Two Long Beach City College part-time instructors file class-action lawsuit over alleged minimum wage violations

By Evan Vega On Apr 4, 2022

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — Two Long Beach City College part-time instructors, the California Teachers Association and others are speaking out about part-time pay at Long Beach City College.

LBCC part-time instructors say they’re not paid for a lot of hours they work.

“I teach three unit classes which means I’m required to deliver just over three hours of instructional time in the classroom or online per week. I’m paid a flat hourly rate for that time only. What I’m not paid for is the prep of each course requires including creating and writing syllabus, creating lecture materials, including PowerPoint slides,” said Karen Roberts, a part-time employee at LBCC.

The California Teachers Association is also co-sponsoring a bill, AB1752, to help with pay parity for part-time faculty of California community colleges.

The association says there are approximately 650 part-time faculty at Long Beach City College. Part-time instructors say they have the same qualifications as employees who are full-time. They say they’ve tried to bring up minimum wage pay to the board of trustees.

“For adjuncts, there’s a lack of statewide standard and pay and health benefits many of us, myself included, must depend on government assistance during summer and winter breaks,” said Seija Rohkea, a part-time employee at LBCC.

ABC7 reached out to Long Beach City College for a comment. They replied in an email writing, “Long Beach City College does not comment on pending litigation.”

“Among the remedies, these plaintiffs are seeking back pay plus interest retirement system contributions for the unpaid wages, a court order that Long Beach City College paid part-time faculty for all hours worked and any additional penalties prescribed by law,” said Eric Kaljumgi , President of the Community College Association.

Attorney Eileen Goldsmith says an investigation is currently happening to see if there are issues with minimum wage pay at other community college campuses.

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