Presented By: Mary Dowell, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

1. Administrative Employment and Contracts:Rights and ExpectationsACCCA 2013 Annual ConferenceFebruary 20, 2013 Presented By: Mary Dowell, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore John Didion, Rancho Santiago Community College District

2. Overview • Legal Requirements • Entering Into Contracts • Renewing Contracts • Terminating Administrator • Contractual Provisions

3. 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.

4. Entering Into a Contract • Terms and conditions of employment are memorialized in a written agreement signed by the parties • Board approval required at a regular meeting of the board

5. 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

6. 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 regular meeting of the board

7. 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

8. Terminating a Contract • Mutual agreement • Resignation • Terms specified in contract • Must provide appropriate notice as specified in contract

9. Terminating a Contract • 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

10. Terminating a Contract • 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

11. Terminating a Contract • 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Common Contractual Provisions

15. 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

16. Essential Provisions • Salary • Base salary • COLA • Grounds for salary increases • Duties/Responsibilities • Defines the job responsibilities of the position

17. Essential Provisions • Evaluation • Explains the standards, timing, and process for performance evaluations

18. Essential Provisions • Fringe benefits • Medical & dental insurance • Life insurance • Leaves • Retirement plans • Expense allowance/Reimbursement

19. Essential Provisions • Termination • Resignation, for cause, without cause, non-renewal

20. Essential Provisions • 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

21. Essential Provisions • 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

22. Other Optional Provisions • Arbitration/Mediation Clause • Medical Examinations • Outside Employment/Professional Activities • Non-Compete Clause • Non-Recruiting Clause

23. 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

24. Effect of PEPRA • Post-retirement earnings limit for STRS • 960 hour limit for PERS

25. Thank you! Mary Dowell Partner Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 310-981-2000 | mdowell@lcwlegal.com John Didion Executive Vice Chancellor, Human Resources and Educational Services Rancho Santiago Community College District 714-480-7489 | didion_john@rsccd.edu