Upon learning in spring from our CCA officials that the state of California requires proportional sick leave, the GCFA brought the matter to the district's attention in spring. Gavilan appeared unaware that state law had changed in 2005, and that now part-timers have the right to 1. sick leave that accumulates (and thus can be added to time worked as a way to slightly increase retirement service credit and thus, possibly, retirement benefits) 2. sick leave that is proportional to load worked. The district has been slow to announce this itself. Thus I am repeating information that was in the Sept. newsletter, and adding some new details:

Part timers can and should figure their own sick leave per semester based on the following formula: your percent load for the semester times five (the number of days full-timers get each semester). Say you teach a 60 percent load. Multiply 0.60 x 5 = 3 days of leave for that semester. If you work 20 percent, or one three-unit class, you get one day this semester. If forty percent, you get two days. And so on. That's as of right now! You have and can take this leave!

Please use the attached form for any sick leave (or other) absence so there is a record. Keep a copy. Get it to your dean's office as soon as possible if you have a planned sick leave or immediately after you take off time for sick leave. (Do not use the inaccurate "Adjunct Faculty Leave Request" form on the payroll page of the Intra-net--we have asked that it be removed or updated. If a dean says you need to use that form, please let me know as we have asked the district to abandon it and take it off the website.)

We are talking to the district about how it will document the sick leave of those who have worked since 2005 (and possibly before.) We are getting a legal opinion about how far back faculty are entitled to have their sick leave counted. We are also asking how far back current part-time faculty can now ask for pay for sick days they've already taken; it may be in the last three years. ALL part-time faculty to Gavilan would be wise to

1. Collect information showing how long they have worked at Gavilan and what their loads were each semester. Paystubs, emails with the information, old schedules would all work. If this is a huge job for some of you old-timers, it may turn out that the college must do it for you, but at this point we don't know!

2. Gather documentation about any sick days you took without pay in the last 3-5 years. This can be copies of leave requests, emails regarding missing class, medical documents, anything that shows you missed school. We are certain some of these sick days should be paid, but unfortunately the college probably will not pay based upon your anecdotal evidence of time taken off. We might be able to try that if you don't have other evidence, but it may or may not work.

I am sorry I don't know more right now, but I do know we will try to ensure that part time faculty get their due.

Leah Halper
GCFA President

--Go to the Gavilan Intranet.

--Under Payroll Documents, find the section titled Other Documents.

--Click on the item called Adjunct Faculty Request for Leave.

--This item will download onto your computer. When it opens, fill out the top portion asking when you will miss class.  Reason for absence can be simply “illness.”

--Keep a copy. Ask your supervisor to return a copy to you once s/he has filled out the form. Your supervisor will turn the copy in to the Business Office.

--You should check your next pay stub to assure that it is consistent with what your supervisor filled out on the bottom half of the form in terms of pay deduction/no pay deduction.