12,000 people and PETA rally around beloved Maryland bus driver who was fired for letting a kid rescue an injured kitten

Now, the community is rallying behind Morgan, who has driven for the school district for 11 years and has now been stripped of her certification. And it’s not just her local community, either. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is backing Morgan and urging the school to reconsider.

Unfortunately, lawyers say that Morgan may not have legal recourse under state law for her termination, although her rights may depend on whether she was in a union and what her employment agreement looks like.

‘Kindness should be encouraged, not punished’

Morgan’s decision to allow the child to help the cat was not her first act of kindness.

“She is an angel,” Carolyn Kalambihis, a parent who has spoken out in support of Morgan, told WBTV. “She’s the most caring person. Every year at the beginning of the school year, she buys every child on the bus school supplies. She buys them gifts for Christmas, every holiday, birthdays. She’s given them birthday cards, all out of her own pocket.”

Morgan’s reputation likely helped to inspire the massive support she’s receiving. A Change.org petition requesting her reinstatement has received over 12,000 signatures as of Oct. 15, with the petition creator writing that she was “deeply concerned about the recent decision to relieve Cynthia Morgan of her duties as a school bus driver.”

Morgan is 67, and the petition explained that over the many years Morgan has driven the bus, she “has become more than just a bus driver to our children.”

While the petition creator acknowledged there are rules, the firing was described as “unjust” because the review process didn’t consider Morgan’s history and because a lesser punishment would have been enough for something many parents believe is a minor offense.

When PETA weighed in with a letter to the district, the organization also called for Morgan’s reinstatement and essentially argued that Morgan had done nothing wrong and everything right. “By allowing a student to rescue a kitten in distress, she demonstrated precisely the compassion that schools should seek to nurture,” the letter said.

According to PETA’s letter, PETA senior vice president Colleen O’Brien said, “Kindness should be encouraged, not punished, and PETA is calling on the school board to reinstate Morgan and send students the right message about helping others in need.”

Lawyers say school board may have a good case for firing

As of Oct. 15, there have been no new updates on whether the school board will rescind its decision, even as the number of signatures on the petition continues to increase. And if the district decides to ignore the public outcry, there may be little that can be done under the law.

As Matthew Marks, co-founder and partner at Ricotta & Marks, P.C., told Moneywise, most employees are usually classified as “at will” employees under state law in Maryland. This means “An employer can terminate them for any or no reason at all as long as the termination isn’t illegal.”

“Firing the bus driver wouldn’t give her grounds for a lawsuit outright, but if she has union or contractual protections, those could be a way to challenge the termination,” Marks said.