COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Rep. Don Carlson, Republican Co-Chair; and

Rep. Phyllis Kenney, Democratic Co-Chair

BILL ANALYSIS

 2SSB 6811

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

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 Ato 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:  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, sick leave sharing shall be allowed based on criteria already established in the statute. 

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.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

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

Prepared for the House Higher Education Committee         

by Tracey Taylor, Research Analyst (786-7196)

Office of Program Research

February 22, 2000