HIDOE to provide list of impacted employees, delay details by Sept. 13
Posted: September 6, 2024
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association is scheduled to meet with Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi and his staff on Monday, Sept. 9, after initiating the grievance process last week over missed paychecks for hundreds of public and charter school teachers at the start of the school year.
HSTA is hopeful that this informal grievance meeting will answer many questions about the paycheck delays and provide a path to remedy the harmful effects, especially after receiving a limited and partial response from the HIDOE.
The HSTA initiated the grievance after department leaders were unable to explain what caused the delays, and repeatedly refused to turn over a list of affected teachers. Without that list, HSTA cannot determine the full extent of the problem, nor work with bargaining unit members to address the myriad issues resulting from not receiving their regular paychecks as expected.
In its response, the HIDOE said it is “currently compiling this information [list of employees affected and details on which paychecks were affected] and will provide it to HSTA by Friday, September 13, 2024.” The department also said that as of Sept. 4, 376 teachers were impacted by paycheck delays — 321 would receive a Sept. 5 check, and 55 will not receive their first check until Sept. 20.
Many teachers reported to HSTA that they have not received a paycheck as of Sept. 5.
The HIDOE shared that a large part of the paycheck delay was caused by the “human resource transaction process involv[ing] email and paper-intensive activity.” From what HSTA can gather, the issue is not with HIDOE payroll or the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) but with the Office of Talent Management’s (OTM) inability to adequately plan and staff for the needs of the public charter schools who pay the HIDOE for such services.
Hawaiʻi has 38 public charter schools that operate as independent employers separate from the HIDOE. However, many of these schools contract and compensate the HIDOE to process employee records and administer their payroll. The department also handles payroll for special education teachers at every public charter school.
HSTA was shocked to learn that the HIDOE allocates only one human resource assistant to manage 38 charter school accounts, which consist of over 1,000 charter school employees, including 413 charter school teachers for this school year. In HSTA’s assessment, the HIDOE has failed to adequately plan and staff for the increasing demands of the charter schools that the HIDOE is paid to handle.
The department informed HSTA that 114 “public charter school teachers were not processed in a timely manner for the August 20, 2024 pay date.” The HIDOE indicated that this situation has resulted in the department recognizing the need to increase the number of personnel to manage the needs of the public charter schools.
The HIDOE said affected teachers should contact the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) and Island Flex Office regarding any impacts to their health benefits or Island Flex accounts. Unfortunately, such advice is complicated by the HIDOE’s inability to confirm when teachers can be assured of reinstated pay, as many teachers said they did not receive a paycheck as of Sept. 5.
Since the HSTA began collecting names through a survey last week, 87 teachers self-identified as not receiving their paychecks. Many said the HIDOE did not inform them if they were to receive a Sept. 5 paycheck.
Impacted teachers who have not yet done so are urged to fill out the survey linked in Friday’s Member Matters e-newsletter.
The department offered placeholder payment checks of $2,000 to ensure impacted teachers received compensation for their work. However, many teachers said they were frustrated and confused because they needed to pay it back by Sept. 30. They were not told whether they would receive all of their back pay before that date.
Of the impacted teachers who self-identified to HSTA, 22% reported impacts to their credit score, and between 20–30% reported missed or late payment or overdraft fees.
One teacher’s comments captured their collective frustration: “We have gotten no communication before, during, or after from the DOE. Any sort of communication has been due to our teachers reaching out and making phone calls and sending emails. Even with phone calls and emails, we have all received different answers (even different answers from the same people).”
Another shared: “I am concerned about having to make many phone calls to try and keep straight all the information to fix the lack of deductions while simultaneously trying to teach kids with special needs. It seems crazy to send close to 400 (affected teachers) calling the same entities rather than the DOE having one person fix the problems they created. I’m hoping my credit score will not be affected by this mishap.”