administrative employment and contracts: rights and expectations

Administrative Employment and

Contracts:Rights and Expectations

ACCCA 2013 Annual ConferenceFebruary 20, 2013

Presented By:Mary Dowell, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

John Didion, Rancho Santiago Community College Dist rict

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Overview

• Legal Requirements• Entering Into Contracts • Renewing Contracts • Terminating Administrator • Contractual Provisions

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Entering Into Contracts

• Why a Contract?– Education Code Section 72411(a): Every

educational administrator shall beemployed … by an appointment or contract of up to four years in duration.

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Entering Into a Contract

• Terms and conditions of employment are memorialized in a written agreement signed by the parties

• Board approval required at a regularmeeting of the board

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Renewing a Contract

• The district and the administrator may mutually agree to terminate existing contract and enter into a new contract – Current contract ends on June 30– Contract with new terms and conditions

begins on July 1

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Renewing a Contract

• No contractual provision can provide for an automatic renewal of the contract if there are automatic salary increases that exceed a cost of living adjustment

• Board approval required at a regularmeeting of the board

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Renewing a Contract

• Automatic renewal by operation of law – If no notice of non-renewal is provided, the

administrator is reemployed for a term of the same duration that was just completed� But : the contract itself can state that it only renews

for one year.

– No statutory or contractual right to an administrative position

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Terminating a Contract

• Mutual agreement• Resignation

– Terms specified in contract – Must provide appropriate notice as specified

in contract

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• Non-renewal of contract– For contracts longer than a year:

� At least 6 months notice prior to expiration of contract; or

� A time period agreed to in the contract (e.g. by March 15)

– For contracts less than a year, notice of non-renewal must be given on or before March 15

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• Without cause– Terms specified in contract– Severance pay is limited to the monthly

salary owed for the remainder of the contract– Capped at a maximum of 18 months, but no

right to have it be 18 months

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• For cause– Administrators without tenure as a faculty

member may be terminated for cause pursuant to the terms of the contract, if any

– Administrators with tenure as a faculty member must be dismissed in accordance with Education Code 87732

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Retreat Rights – Academics Only

• No retreat rights for an administrator dismissed for cause

• Administrator with tenure as a faculty member who has been released without cause may return to a faculty position

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Retreat Rights

• Academic administrator without tenure as a faculty member may become a first-year probationary faculty member– Termination must not be for cause– District must have a process to evaluate whether

administrator meets minimum qualifications, developed with Faculty Senate

– Administrator must have completed at least 2 years of satisfactory service

– A first-year probationary position must be available

Common Contractual Provisions

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Essential Provisions

• Term/Duration– Governs the length of the contract– Administrator contracts may be up to 4 years

in duration– Limitations on CalSTRS annuitants:

� $31,020 annual post-retirement earnings limit (2011-12)

� Beginning in 2013, there is a180-day waiting period prior to being employed regardless of the age of the annuitant

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• Salary– Base salary– COLA– Grounds for salary increases

• Duties/Responsibilities– Defines the job responsibilities of the

position

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• Evaluation– Explains the standards, timing, and process

for performance evaluations

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• Fringe benefits– Medical & dental insurance– Life insurance– Leaves– Retirement plans

• Expense allowance/Reimbursement

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• Termination – Resignation, for cause, without cause, non-

renewal

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• Applicable law– Defines what law applies to interpret and

enforce the contract (e.g. California law)– May define where parties may sue to

enforce the contract (e.g. Alameda County)

• Severability/Savings Clause– If one term of the contract is invalidated by a

court, the rest of the contract is still enforceable

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• Complete/Entire Agreement– Contract is a final expression of the

agreement between the parties– No other terms or conditions exist outside

what is written in the contract

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Other Optional Provisions

• Arbitration/Mediation Clause• Medical Examinations• Outside Employment/Professional

Activities• Non-Compete Clause• Non-Recruiting Clause

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New Requirements

• If the following benefits are provided, the contract must contain provisions requiring an administrator to reimburse the district for these costs if he/she is convicted of a crime involving an abuse of his/her position:– Paid leave pending an investigation– Funds for the legal criminal defense of the

administrator– Any cash settlement received related to the

termination of the employment contract

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Effect of PEPRA

• Post-retirement earnings limit for STRS• 960 hour limit for PERS

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Thank you!

Mary DowellPartner | Los Angeles Office

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

310-981-2000 | [email protected]

John DidionExecutive Vice Chancellor, Human Resources and Educational Services

Rancho Santiago Community College District

714-480-7489 | [email protected]

administrative employment and contracts: rights and expectations

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