Teacher sacked for being absent from work for 20 out of 24 years says she’s going to court

A history and philosophy teacher who was let go after managing to skip school for 20 of her 24-year tenure has promised to challenge the dismissal in court.

Cinzia Paolina De Lio, a 51-year-old irate professor who taught in the Italian city of Venice, was discovered to have missed work for two decades out of the two and a half decades that she had worked as a public servant.

According to reports, she was fired in 2017 after an inspection revealed her chronic absences, but she appealed the decision in court and was later reinstated.

However, the Italian Ministry of Education appealed the lower court's decision to reinstate De Lio to the country's Supreme Court. The ministry contended that she missed no work during her first ten years as a professor and supported her prolonged absence over the following 14 years by a number of documents, including authorization for helping disabled family members and maternity and breastfeeding vacations.

According to reports, De Lio submitted over 100 petitions for excused absences.

In the past 24 years, De Lio has submitted 67 certificates of sick leave, 16 personal leave requests, seven paid parental leave requests, 24 requests to help family members with various disabilities, five requests to take part in various training courses, two leaves of absence for work-related accidents, as well as maternity, breastfeeding, and multiple requests for leave to take care of her child's health, according to the Italian newspaper La Republica.

Some former pupils of Professor De Lio have made disparaging comments regarding the way she approaches her work.

"She never maintained continuity; she visited for a little time before going on extended sick leave. Francesca B., a 22-year-old university student, informed La Republica that the substitute lecturers frequently changed or occasionally forced the students to leave class early.

De Lio's contract was recently terminated, and the Italian Supreme Court recently affirmed that decision, ruling that the authorities had good cause to fire her.