March 16, 2006
UW settles class-action faculty pay suit
The University of Washington has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over faculty salaries. The case claimed that the UW’s decision not to grant a general salary increase to its faculty in May 2002 had violated a salary policy adopted two years earlier.
If the tentative settlement is approved by the King County Superior Court, eligible faculty members will receive a two percent salary increase and a share of a negotiated one-time payment of $17.45 million for back pay and interest. The cash payment will also be used to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and other expenses. The amount individual eligible faculty members receive will be based on their total earnings since 2002.
The one time payment will come from the UW’s unrestricted fund balance — money that has accumulated over time from unrestricted investment income and indirect cost revenue. No state appropriated funds or tuition revenue are involved.
“The top budget priority then and now for this university is ensuring competitive salaries,” said UW President Mark A. Emmert. “While it is very difficult to accommodate retroactively a salary increase four years later, the important thing to keep in mind is that, under this agreement, more salary money is going to our faculty and that is consistent with our top funding priority. We will continue to work collaboratively with our faculty to ensure that the university has the most competitive salary structure we can develop. The UW cannot continue to thrive unless we are able to attract and retain the quality of faculty that will ensure this institution’s continued excellence.”
The salary policy at the heart of the case was adopted in 2000. It states that the UW will grant “meritorious” faculty members a minimum salary increase of two percent each year. The policy became an issue in 2002, when the state legislature did not provide any funds for a salary increase and the University concluded it could not afford to pay general raises from other sources. Although the faculty salary policy contains a “funding caution” regarding the need for legislative funding, Superior Court Judge Mary Yu ruled last October that University was bound by the policy and was obligated to provide the two percent increase.
President Emmert has pledged to work with the Board of Regents and the Faculty Senate to clarify policies related to faculty salaries.
###
