Saratoga YMCA dismisses teacher forced to stay home by pandemic

SARATOGA SPRINGS – When the pandemic closed down the Ballston Spa Central School District in December, Devon Tarella faced a quandary.

She’s a single mom whose job — lead teacher in the infant classroom at the Saratoga Regional YMCA in Malta — cannot be done remotely. During previous school shutdowns, she frequently depended on her mother to care for her 12-year-old daughter. But that is now out of the question: Her mother was recently diagnosed with a serious illness that required abdominal surgery.

Making matters worse, both Tarella and her daughter, Calogera Rose, were recovering from the coronavirus themselves.

She never expected what came next – losing her job, one that she had and loved for nearly 12 years. The news came in a letter from the Y’s Human Resources Generalist Kylie Shufelt.

“Saratoga Regional YMCA has deemed you to have abandoned your position because you are the primary caregiver for a child unable to attend school or another facility due to COVID-19,” Shufelt wrote. “The Saratoga Regional YMCA accordingly has ended your employment effective Feb. 2, 2021.”

Shufelt was also told that her health insurance would end on Feb. 28. If she wanted her benefits, she would have to apply for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or COBRA.

Tarella, who is 33, was devastated.

“It’s definitely really sad,” Tarella said. “I have developed personal relationships with the families. I have a lot of families that I’m on their third kid, their third baby. None of them know. So they probably think I just left. That’s the hardest part.”

And because the Y considers her as “abandoning” her job, she is also concerned that the Y will dispute her unemployment.

Shufelt did not return a Times Union phone call or email on Monday. A called to the Saratoga Regional YMCA was not immediately returned. A series of emails between Tarella and Shufelt, obtained by the Times Union, show Tarella started seeking help from the Y's human resources department in early January.

Tarella’s first email to Shufelt was sent on Jan. 8.

“As I’m sure you may have heard, Ballston Spa has gone fully remote for the next week,” she wrote. “My daughter was remote this past week as well as she is in the 6th grade. I am aware that I am eligible for unemployment and that is what I was doing for the past week, but is there anything else I should do to secure my position? As soon as she goes back to school, I intend to return back to my regular hours full time. It seems as though Ballston Spa is going to take this week by week.”

Shufelt wrote her 11 days later, telling her any days off must be "earned time" and that she had to come back.

“If you are unable to return to your full-time position by February 2, 2021, the SRYMCA will consider your absence as your resignation,” Shufelt wrote.

Shufelt also told her that the Y “will be protesting that (unemployment) claim as we have had work available for you.”

Peter Brancato, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor, disputes the Y's claim on ineligibility. He said that Tarella would likely be eligible for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance because she “she’s not working to stay at home with a child who is now remote learning.”

Weeks earlier, Tarella also consulted the Labor Department. In her discussions, she said she was told to not sign anything and to keep all communications with the Y in writing. Tarella again appealed to Shufelt in another email.

"Please understand that I want to work with you guys to figure this out," she wrote. "I am in a tough spot right now, trying to find a solution between keeping my daughter safe (she is not old enough or mature enough to be home alone for hours at a time), fulfilling my responsibilities at the Y and affording to support myself and my child."

She also told Shufelt she consulted with the Labor Department and was eligible for unemployment.

Shufelt agreed to "complete the NYS unemployment paperwork describing your situation," but repeated “If you cannot make alternative childcare or schedule arrangements and return to work on or before 2/2/2021, we will have to consider that as your resignation.”

When Ballston Spa schools ended fully remote learning, Tarella wrote Shufelt again on Jan. 21, offering to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Shufelt said that they needed to talk by phone. Tarella said she preferred email, as per the Labor Department's recommendation.

Shufelt responded in the same way.

“I must inform you that if you cannot return full-time by February 2, 2021, we will consider you to have resigned,” she wrote.

“I would have eventually come back,” Tarella said. "I understood my position might not be secure, but that a job would be. They would not agree to that. ... They can fire me, but they can't force me to resign. They are saying I resigned from a job that I want."

Rachel Evans who worked with Tarella as her assistant teacher for more than a year at the Y said that Tarella didn’t deserve this treatment.

“She was passionate and dedicated and the children loved her as did the parents," Evans said. "They are losing an incredible employee. She gave a lot to the job for years and they are essentially terminating her for something completely out of her control, COVID-19.”

Tarella, who is now training to work as a substitute teacher, said she is concerned that the Y will retaliate against her, blocking her from future employment.

“The Y is really powerful,” Tarella said. "I'm afraid it could ruin my chances for a job that I want."