Uncertified Teacher Subs Entitled to Full Benefits; DOE Settles UFT Grievance
By DAVID SIMS
Long-term uncertified substitute Teachers will now be paid on the regular Teacher payroll, giving them full health insurance and welfare benefits, after a lengthy crusade by the United Federation of Teachers.

The UFT estimates that hundreds of substitutes will benefit from the grievance victory, which could in some circumstances include retroactive payments as well. UFT Grievance Director Howard Solomon described the provisions of the victory as a "double win" on the union Web site.

Alleged Pact Violation

The Department of Education in September 2005 decided to switch long-term uncertified substitutes to "O" status, paying them as per-diem workers, which was in violation of the collective-bargaining agreement. The UFT filed a grievance against the DOE in Nov. 2006, while many individual grievances were also filed.

The DOE decided to settle the case this summer, but the UFT waited until the start of the school year in September to begin a 90-day period in which it could identify the claimants in the case and make them known to the DOE.

Mr. Solomon said that the UFT was now on the hunt for uncertified substitutes who were covered by the grievance. "We believe it's hundreds. There's probably a lot more out there that we don't know about, that aren't even aware that they're entitled," he said. "We're trying to get them to come forward."

In a phone interview, Mr. Solomon said that the DOE had created the issue by continuing to hire uncertified Teachers after the SED outlawed the practice. Its subsequent decision to bump long-term subs down to per-diem status was necessary because the new law was being violated. "They made a decision that was contrary to everything that they have ever done," he said.

Change in Payroll Status

All claimants will be bumped from "O" status to "Q" status, an annual payroll from which all salaried Teachers in the DOE are paid. Some substitutes, mostly those covering for Teachers on sabbatical or leave for a full term or more, will be entitled to file for retroactive pay back to mid-2006 and reimbursement for any COBRA premiums they paid for health benefits.

Prior to September 2005, the substitutes had always been on the "Q" payroll, but they were shifted off because the State Education Department mandated that all Teachers hired in New York be certified, in accordance with No Child Left Behind. Because of this mandate, the DOE decided to treat uncertified substitutes as per diem-workers.

Uncertified substitutes looking to change their salary status should call their UFT borough office Monday through Friday between 4 and 6 p.m. and ask to speak to a salary representative.