Secretaries union files complaint over schools paycheck change

The union representing county school secretaries filed a complaint in county Circuit Court last month for changing the way the secretaries are paid.

They said the change violates their negotiated agreement with the schools.

"It's a breach of contract," said Kristy Anderson, counsel for the Secretaries and Assistants Association of Anne Arundel County. "They've done this in a way that's very clearly in violation, and they're just ignoring it."

The payroll change affects about 443 employees, most of them union members, whose pay previously had been averaged over the year so they received the same sum in each paycheck.

But starting Jan. 1, the Board of Education started paying them for the hours they put in each week. That means while they're still paid the same annual salary, some paychecks will be higher while others will be lower, - particularly during the summer, when they work fewer hours.

The change will only affect secretaries who work 12 months out of the year, not those who work 10 months.

Ms. Anderson said the union has been asking school officials since October about potential problems with the new payroll system without getting any answers. Union officials filed its complaint in county Circuit Court at the end of December, asking the court settle the disagreement.

"They've already made the decision to do this, and that's why we're asking a judge in circuit court to force the board to comply with the negotiated agreement," she said.

School officials declined to comment, citing a board policy that prohibits talking about pending litigation. Tyson Bennett, the board's attorney, said the school system will soon file its response to the lawsuit.

Ms. Anderson said the union believes a new $4.5 million payroll program that was recently implemented in the county schools is partially to blame.

The human resources software riled county officials in 2007 when Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell bought it against the express wishes of the County Council. At the time, school officials said it was necessary because the vendor of their 17-year-old system was discontinuing support, but county officials wanted to wait to see if the new system could be used for all county employees.

Another reason for the payroll change was given in a letter to the school secretaries in late December. Florie Bozzella, the school system's human resources director, said in the letter the change was needed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires the secretaries to be paid for the actual hours they work.

But Dan Kaufman, a spokesman for the Maryland State Teachers Association, called that rationale weak.

"Their argument that they're in (violation of) FLSA is absolutely not true," he said. "The contract has existed alongside FLSA for years."

Representatives from the county secretaries' union said the secretaries will struggle with adjusting to the new payment plan.

Many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, and after being paid regularly for years, many have mortgages, car payments and other recurring expenses that will make the adjustment difficult, Ms. Anderson said.

"My biggest concern is for our members who are single mothers working to keep a steady paycheck," said Debbie Schaefer, union president. "It's going to be a problem for them. They will have less hours over the summer."