Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1480924
O V E R T H E Y E A R S , California commu- nity college districts have increasingly turned to part-time adjunct faculty to meet their mission of educating students. Adjunct faculty teach up to 75 percent of all community college classes in some districts. Adjunct faculty are required to hold the same minimum qualifications as their full-time faculty counterparts but are deemed temporary and have lit- tle job security. Community colleges also generally compensate adjunct faculty at a much lower rate than full-time faculty, sometimes even failing to pay adjunct faculty for the many hours of essential work that they do outside of the class- room on behalf of their employers. As a result of these widespread and u n f a i r c o m p e n s a t i o n p r a c t i c e s b y community college employers, adjunct f a c u l ty a c r o ss t h e st a t e d e sp e ra t e ly s t r u g g l e f i n a n c i a l l y t o m a k e e n d s meet, despite their advanced academic degrees, professional duties, and many ye a r s of t e a c h i n g e xp e r i e n c e . Th e s e compensation practices are not only a form of economic exploitation, but they may also violate California's minimum wage laws. After a detailed investiga- tion, in April 2022 CTA filed a lawsuit against Long Beach City College District, Roberts, et. al. v. Long Beach Community College District, for its failure to comply with minimum wage laws. Under California's applicable minimum wage laws, adjunct faculty who earn less than $5,200/month (in 2022) from a pub- lic employer are not exempt from the state's minimum wage requirements. at is so regardless of the number of hours that the employee works. erefore, com- munity college districts are required to pay these non-exempt adjunct faculty at least the $15/hour state minimum wage for ever y hour worked — not only for classroom lecture hours, but for all hours engaged in work on behalf of districts. For Long Beach City College District (LBCCD) adjunct faculty, this means a legal right to be paid at least the mini- mum wage for the hours they have spent preparing class syllabi, grading student w ork, h o l din g of f i c e h ours, c ommu- nicating with students outside of the classroom about instructional matters, conducting administrative tasks, and attending employer -mandated train- ings. e local union chapter of adjunct f a c u l t y a t L B C C D , t h e C e r t i f i c a t e d Hourly Instructors, has been fighting for many years at the contract bargain- ing table to n egotiat e comp ensation for out-of-classroom work for their bar- gaining unit members. us far, LBCCD has stubbornly refused to comply with their legal obligations under state law. LBCCD insists on paying part-time fac- ulty an hourly rate only for the time that CTA Fights for Adjunct Faculty Rights Lawsuit brings attention to unfair compensation practices By York Chang 42 cta.org Advocacy Legal Beat Karen Roberts Seija Rohkea