Coronavirus and Schools: Continued Payments for Non-Teaching and Hourly Staff
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Many of our clients have indicated that, at least for now, they would like to continue to pay non-teaching and hourly staff during the school closure.
As we have previously advised, for any of those staff who are not working during the closure, no obligation exists to make such payments. However, for districts who have decided to do so anyway, we are attaching a proposed Memorandum of Agreement for those staff who are in unions.
The memorandum seeks to accomplish three things: make clear that the decision to continue wages may be revisited if the closure is extended; clarify that in the event days are added at the end of the year that no additional wages will be due unless the total number of days actually worked, exceeds the contract year; and to ask the union to indemnify the district in the event work days are added to the end of the year and some individual employee attempts to argue that payment is required for those additional days pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act. As always, each district’s situation may be a little different, so do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.