I am a lecturer at an institution of higher ed. My contract was not renewed for next year, not for cause but for "needs of the department". ...

Question

I am a lecturer at an institution of higher ed. My contract was not renewed for next year, not for cause but for "needs of the department". I have appealed the dismissal, but when I asked for the notes from my meeting (there was a note taker), first my employer put me off, then she only sent me the summary. I later found out she told the note taker to shred the original notes from the meeting. Is this legal?

Answer

Illinois is an "at will" state meaning you can be fired for any reason or NO reason, the latter usually referred to as a layoff but whatever. That is, unless there is a work contract of some kind that specifies termination rights and obligations, or some other uniform set of practices and procedures. Without that, even a meeting and/or note taker was totally gratuitous, and if you agreed to any parameters for the meeting, that's the end of it. The more important question is whether there was any illegal discrimination involved in the firing: age, race, gender.... If so your recourse may be through the EEOC or through private suit.