Contract Spotlight: Reduced Workload

by Annie Ngo, Contract & Evaluation Liaison

Are you familiar with K.2.0 Reduced Workload in our collective bargaining agreement?

Education Code, sections 87483 and 89516, allows faculty members to reduce their workload and still receive full STRS service credit under certain conditions.

To qualify, the faculty member must have:

reached the age of fifty-five (55) prior to the reduction in workload.
been employed in a full-time position requiring certification for at least ten (10) years, of which the immediately preceding five (5) years were full-time employment. Sabbaticals and other approved leaves DO NOT constitute a break in service and are not used to compute the requirement of five (5) years of full-time service prior to entering the program.

Keep in mind, that the minimum part-time employment level, averaged over the academic year, shall be the equivalent of at least half of the number of days of service required by the contract of employment during the last year the faculty member served in a full-time academic position. Examples of what this could look like (and upon mutual agreement by the faculty member and the district):

100% of one semester and 0% of the other semester, or
50% each semester, or
any assignment that will average 50% or more for two (2) semesters of the academic year.

Furthermore, under Education Code section 87770, a faculty member has to render “a period of service in the employ of the governing board of the district following his or her return from the leave of absence which is equal to twice the period of the leave.” For instance, if you took a sabbatical for one semester, you would need to work the equivalent of two full semesters thereafter (or four 50% semesters, which equates to two full semesters). Note that unbanked semesters do not count towards service or regular load.

Here are some example scenarios to illustrate what is allowed:

Scenario 1

Preceding 5 years: Regular Load

Spring 2024: Unbank (15 LHE)

Fall 2024: 50% Reduced Workload

Spring 2025: 50% Reduced Workload

End of SP25: Retire

Scenario 2

Preceding 5 years: Regular Load

Fall 2023: Sabbatical

Spring 2024: Regular Load

Fall 2024: 50% Reduced Workload