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The 2,900-member University of Hawaii Professional Assembly will seek another court injunction to stop the state from imposing payroll lag. UH faculty fights
payroll lag -- again
By Suzanne Tswei
Star-BulletinThe faculty union received written notice yesterday that the state will implement the lag, which pushes pay periods back five days, on the last pay day in November.
"We'll just have to go back to court as usual," said union President Alexander Malahoff, who calls the measure punitive. "That's where the issue will have to be settled."
Since members will no longer be paid on the 15th and last working day of each month, they'll get three instead of four paychecks from November through December.
"They still get all their pay, they'll just get it five days later," said state Deputy Comptroller Mary Pat Waterhouse.
"But we wanted to provide adequate notice for people to prepare for any consequences that may come as results of the lag."
The state imposed payroll lag in 1998 to save $51 million by rolling paychecks over into the next fiscal year.
Faculty union members were the only state employees exempt from the payroll lag after their union obtained a preliminary injunction in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Alan Kay had issued the injunction but dissolved it last month, leaving the state free to bring the faculty payroll schedule in line with other state employees.
"We feel all employees should be treated equally. We feel this is fair," Waterhouse said.
The state has had to maintain two separate pay systems to process paychecks for the faculty and other state employees, Waterhouse said, and the extra work costs about 40 to 60 extra hours a week.
Employees will receive one less paycheck in the first calendar year of the lag because the last check for the year is issued on Jan. 5 the following year.
Union and university officials are scheduled to meet next week to discuss implementation of the lag.
Union officials yesterday also returned to the bargaining table in effort to negotiate a new contract for the faculty, who have been working without a contract since June last year.
State negotiators rejected the union proposal for raises, which is in line with national pay increases, said union executive director J.N. Musto after yesterday's session.
"There is no indication that the state is looking to settle this. We are not encouraged at all. We are on what appears to a course of impasse," Musto said.
University of Hawaii
