Former Utah State University (USU) head football coach, Blake Anderson, sued the university for $15 million in damages for wrongful termination.

Anderson, who coached the USU team from December 2020 to July 2024, claims he was wrongfully terminated for allegedly failing to report a sexual assault incident involving a football player.

The incident in question occurred in April 2023, when a football player was arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident. Anderson asserts that he was unaware of the arrest and believed the player's baby had a medical emergency. He claims he reported the rumors of the player's arrest to then-Interim Athletic Director Jerry Bovee, who said he would file the report with USU's Office of Equity.

Anderson alleges that USU manufactured reasons to fire him to avoid paying a $4.5 million buyout and to placate the U.S. Department of Justice, which had been monitoring the university for a hostile learning environment based on previous sexual assault allegations against student athletes.

Anderson also claims that USU Vice President and Athletics Director Diana Sabau went on a public smear campaign against him after his termination.

The lawsuit is currently pending, and USU has not yet commented on the matter.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-aggies-coach-blake-anderson-170633984.html
 

Commentary

In the above matter, the source mentions a contract and an unjust termination. This suggests that the complainant had a contract that required "just cause" for termination.

Most NPO employees are at-will employees. At-will employees can be terminated for any reason, with or without notice, so long as the reason is not illegal.

For example, if a nonprofit, ABC, has 20 or more employees and terminates an employee, who happens to be age 40 or older, for wearing a grey suit to a meeting instead of a navy blue suit, that may not be a good reason for a termination, but it would be a legal termination. If ABC terminates the same employee, not for the suit he wore, but because he just turned 50, that would be an illegal reason, a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Under the "just cause" standard neither reason would be considered a legal reason for a termination. The legal reasons would be dictated by the terms of the employment contract.

The "just cause" standard for termination requires an employer to have a fair and valid reason for terminating an employee. The just cause standard demands that the employer provide a legitimate and justifiable reason for the termination.

In the context of employment, just cause typically includes reasons such as:

• Misconduct
• Incompetence
• Insubordination
• Attendance issues
• Dishonesty
• Safety and security violations

The final takeaway is that most NPO employees are at-will employees. The just cause standard is often included in employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, and required under certain labor laws, which provides less flexibility for a termination.