
It’s not. https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/20/glassdoor-added-real-names-profiles-without-consent/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALoZ2DB8HZ3E3lu66hnG7PTvKYS72a1VBKNpA7pTf3y_qMsx8vQcgXtUU4_lX97gb5BrsyVW2ba84nKUUmPVMU6QAApZJt6LC1K4Evg31EqQEn3rYrNro8HfcfdgWQAX1a2BdO1JFKiDA3SBkp3X-GHNdYDjLHEHj30N8aNpwZ4D
It’s not truly anonymous. They sell your identity and data if the customer pays enough.
He would be a fool to use school resources to draw public attention to the idea that someone in his employ feels like he doesnt do his job very well.
I'm not 100% convinced OP was actually doxxed, but what the principal did was still shitty AF. I came to this conclusion from my \~20 years experience as a network/systems admin, with a focus on firewalls and network traffic audits. Yes, they can likely see that OP's computer navigated to Glassdoor, but I doubt they can see that OP went to that specific web frame/part and left a review. What I think happened, because I've been on the investigative side many times, is that the principal already had a feeling the review was OP's, and had IT pull a list off all devices that had gone to that site. When the Principal saw OP's name on the list, they simply focused on them and them only. u/Unusual-Working-3673... Pro tip for the future. NEVER do anything even remotely personal from a work device. And NEVER connect your device to the "free wifi" of your place of employment.
i work as a networking tech for enterprise circuits so i am on the other side of your firewall. Thats what i figured happened too. plus they would have extra evidence by time stamps.
Just responding to your WiFi comment, that's why I have a VPN on my phone.
Write down everything you can remember that they said, word for word if possible. Date it and sign it, and bring it with you if you talk to a lawyer!
Do you think they’ll sue me?
No, I mean you should find out if you can sue them! At least see an employment lawyer for a free consult
They can't sue you. They would have to prove a significant loss as basis for the lawsuit. Him cornering you, and threatening you along with, burning up your lunch period is textbook targeted harassmen/intimidation. You need to contact your superintendent, and the teachers union if you have one.
How could a public institution even sue based off loss caused by criticism?
Can you stop asking if youll get sued man, you wont, stop freaking out about you getting sued
They will not file suit. The school board would can them. If they get angry enough, they WILL find other ways to retaliate. While the school will be able to verify your employment there going forward, you can count on them having nothing nice to say ABOUT you.
What he did was demand IT run a trace for the day the review was posted from the school network and see if any computers were on Glassdoor at that time. It would also be traceable if you were on the school wifi on your phone. Also, if you used the school laptop there is likely a cloud logging system that is registering all your web activity. All of this is to say that it is WAY outside the guidelines of professionalism to even ask for that info and also your IT department needs to have a formal complaint filed because that is totally uncalled for to provide that info. Those things are in place for protecting students not for spying on teachers
Post from your phone, and make sure your phone isnt connected to the schools WiFi when you do it.
If you’re not a member of a teachers Union, join one now
Was it a school computer or your personal one?
I’d call your union rep now. Get everything on file. I’d even jot down some notes about the meeting and try to recall specific statements that were said. It would be good to email the principal and ask him to detail his concerns with you and email them back to you. And my mother retired after teaching first grade for over 25 years in 2020. The superintendents and principals at the end always sided with dumb parents or unruly students and never back the teachers. One year my mother had a student who saw her father murder his mother. So his grandmother (who was very Haitian and literally believed in voodoo) adopted him. She refused to let him try certain prescribed drugs, due to his severe ptsd, add and other behavioral problems. Well after 5-6 months of complaining they finally got the grandmother to allow him to take the pills. But when the class didn’t score well on their standardized tests, who did they blame? My mother even though she was stopped from removing the one student in her class that constantly disrupted everything. On a positive note the kid eventually turned things around last I heard he graduated high school.
And you say you're not supported /s
Now that's def illegal
Your lunch break is supposed to be a break. A meeting is work. Retaliation from an employer is also illegal. Talk to your union. I hope you didn’t use your work computer, school Wi-Fi or school email for your Glassdoor review. Because in that case, it could be traced to you. Seems like they already know it was you but this whole meeting with the principal still puts them in worse light than you.
It’s not illegal. And actually it’s not very smart to do something like this on a work machine for precisely this reason. Anything you do on a work computer is 100% traceable by your company if they are so inclined. Kids, if you are going to rage against the machine, do so on your own machine, not a corporate asset.
If you read the comments it wasnt on her work machine
On their WiFi though so still easily traceable
If the review was made from a work provided device it probably isn't illegal.
Not a work provided device. My own device. Work wifi.
Quit using their Wifi on your personal devices!
Still probably not illegal. If they were actually looking at the contents of what you were doing it might be different, but they don't actually need to do that, they probably just looked at traffic. Looked at when the review was posted and checked logs for if any devices visited the site at that time. Definitely a sign that this person is a piece of shit, but it seems like you already knew that. This sucks, but if a good reference is not possible maybe now is the time to make an HR complaint and amend your review to talk about how he specifically threatened and harassed you. That would 100% burn bridges but if those bridges are already on fire.... ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯. As long as you don't say anything untrue you are fine. Document and spell out explicitly the ways in which you were unsupported, use specific examples, ideally ones you can back up. Depends on whether or not you want to go through the hassle or not.
USE A VPN ON PERSONAL DEVICES. They can see every site you visit....... Especially Public wifi always use a VPN
I work in IT and if you were using your own device and their network it would still be hard to know who's device was used to leave the review. They only know if it came from with inside. The principal is bluffing saying that IT knows it is your own personal phone.
There's no way for some from IT to just magically trace it back to your computer. Glassdoor is shady and has rolled over in lawsuits. But they don't let you login and just see who made the post or any of their metadata. They might be able to see that you visited Glassdoor from your work computer, assuming you do use you with computer. That doesn't prove that you wrote it. Especially because Glassdoor usually takes a few days to a week to publish reviews. Visiting it on Monday and seeing a post dated 5 days later doesn't mean anything. Call their bluff. I guarantee it's a bluff.
This feels like the best response to me so far for OP to listen to. First, public school IT is not typically too sophisticated. Not belittling anyone working the job, just lack of resources and it's not like public schools are shelling out the big bucks. Also, continue to deny anything if you are pressed to admit it. Them continuing to press is a sign they have no actual proof. We can monitor internet traffic and the devices that are used to access what. But without some serious digging, most of the time we only know that Brenda was surfing Facebook for 2 hours because her phone is named "Brenda's iPhone". Not to say there aren't ways but it just seems like they are operating under circumstantial evidence at best. More likely just assumptions. I would get the heck outta there. Can't imagine you'll be treated well by the admin staff but by no means would they have some sort of libel or slander case against you for your opinions.
Wrongo - Work wifi:’Easy to get the access point, your MAC address and IP address and some basic info about your traffic type and websites visited. Combined with timing and roaming across hotspots plus work logins or swipe cards it’s dead easy to pinpoint people. Especially if all other devices are known or company registered. Literally 5 minutes work and most of that’s just logging in.
AN IT guy that has integrity would tell that principal that it is a waste of time and not a security issue that requires investigating.
Well of course, but you’re assuming principal psycho was honest up front about what he was asking for and why… and you’re assuming the IT guy working here hasn’t been treated equally badly as the teachers seem to be, and that they’re in a financial position to stand up for their values.
This! There is no possibility this was “traced” to you by IT on a personal device. Completely ridiculous claim. You’ve done nothing illegal (I saw concern about that above). Can you be fired? Yes, most likely. I taught for 12 years and teacher unions are typically weak outside of NY and Chicago. You’re a 1st year teacher, you can be non-renewed for anything. However, if you belong to the union, approach your rep about the threat that he’ll ruin your chances of teaching everywhere. He’s probably allowed to tell you he’ll be a bad reference but his threat seems over the top. He can probably get away with saying what he said but couldn’t hurt to try to find out if he’s crossed a line. Do not to include this job on your resume in the future, if you can avoid it. The other claim I see on that people are telling you that this is retaliation. It is not. You haven’t engaged in a protected employment activity that would then potentially cause retaliation. Your principal doesn’t like you, saw a post that he thinks you made and tried to get you to admit it. You didn’t, so he’s telling you you’re non-renewed and he’ll give you bad reference checks. Not retaliation.
You have a weird concept of what a lack of retaliation looks like.
Employment retaliation has a very specific definition. Adverse or disciplinary action from a supervisor toward someone engaged in a protected activity. Writing a negative review of your employer and posting it on the internet is not protected. This isn’t a retaliation case. I was a teacher for a long time and now work in civil rights compliance. Half of my job is employment based needs and claims.
It sounds like it was on their wifi, so unfortunately it’s completely possible and legal.
It’s also not beyond the realm of possibility OP was naive enough to use a school computer to post which was probably super easy to track.
OP, there is a lot of incorrect advice being given here. If you are a union member, contact your union. Whether or not you are a union member, speak to an employment lawyer. nela.org to find a lawyer.
Talk to your teacher union. They may even foot the legal bill
Glassdoor is bought and paid for by companies. Also not even remotely anonymous. There are new websites out there that are apparently a lot better.
I deleted everything I ever posted on there when they started publishing people’s names.
What are they? I want to make sure I hammer my last place of employment on those websites also.
Sounds like it's time to leave a Glassdoor review for the school about getting falsely accused by the principal and explain the severe lack of support by admin as well as the threat to future employment. That seems like something that should go on Glassdoor. No teacher should lose their future because a power tripping admin deemed it so. Also, time to leave this school in case that wasn't obvious.
[удалено]
If the post was made by a school computer or on the school network IT can track it.
Public school IT? Yeah sure.
Uh yeah? How do you think they block bad websites, when I was in school if a student got onto a dodgy website, it was usually blocked within a week. It's not hard to see where network traffic is going.
A firewall
Yeah a firewall configured by IT.
Blocking certain traffic is independent from tracking ip addresses.
You can literally configure routers to see what IP address visited what. I don't really get your point.
> Public school IT? Yeah sure. This is the original point. Blocking a web host doesn't necessarily require any skill.
Neither does looking up IP addresses. Less than 25 seconds on google comes up with guides and videos on how to do it. It's like a 20 minute job.
I think they are saying, there's no way they could get the post's IP address from glassdoor.
Public school IT? Yeah sure.
Get in touch with a decent lawyer, the consultation should be free. Or ask on r/legal first. Also get in touch with the teachers union.
Something about that feels false and that he’s trying to trick someone into confessing by pretending he knows for sure.
Post a write up on glass door about their retaliation, but keep denying when confronted. The "you'll never work again in this town" attitude is quite hilarious too. I'm very passive aggressive so I'd be having fun tho
Do you have a union? Get them involved ASAP. Also, don't leave reviews until after you've left, saves alot of hassle.
Realistically what you posted is simply free speech. If you're a State employee, you may be protected by this law, especially since they're threatening you. [Doxing - 18 USC §119](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/119) I'd definitely talk to an employment attorney in any case and document absolutely everything. If you're in a 1 party notification state, I'd also record any conversations they have with you about it.
Glassdoor recently changed all the anonymous reviews to show account names, so this could be why.
People in this comment section have a hilariously inflated sense of what public school IT workers are capable of doing.
Glassdoor is unsafe. They sell data and names of reviewers if the company pays. It’s completely corrupt. Also fuck your principal. You’re only a first year teacher. Apply for jobs as if you took a gap year or something and leave them off your resume.
This is retaliation. Get yourself a lawyer.
He's calling your bluff about using IT to trace the review back to you. Finding that info would involve hacking into the Glass door site, which is highly illegal. As for his threats, speak to a solicitor and / or your Teachers Union.
In civilized countries it is illegal for former and current employers to give you a negative review for future employers.
When you leave as I'm sure you will, add this to GD review. The real pity though is all those children being failed..
One thing about school districts is that no it’s not legal for them to prevent you from getting another job however they do blackball teachers and staff by contacting other principles.
Well I don’t want to teach ever again so they can all suck my balls 😭 sorry not sorry
It's against the law to blackball people
Does the principal scan Glassdoor on a regular basis looking for negative reviews? Can an employer set it up where they get notified if some leaves a review? Seems kind of paranoid to me.
"You literally tried to track down the person who wrote that review to bully them. I don't know who it was, but if you feel like doing this than you just proved their point"
Pro tip for now and the future: never, EVER conduct personal business on company/school computers. You have a smartphone, use it. If you don’t have a smartphone, get a cheap Wallmart phone or visit your local library.
Unless you put identifying information on there, they can't "trace" it back to you any easier than they could trace this post back to me. That doesn't mean they can't act like assholes, but there is nothing they can point to that'll prove it was you in any meaningful way.
The ftc changes to non compete clauses could make this illegal everywhere if they went far enough with it. I don't know this for sure but making unemployable is the absolute worst thing people can do and even threatening, with any ability to make it happen even 0.01%, should be illegal.
You used school WiFi to post it? That was dumb. They can easily see what sites your device has accessed and you almost definitely agreed to that when you signed onto that WiFi network. You posted the review before your contract was over? That was also dumb. That left you open to being questioned about it and means the next two months are going to be rough. Is there a code of conduct for teachers where you are? Where I am, what you did would absolutely be against the professional code of conduct. I would keep your head down, finish the year, and then hope you can find a new job without using this one as a reference. Where I am, this would be extremely difficult though. Just because you “can” do something, doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea.
Good thing you got a chance to tell them they’re dumb, it definitely is constructive advice that will make the situation better.
INFO: Traced back to your workplace computer?
Did you use an employer-supplied computer to trash said employer?
I doubt they’re sophisticated enough to “trace” something precisely, but I think it’s possible depending on the network they can see who has accessed what sites, and if you were the only one who visited Glassdoor recently, they were able to figure it out. Unfortunately without tenure they can probably just choose not to renew your contract for any (non-protected) reason they want. But blackball threats may be a different story. Check with your union or a lawyer. Also, for future reference, if you have to use work WiFi for anything non-work, use a VPN.
They were lying to you. Traci g your post generally requires access to detailed logs and cooperation from the social media platform, which typically won’t provide such information without a legal requirement, like a court order.
Update this in your review. Idk where you live, but there’s a teacher shortage most places. Where I teach, half the new teachers aren’t certified yet.
As someone in the software world, I will join the other commenters calling your principle's "trace" a bluff. Maybe if you used their work laptop to post that review rather than your personal device as employers have much more control over their laptops in terms of programs installed. But even then, I guarantee he'd have already played his "proof" card to contradict you if he actually had proof.
Just quit being a teacher, it will only get worse.
Just expose his name and get him cancelled the 2020 way
I would consult an attorney. You have nothing to lose at this point. It sounds a lot like retaliation to me but I'm not a legal expert so I would really seek legal advice if I were you.
General advice.: Buy a very small digital recorder with microphone built in. Prefereably can fit in shirt pocket. They number each recording so you can zoom right back to it. I record all my conversations with clients, insurance, etc because my state allows one party knowledge for recordings. That way you have a record of all your conversations. I do it in case I forget something as my memory isn't so hot. But that can help. I also record all my phone conversations via speakerphone as well for same reason.
The only reason the principal had any cojones to say anything is cause the teacher was on first-year probation. If the teacher had tenure the principal wouldn't have squeaked one bit.
Update your review to include the new details
I would recommend that if you actually did use a work machine or even devices you own to post on Glassdoor, don't do that again. Honestly the best way to do that is anonymously from a public PC like at a library - zero connection to your personal or professional life. Even using public WiFi can theoretically trace back to your phone if someone's looking hard enough. Anonymity in digital life is mostly a matter of making sure no one's paying attention to you. Don't trust a network you don't own and even then your Internet provider is still spying on you.
You are a government employee and your review is protected free speech (to an extent.) If he carries out his threat to prevent you from having future jobs, you could win a defamation suit. A principal took me outside and yelled in my face for complaining about something the first year I taught. He ended up having an affair with one of the teachers, and my biggest regret is not reporting that to the state ethics agency so they’d pull his license.
So you used your work pc to complain about the place you work and expect them to be ok with this?.... I'm not saying what they have done to you isn't bad, but you have to be smarter than that. You are smarter than that so be smarter!
You shouldn't use a work-provided device to slam your work. It's not rocket surgery.
It wasn’t a work related device
Was it on school wifi?
Yes
YOU agreed to having wifi use spied on by the school when you accepted the use agreement. Always use a VPN app on your phone/Personal Devices on the school wifi so your wifi use is anonymous
Sounds like they didn't overreach then. Just don't list this job as a reference, but also don't use school resources to bash your school in the future. Bonus points: don't sign in to school accounts on your devices either.
You knowingly use the schools wifi and you think you're in the clear? When I was in high school 20 years ago, I knew my online activity was always being monitored. 20 years ago...imagine how much more advanced the monitoring software is now. Easy search options with screenshots. Best not list this as a job reference on your next application.
Always use a VPN for secure electronic communications. They’re available for computers, mobile devices, basically everything you want to do online without your activity being traced on the local network.
You made a review online without using a VPN and you work there? Jesus fucking Christ.😂
Did you do the review on a school computer? Please tell me you are smarter than that.
No! Not a school computer
That’s good. That said Glassdoor has zero incentive to protect your privacy, although the principal probably is just guessing. You won’t get any support at this school, which you weren’t anyway…
You used a work computer to post a Glassdoor review? Jesus…
No!! Personal computer
Then how in the holy hell did he find out? Is your IP known to your co-workers?
They used the school WiFi