GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; AGENCY – Apparent Authority

Single Topic for Decision 2795E

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The test for apparent authority is an objective inquiry and is best framed as whether under the circumstances a reasonable employee would believe the alleged agent was reflecting company policy and speaking and acting for management. The Board found that the charter schools’ principals and assistant principals acted as agents of their respective schools when they sent e-mails to certificated employees at their schools. Principals and assistant principals are the highest-ranking administrators at a school site, and they directly supervise certificated staff at their respective schools. The e-mails were sent via each school’s e-mail system by a principal or assistant principal and discussed ongoing labor issues at the school related to the union’s organizing campaign. Under these circumstances, a reasonable employee would perceive that the e-mails represented the official view of the school. Thus, in using work e-mail addresses to communicate with their subordinates about a labor matter, the principals and assistant principals had both actual and apparent authority to act in an employer capacity. (pp. 48-50.)