My first note.

I have entered into a new era recently...my first note about something I wrote. Sadly, it addressed an overstatement I made. Here is what one sharp reader asked:

Hi,

I read your post on the Overflowing Composition Classroom in Inside Higher Ed, and I am most curious about one statement:

If you are an admin, this should scare you. You are legally not supposed to ask if she teaches somewhere else, but consider what you pay and realize that she most probably does.

What's the origin of that illegality? I'm currently involved in a research methods class, and my topic is legal research in HiEd. This might lead to an interesting discussion in my seminar, but I'm not familiar with the the origin.

And then, in the spirit of full disclosure, I wrote back saying:

Well, [reader's name]. I might have stretched the facts here. I know of no specific statute restricting an employer from asking about moonlighting gigs. However, an employee may have a case (not that she would win) in claiming that she was fired when knowledge of her moonlighting came to be known by her employer.

You see, it gets really tricky, really quickly. As an adjunct (and most part-timers), there is no guarantee of future work beyond the semester-to-semester contract. If the Chair/Dean is smart, she waits until the end of the semester and suddenly has no more sections.

I am sorry to not be as specific as I should have been.

PPP

I can only hope that future correspondence goes much better.