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Faculty Prevail in Washington Pay Case
By Gwendolyn Bradley
In a partial summary judgment, a King County court ruled in October that the University of Washington breached its duty when it failed to award faculty an annual merit increase in the 2002–03 academic year as required by the faculty handbook, and that it must provide back pay. The courts have still to decide which of the institution’s 3,000-plus faculty members qualify for the back pay, which could total as much as $16 million. The university paid the faculty salary increase in prior and subsequent years. The class-action suit was initiated by Duane Storti, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the university and a member of the AAUP’s governing Council.
“The summary judgment order was a good step forward in establishing that the plain-language interpretation of the university handbook is enforceable,” Storti says. “I sincerely hope that the summary judgment order will convince the administration and board of regents to do the right thing by paying the faculty what is owed to them for the good work they have already done.”
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