Lawyers say the Virginia teacher shot by a student has been fired because the school claims she resigned

Abigail Zwerner, the Virginia teacher who was shot by her student in January, no longer works for the Newport News school district as her attorney claims she was fired and the district says she has resigned.

Jeffrey Breit, Zwerner’s attorney, said the district is trying to push the former teacher, 25, out after she filed a $40 million lawsuit against the board.

“While this woman was protecting 20 other students and risking her life,” Breit said, “they decided to fire her because she didn’t want to drop her lawsuit.”

In an email shared by WAVYHowever, Zwerner wrote to HR that she “wanted to step down.” A Newport News Schools official said her contract expired on June 12.

Breit claims that Zwerner – who he says hasn’t been paid since February – has been fired and that his client doesn’t understand Richneck Elementary’s firing.

“I don’t think you can read this other than that you’ve been fired,” Breit said. And that’s what she thinks. She doesn’t understand; there is no other communication.’

Speaking to WAVY, Breit claimed Zwerner was fired because of her lawsuit and the months of awkward interactions between an administrator and the teacher.

‘To say we were shocked is an understatement; we have a lawsuit,” Breit said, adding that she should have had until August 1 to leave or re-sign.

“All I can think of is that they tried to pressure her because we pressed charges. It’s outrageous, as outrageous as I’ve ever seen,” the lawyer argued.

In the email exchange in which Zwerner announced her resignation, she initially contacted Human Resources and said she did not have access to a form.

The form would confirm her intention to return or resign.

HR responded to Zwerner, writing that the intent deadline had passed, but letting her know that she could state her intent in their posts.

Ten minutes later she replied, “I want to resign. Thank you.’

A week after that email was sent, Newport News sent Public Schools an email with the subject line “Exit Letter,” saying that they had processed her request to resign.

An identical email was sent to her again on May 22, informing her that her last day of work with the district would be June 12.

The department advised her to turn in certain items and answered pay stubs, leave balances, and other frequently asked questions about benefits.

Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the district, said they took her May 13 email as confirmation of her departure and that follow-up emails to her confirmed that.

“The email Ms. Zwerner received from the Human Resources Department is confirmation of her separation from Newport News Public Schools. Any employee who separates from the school department will receive a similar notice,” the statement read.

‘Mrs. Zwerner notified the Human Resources Department that she was stepping down from her position as a lecturer for NNPS on March 13, 2023,” Price said.

According to Breit, however, there is much more to the story.

The attorney claims that the district has not been paid since February because the district tried to compensate its employees, which it refused.

“They sent a check to her overdue account,” Breit said.

‘They sent her her pay check – two-thirds of her salary. We sent it back right away. This is not a workers’ comp.’

According to Cohen and Cohen law firmEmployees typically cannot sue their employer if they have already accepted workers’ compensation.

Breit said it would have been more appropriate for her to become disabled, which he claimed other teachers have done in the past.

“She has not received any response to her doctor’s disability letter,” he said, nor has she received a salary.

Price refuted Breit’s claims, but acknowledged that Zwerner had been paid workers’ compensation after the shooting, which she refused.

‘Mrs. Zwerner declined workers’ compensation, so HR employees used her sick leave to continue compensation for Ms. Zwerner. When Ms. Zwerner’s sick leave was over, she was placed on unpaid FMLA, in accordance with federal law and school board policy,” Price told WAVY.

“Had Ms. Zwerner accepted workers’ compensation, she would have received 66 2/3% of her median weekly wages tax-free,” the statement continued.

Zwerner was in her first grade class at Richneck Elementary on the afternoon of January 6 when her six-year-old student shot her.

The child had taken the gun, which belonged to his mother Deja Taylor, from home to school and threatened to use it all day.

Taylor is charged with unlawful use of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

In April, the teacher filed the mega-lawsuit against Newport News School Board former Superintendent Dr. Gregory Parker, former Richneck Principal Briana Foster-Newton and former Richneck Assistant Principal Dr. Ebony Parker.

Lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the injuries were sustained while Zwerner was doing her job and should be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.

Breit, speaking to WAVY this week, indicated he is fighting back against that claim.

He said he plans to “take an oath from every first-grade teacher if being shot by one of your students was part of your job description.”