Susan Keating Anderson

Shareholder, Practice Group Manager, Education
Cleveland
1375 East Ninth Street
One Cleveland Center, 10th Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114
P 216.232.3595
F 216.623.0134
 P 216.232.3595 | F 216.623.0134



Overview

Susan's practice is focused on representing boards of education on a wide array of issues, which include labor and employment, board governance and policy and general counsel services. Susan counsels her boards of education and their administrators on the myriad of issues regularly faced by school officials, including personnel issues surrounding discharge and discipline of teaching and non-teaching employees, teacher evaluations, layoffs and reductions in force, and Title IX issues; collective bargaining negotiations, grievances and arbitrations; pupil issues; levy matters; public records and open meeting act concerns; board policy concerns; and defending school boards against claims before the EEOC, OCRC, OCR and in state and federal courts. In addition to her education law practice, Susan advises municipalities and county boards of developmental disabilities on labor and employment, planning and zoning and board governance matters, among others. Susan also serves as the law director for the City of Vermilion, the solicitor for the Village of Put-in-Bay and labor counsel for the City of Elyria.

Experience
  • Chief labor negotiator for teaching and non-teaching contracts, including traditional and interest-based bargaining, and provide behind the scenes advice to the board’s negotiation team
  • Represents school districts in grievance proceedings and arbitration, including teaching and non-teaching termination challenges
  • Conducts required Title IX training and advises administrators involved in the Title IX grievance proceedings 
  • Negotiated the outsourcing of school transportation in several districts
  • Represented a school district in a merger with another district
  • Obtained the reversal of the award of unemployment benefits for a terminated non-teaching employee in common pleas court and successfully defended the decision before the Sixth District Court of Appeals
  • Regularly advises administrators on RIFS, non-renewals, discipline and termination issues, board policy, governance and Ohio public records and open meeting laws
  • Successfully defended the termination of a public employee for off-duty misconduct at arbitration
  • Successfully defended the constitutionality of regulations before the Ohio Supreme Court
Services

Industries

Education

  1. The Ohio State University, B.A., English and Political Science
  2. Capital University Law School, J.D.
    • magna cum laude
    • Order of the Curia
    • Associate Editor of Law Review

Credentials

Bar Admissions
  1. Ohio
Court Admissions
  1. U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  2. U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

Recognitions

  • Selected as an "Ohio Super Lawyers - Rising Star" by Ohio Super Lawyers magazine (2008)

Affiliations

Professional Affiliations
  • Ohio School Boards Association
  • Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Lorain County Bar Association
  • The LCADA Way, past Chair

Insights

  1. Alerts
    Federal Trade Commission Follows Through on Promise to Issue Rule Banning Virtually All Non-Compete Agreements (Apr 23, 2024)
    Significant Changes to Title IX Adopted by the U.S. Department of Education (Apr 19, 2024)
    Legislation Introduced in Ohio General Assembly to Increase Minimum Teacher Salaries (Apr 3, 2024)
    Sixth Circuit Throws Out Minimum Wage Standards for Employees Who Drive Their Own Vehicles for Work (Mar 18, 2024)
    City of Columbus Bans Consideration of Salary History in the Hiring Process (Feb 29, 2024)
  2. Articles
    The Tricky Impact of HB 244 on Covid-19 Protocols for the 2021-2022 School Year - BASA AdminiScope (Fall 2021)
    OCR Publishes New Guidance on Title IX Amendments - BASA AdminiScope (Winter 2021)
  3. Presentations
    "And the Pendulum Swings (Back): The Union Boom" - Roetzel Labor & Employment Symposium: State of the Workplace 2023 (September 2023)
    "Collective Bargaining Sneak Peek - 2023" - Roetzel's Education Law Fall Forum (September 2023)
    "Hot Education-Focused Provisions of the Biennial Budget Bill: Detailed Breakdown of What You Need to Know" - Summit ESC Leadership Symposium 2023 (August 2023)
    "The Road to the Budget Bill: Breakdown and Analysis of the Final 2023 Budget Bill (Part 3 of 3)" - Roetzel Education Law Webinar (July 2023)
    "The Road to the Budget Bill: HB33 – the Senate Version (Part 2 of 3)" - Roetzel Education Law Webinar (June 2023)
  4. Podcast
    Legal Talk Today: HB 244 and Vaccine Considerations for School Districts (August 2021)
  5. Firm News
    Susan Keating Anderson Named Chair of Roetzel’s Education Law Group (Apr 15, 2021)
Services

Industries

Overview

Susan's practice is focused on representing boards of education on a wide array of issues, which include labor and employment, board governance and policy and general counsel services. Susan counsels her boards of education and their administrators on the myriad of issues regularly faced by school officials, including personnel issues surrounding discharge and discipline of teaching and non-teaching employees, teacher evaluations, layoffs and reductions in force, and Title IX issues; collective bargaining negotiations, grievances and arbitrations; pupil issues; levy matters; public records and open meeting act concerns; board policy concerns; and defending school boards against claims before the EEOC, OCRC, OCR and in state and federal courts. In addition to her education law practice, Susan advises municipalities and county boards of developmental disabilities on labor and employment, planning and zoning and board governance matters, among others. Susan also serves as the law director for the City of Vermilion, the solicitor for the Village of Put-in-Bay and labor counsel for the City of Elyria.

Experience
  • Chief labor negotiator for teaching and non-teaching contracts, including traditional and interest-based bargaining, and provide behind the scenes advice to the board’s negotiation team
  • Represents school districts in grievance proceedings and arbitration, including teaching and non-teaching termination challenges
  • Conducts required Title IX training and advises administrators involved in the Title IX grievance proceedings 
  • Negotiated the outsourcing of school transportation in several districts
  • Represented a school district in a merger with another district
  • Obtained the reversal of the award of unemployment benefits for a terminated non-teaching employee in common pleas court and successfully defended the decision before the Sixth District Court of Appeals
  • Regularly advises administrators on RIFS, non-renewals, discipline and termination issues, board policy, governance and Ohio public records and open meeting laws
  • Successfully defended the termination of a public employee for off-duty misconduct at arbitration
  • Successfully defended the constitutionality of regulations before the Ohio Supreme Court

Education

  1. The Ohio State University, B.A., English and Political Science
  2. Capital University Law School, J.D.
    • magna cum laude
    • Order of the Curia
    • Associate Editor of Law Review

Credentials

Bar Admissions
  1. Ohio
Court Admissions
  1. U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  2. U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

Recognitions

  • Selected as an "Ohio Super Lawyers - Rising Star" by Ohio Super Lawyers magazine (2008)

Affiliations

Professional Affiliations
  • Ohio School Boards Association
  • Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Lorain County Bar Association
  • The LCADA Way, past Chair

Insights

  1. Alerts
    Federal Trade Commission Follows Through on Promise to Issue Rule Banning Virtually All Non-Compete Agreements (Apr 23, 2024)
    Significant Changes to Title IX Adopted by the U.S. Department of Education (Apr 19, 2024)
    Legislation Introduced in Ohio General Assembly to Increase Minimum Teacher Salaries (Apr 3, 2024)
    Sixth Circuit Throws Out Minimum Wage Standards for Employees Who Drive Their Own Vehicles for Work (Mar 18, 2024)
    City of Columbus Bans Consideration of Salary History in the Hiring Process (Feb 29, 2024)
  2. Articles
    The Tricky Impact of HB 244 on Covid-19 Protocols for the 2021-2022 School Year - BASA AdminiScope (Fall 2021)
    OCR Publishes New Guidance on Title IX Amendments - BASA AdminiScope (Winter 2021)
  3. Presentations
    "And the Pendulum Swings (Back): The Union Boom" - Roetzel Labor & Employment Symposium: State of the Workplace 2023 (September 2023)
    "Collective Bargaining Sneak Peek - 2023" - Roetzel's Education Law Fall Forum (September 2023)
    "Hot Education-Focused Provisions of the Biennial Budget Bill: Detailed Breakdown of What You Need to Know" - Summit ESC Leadership Symposium 2023 (August 2023)
    "The Road to the Budget Bill: Breakdown and Analysis of the Final 2023 Budget Bill (Part 3 of 3)" - Roetzel Education Law Webinar (July 2023)
    "The Road to the Budget Bill: HB33 – the Senate Version (Part 2 of 3)" - Roetzel Education Law Webinar (June 2023)
  4. Podcast
    Legal Talk Today: HB 244 and Vaccine Considerations for School Districts (August 2021)
  5. Firm News
    Susan Keating Anderson Named Chair of Roetzel’s Education Law Group (Apr 15, 2021)