Senior Botany Professor and 9-month faculty member at Mauna Kea College, Dr. Domingo, knows the new UHPA-BOR 2015-2017 contract went into effect on July 1, 2015. He was just telling a new hire that union dues are 1% of your salary, yet, due to this contract, faculty will get an 8% raise over the next two years. Not a bad return on investment! However, Dr. Domingo just got his July 20th paycheck, and he isn’t seeing his increase. Was there a snag in the contract?

Answer:

The duty period for 9-month faculty runs from mid-August to mid-May (the academic year).  Dr. Domingo is technically only earning money until May, but his paychecks for that period are spread out over 12 months.  As a result, he receives paychecks through the summer for monies already earned over the previous year. Even though the new contract is in effect, Dr. Domingo won’t be earning money under the new contract terms until he returns to work. As a result, he can expect to see his new salary kick in after he starts earning money under the new agreement in mid-August.

If Dr. Domingo had been on an 11-month appointment, his duty period would begin on July 1. Therefore, his salary increase would also be applied on July 1st, the day he starts earning money again under the new contract. In fact, this was the source of his confusion; he was on a temporary 11-month appointment in 2009 when the last contract went into effect.