BACKGROUND:

The Faculty Fringe Benefits Committee believes that the policy entitled "Optional Pay Plan for Regular Academic Faculty" initiated at the beginning of the current academic year is faulty because it ties the fringe benefits of sick leave to the number of pay periods rather than the period actually worked. Rather, the policy should be equal benefits for equal work. Several members of the MTU Board of Control have already questioned this policy: (The following is taken from the Senate Report of the meeting of the MTU Board of Control on August 17, 1979 prepared by Martha Sloan):

Those professors who choose to be paid over nine months will accrue sick leave only during those nine months while professors who continue to have their pay spread over twelve months will accrue sick leave all year. Harwood and Caserio questioned the rationale for this. Koeple indicated that many years ago when payments over twelve months were adopted, allocating sick leave for twelve months was considered a quid pro quo for the University's having the salary money for a longer period. Caserio questioned not having annual signed agreements with faculty on salary and fringes and stated that the University should have signed agreements with faculty who choose either pay allocation, clearly informing them of the difference in sick leave. Koeple stated that he did not believe this would be a problem because the people who indicated a preference for payment over nine months had research in the summer and would accrue sick leave from that.

This Senate proposal affirms that sick leave accrual or any other fringe benefit for Academic Faculty working under a three-quarter contract will not be affected by any method of payment of the employee's salary. It should be noted that only about 24 academic faculty members have elected payment over 18.9 rather than 26 periods. Thus, the adoption of this proposal will not have any significant impact on the University budget.

PROPOSAL:

Fringe benefits for the Academic Faculty should be based on conditions of service to the University without regard to the number of pay periods elected by the employee.