I graduated from HS in 1981 and walked down that aisle with cap and gown and was
given a high school diploma. After all these years and finally landed a great
job I was told by my empoyer that they contacted the HS and was told that I
should of never received the diploma because I didnt pass a course at summer
school. So my questiona are: How can I get them to make that diploma valid for
my employment sake? How come no one ever contacted me about this? Can my
employer fire me now? And the best one, Can I sue the High School for giving me
false documents which will cost me my job?

Any info that could help me would be great.

I live in Buffalo, NY

While not strictly related to online high schools, I want to offer assistance (because your answer may be at an online high school).

Can the high school do what they have done? That is unclear. Did they give you a diploma? Have you been able to use transcripts (like in applying for college)? In other words, have they treated you like a graduate up to this point? If you have been able to do both of these things, you need to go back and talk to a supervisor. This sounds suspiciously like a clerk making up rules. They will need to provide some sort of proof to the contrary.

Can your employer fire you? Possibly, but it depends on your state's employment laws. My hope would be that they would allow you to work through this situation. I would explain to them that you believe the school is in error and that you are contacting the administration of the school district.

Can you sue your high school? Anyone can sue anyone for anything. That in no way means that you would win. Should you use the threat of a lawsuit in your negotiations with the district? Possibly, but I wouldn't start there. I would treat it as their mistake.

Now, if you need to fix this, it would be easy to find an online high school course that should be acceptable to your former high school. I would think that would also make your employer happy that you show that you are being proactive to fix this unfortunate situation.

Please come back if and/or when you need a recommendation for where you should take that online course. Also, feel free to come back to this particular thread and let us know how it went.


Tom Nixon

Thanks for all your help. After being out of school this long I would never pass a GED exam, but I do know my job well. I am gonna look into the laws in my state as well. I will let you know the outcome(hopefully good).

Yes, please do check back in. It's always good to see how these things turn out.

And, yes, I graduated from high school in 1980, so I know about being out of school for a long time. If you do need to make this up, it would probably be much easier to get the school to agree to transfer in an online course.


Tom Nixon

Well I was able to take care of the situation today. I went directly to the HS Superintendent's office and explianed the problem. He asked what I needed and I told him that I want a letter stating that this was school error and that they are gonna validate the diploma. He said he will take care of it by the end of the day and I will also receive a letter in the mail. It went better than I had assumed and I'm glad. Thanks for your help.

It never ceases to amaze me how side-stepping the clerk and getting to a supervisor (or, in your case, the big boss) can change the situation. The thing for all readers to take away is that you need to find the big-picture person; the person who isn't focused on the little job, but rather how best to serve the public.

Congratulations on getting this solved. I am sure you are relieved and I am sure that your work is happy that they can keep you.


Tom Nixon