School district drops challenge against former business administrator

LACONIA — The city’s school board will no longer fight a decision that a former employee was wrongfully denied pay for unused vacation time, ending a legal battle that started with her firing more than two years ago.

Christine Blouin, then-business administrator for the school district, was fired in March 2022, for the given cause of breach of contract. As a result of that cause, the district withheld pay for vacation time Blouin had accrued but never used.

Blouin appealed to the state Department of Labor, which agreed with her argument that her firing was retaliatory in nature, as she was one of the district employees who participated in an investigatory probe into the leadership of superintendent Steve Tucker, and that the evidence the district gave for her supposed breach of contract — unprofessional behavior in the workplace, and personal conduct unflattering to the district — were only gathered after she was dismissed.

The DOL decision was significant because, under state law, any employer found to have wrongfully withheld pay from a worker is required to pay that employee double what was withheld, bringing the total owed to Blouin by the district to more than $68,000.

The school district didn’t accept that decision, however, and appealed to Superior Court, arguing there was precedent in state law that permits employers to use evidence gathered after termination to determine whether an employee violated their contract. The judge agreed, and ordered the case back to the DOL.

After rehearing the case, the DOL reached the same conclusion, explaining they found Blouin’s narrative and evidence to be more compelling than the district’s. The district again appealed to Superior Court but on May 15, Judge Mark Attori released a decision that found no errors in the DOL’s new ruling, and awarded Blouin not only the $68,000 in back pay, but also ordered the school district to pay for most of Blouin’s legal fees.

During a June 18 Laconia School Board meeting, the board agreed not to take any additional action. In a nonpublic session, the board voted to, according to the minutes, “not further appeal the Superior Court decision in the Christine Blouin matter and make appropriate payment in an amount sufficient to cover all damages awarded by the New Hampshire Department of Labor, including liquidated damages and relevant legal fees upon review by district council, the board chair and the superintendent.”

Board Member LaToya Beck made the motion, the minutes show, and the vote was unanimous.

Attempts to gain comment from Blouin were not successful by press time.

Jennifer Anderson, chair of the Laconia School Board, said the decision to cease fighting the case — the next step would be an appeal to the state Supreme Court — was "because the cost of such an effort could be significantly substantial." She said she appreciated Attori's decision to only hold the district responsible for some of Blouin's legal fees, and she also thanked attorneys Paul Fitzgerald and Scott Harris, who represented the district in the matter.

Anderson said that, including unpaid vacation time as well as other compensation, the district owes Blouin $68,157. It is not yet clear how much Blouin's legal fees will add to that amount.