HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 916        FILED ON: 1/29/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1363

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Thomas M. Stanley

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to ensure minimum fair wages and employment stability for adjunct faculty.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 916        FILED ON: 1/29/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1363

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1243 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act to ensure minimum fair wages and employment stability for adjunct faculty.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 151 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2014 Edition is hereby amended by adding after section 2B the following section:

SECTION 2C:  Adjunct Faculty

(a) Colleges and universities shall pay adjunct faculty an amount per course equal to the weighted average salary of a full time instructor, multiplied by an instruction factor, divided by the standard number of courses in a yearly teaching period. The instruction factor shall be the percentage of time an average full time instructor spends teaching courses, including preparation and grading. The weighted average salary of a full time instructor shall be calculated as follows:

(1) For a college or university where at least 20 percent of full time faculty, as reported to the US Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, are classified as instructors, lecturers or no academic rank, the weighted average salary of a full time instructor shall be calculated by adding the total salary outlays of a full time faculty classified as instructors, lecturers, or no academic rank and dividing that sum by the total number of full time faculty classified as instructors, lecturers or no academic rank.

(2) For a college or university where fewer than 20 percent of full time faculty, as reported to the US Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System,  are classified as instructors, lecturers or no academic rank, the weighted average salary of a full time instructor shall be calculated by adding the total salary outlays of full time faculty classified as assistant professors, instructors, lecturers or no academic rank and dividing that sum by the total number of full time faculty classified as such.

(b)  Colleges and universities shall offer a given course to qualified adjunct faculty who have taught the same course or similar course previously before hiring new faculty to teach the course.

(c)  Colleges and universities shall provide sufficient notice of teaching assignments and the cancellation of said assignments.  For purposes of this subsection, sufficient notice shall be defined as no less than 90 days prior to the beginning of an academic term

(d)  In the event a course assignment is cancelled 45 or more but fewer than 90 days prior to the beginning of an academic term, colleges and universities shall provide the adjunct faculty member an alternate course assignment or 25% of the salary for the course.  In the event a course assignment is cancelled fewer than 45 days prior to the beginning of an academic term, colleges and universities shall provide the adjunct faculty member an alternate course assignment or 50% of the salary for the course.