Throwaway account, but I'm in a bullshit situation and need some advice.
I (35f) have a job working for a university, “academia-lite” is usually what I call it. I was in a faux-tenure-track situation, where I had three, two-year contract appointments to decide if I can make the grade and then become “tenured” or not. I just had my second, two-year contract performance review to see if I was meeting expectations, and lo and behold, according to the email I just got, I do not. My contract is specifically not being renewed because I haven't been meeting the academic expectations (research).
Here's the issue: I haven't been able to meet the academic expectations because I've been forced to do crazy administrative parts of the job the entire 4 years I've been here, mainly because, during my 4 years at this job, my staff of 4 has changed 4 times. Basically, I've been rehiring/training my staff over and over and over again. And each time, I get stuck doing my staff's job until they're able to learn their job duties. I have complained to my boss (and my boss's boss) every chance I get. I have talked to everyone about this problem, ad infinitum: that I am exhausted doing the administrative program oversight work, and having to do the staff's job, and I just want to be able to do my own job, but I never can, because every single time I start work it, there's a meltdown/staff issue/administrative crap that pops up and eats all of my time.
Recently(in the last 6 months), the university program has recognized that me and the other faculty have been left with this crazy administrative burden which makes it difficult if not impossible to allow us to do the actual academic work part of our job, so they have implemented these administrative supervisors who would be handed that part of the program. However, that person hasn't been hired for my area yet, meaning I'm still being handed the administrative crap.
So, I've been forced to do the administrative crap and my staff's job instead of my job because of the system they ACKNOWLEDGE has been making it next to impossible to let me do my own work and they are making changes for, but before they've finished making those changes, they're firing me because I haven't meeting expectations and doing enough of my work. A dumpster fire catch-22, if you will.
Added bonus: last year, I had a MAJOR medical event, which left me 3 months out in sick leave for recovery. I'm doing better, but that was part of this 2 years during which all my work was being reviewed. I very much feel like I'm being penalized for my medical emergency as well, which has left me thinking I really need to be talking to a lawyer.
I have a few months to find a new job, which I already thinking about doing because this job was insanely stressful, but I'm really trying to figure out if I should be talking to a lawyer with this crap.
Thoughts?