HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 2SSB 6811

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      Higher Education

Title:  An act relating to sick leave and leave sharing for part‑time academic employees of community and technical colleges.

Brief Description:  Providing for sick leave and leave sharing for part‑time academic employees at community and technical colleges.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Kohl‑Welles, Jacobsen, Shin, B. Sheldon, Winsley, McAuliffe, Roach, Thibaudeau, Spanel, Bauer and Goings).

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Higher Education:  2/22/00 [DPA].

        Brief Summary of Second Substitute Bill

            (As Amended by House Committee)

$Grants sick leave to part-time academic employees on a pro-rata basis.

$Allows sick leave to be shared by part-time academic employees under current statutory sick leave program.

$Allows for redemption of accrued sick leave under the attendance incentive program.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives Carlson, Republican Co-Chair; Kenney, Democratic Co-Chair; Lantz, Democratic Vice Chair; Radcliff, Republican Vice Chair; Dunn; Edmonds; Esser and Gombosky.

Staff:  Tracey Taylor (786-7196).

Background:

Part-time faculty represent 42 percent of state-funded full-time equivalent faculty positions in the state community and technical colleges.  However, compensation and benefits for part-time faculty have not been comparable to that of full-time faculty.

The Best Practices Task Force was established in 1996 to consider the issue of adjunct faculty employment.  A report, endorsed by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), was delivered to the Legislature in 1997.  Among the recommendations made by the task force was "to develop/bargain a policy that provides some sick leave to adjunct faculty who have a continuing relationship with the colleges."

Recently, a class action lawsuit has been filed with the Washington Superior Court alleging that the part-time faculty have been wrongly denied retirement and health benefits by the State of Washington and the SBCTC.  It is still in the pretrial phase.

Summary of Amended Bill:

Sick leave is granted to part-time faculty at the community and technical colleges on a pro-rata basis.  It shall be calculated based on the individual's teaching commitment at the college.  If not otherwise defined in a collective bargaining agreement, a full-time academic workload is the number of in-class teaching hours required to fulfill an employment obligation.  The part-time academic workload, if not otherwise defined, is any percentage of full-time academic workload for which the part-time academic employee is not paid on the full-time academic salary schedule. 

For part-time faculty, the employees may accumulate the leave after the first quarter of employment by a college district. 

Under the leave sharing program, currently established in statute, part-time academic employees may share sick leave in certain circumstances. 

Under the Attendance Incentive Program, accrued, unused sick leave may be redeemed after an individual accrues at least 60 days.  Four days of accrued, unused sick leave may be redeemed for one day's monetary compensation. 

This bill does not alter any existing collective bargaining agreement.

Amended Bill Compared to Second Substitute Bill:  Clarifies that the accrual of sick leave is not intended to be calculated retroactively.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date of Amended Bill:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Currently, many community and technical colleges offer some sort of sick leave program.  This bill will create a measure of uniformity, along with portability, to the part-time academic employees.  The bill also addresses a long-standing inequity by implementating a Best Practice Task Force recommendation.  Finally, the bill encourages compassion by allowing the employees to share their accrued leave with a co-worker.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Senator Kohl-Welles, prime sponsor; John Boesenberg, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Susan Levy, Washington Federation of Teachers; Renee Goffinet, Spokane Community Colleges; Karin Hilgersom, Washington Education Association; and Dana Rush, Part-Time Faculty Association.