## Facts

- George Trimble was a tenured, full-time assistant professor of English at a public community and technical college, employed since 1978 and tenured in 1984.
- Before 1996, he had no disciplinary history and received favorable evaluations.
- Faculty opposition to the college president grew; Trimble helped organize and led a faculty union that criticized administrative initiatives.
- The administration implemented a faculty assessment/syllabus system requiring use of IPSI software to prepare course syllabi.
- Trimble opposed mandatory IPSI use, missed informational meetings, and was warned about nonattendance.
- The president directed Humanities faculty to prepare at least one syllabus using IPSI by a deadline; Trimble refused and was notified the refusal was insubordination.
- The president later directed Trimble to report to a designated office at a specified time to complete an IPSI syllabus; Trimble again refused.
- The president terminated Trimble on May 30, 1997 for insubordination, based on this refusal episode.
- In the grievance process, an institutional hearing committee found Trimble was not insubordinate, but the president rejected that recommendation and upheld termination.
- Administrative review bodies upheld the termination; the circuit court affirmed on judicial review.
- Trimble appealed, asserting (1) retaliatory discharge violating the First Amendment due to his union and policy opposition activities, and (2) due process violations because he had tenure and was terminated without progressive discipline for a minor infraction.

## Issues

1. Whether Trimble proved that constitutionally protected speech/association was a substantial or motivating factor in his termination, and if so whether the employer showed it would have made the same decision absent the protected conduct.
2. Whether a tenured public higher-education teacher with a previously unblemished record may be immediately terminated for an incident of insubordination minor in its consequences, or whether due process requires progressive discipline first.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed the circuit court’s order affirming the termination.
- The court rejected the First Amendment challenge, concluding the record supported termination based on refusal to comply with work directives rather than protected union/policy activity (and, alternatively, the employer showed it would have made the same decision).
- The court held Trimble’s immediate termination violated due process under the West Virginia Constitution because, given his tenure, clean record, and the minor consequences of the insubordination, progressive disciplinary sanctions were required before dismissal.
- The termination decision was set aside because the college moved directly to discharge without first attempting lesser sanctions.

## Legal Principles

- Administrative evidentiary findings should not be reversed unless clearly wrong; legal and constitutional questions remain reviewable.
- In a First Amendment retaliatory discharge claim, the employee must show (1) constitutionally protected conduct and (2) that it was a substantial or motivating factor in discharge; the employer can prevail by proving it would have made the same decision absent the protected conduct.
- Article III, § 10 of the West Virginia Constitution requires procedural safeguards when state action affects a liberty or property interest.
- Tenured public educators possess a protected property interest in continued employment, triggering constitutional due process protections when termination is threatened.
- Due process principles may be used to assess whether discipline imposed by a public higher-education institution is too severe for the infraction.
- Due process is denied when a tenured public higher-education teacher with a previously unblemished record is immediately terminated for insubordination that is minor in its consequences; in that setting, progressive disciplinary sanctions must be imposed to attempt correction before termination.

## Conclusion

The court upheld discipline for refusal to follow reasonable workplace directives but ruled that firing a tenured professor with a clean record for minor-consequence insubordination, without first using progressive discipline, violates due process under the West Virginia Constitution; it therefore reversed the affirmance of the termination.


Trimble v. W. Va. Bd. of Dirs., 209 W. Va. 420, 549 S.E.2d 294 (2001)