| Garner v. State of Hawai`i, Board of Education |
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On November 8, 2002, Plaintiffs, on behalf of substitute teachers employed by the State of Hawai`i, Department of Education ("DOE"), filed a lawsuit against the DOE to recover back pay for the DOE's violation of HRS § 302A-624(e). In 1996, to ensure adequate compensation for substitute teachers, the Hawai`i State Legislature passed HRS § 302A-624(e), which provided that substitute teacher pay "shall be based on the annual entry salary step rate established for a Class II teacher on the most current teachers' salary schedule." However, the DOE has failed to pay substitute teachers this statutorily mandated rate since the statute became effective on July 1, 1996. On December 16, 2005, Circuit Court Judge Karen Ahn affirmed the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment against the Department of Education in the Garner and Kliternick class actions, which have been consolidated. The judge ruled that the substitute teachers represented in the class were entitled to receive back pay for the period of time covered in the lawsuit, November 2000 to June 2005. Approximately 9000 current and former substitute teachers are represented by the two class action lawsuits. Practice Areas: |