In the wake of its recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by full-time faculty for back pay, the University of Washington has found itself sued once again—this time, by part-time lecturer Susan Helf, who teaches in the Department of Management and Organization at the university’s business school. Helf’s suit is based on a breach of contract claim arising from the university’s alleged failure to adhere to the merit-pay provisions of the Faculty Code, and seeks to recover for the university’s part-timers approximately five years’ back pay. Although the exact amount of the claim cannot be established until the case is certified as a class action and the number of class members determined, Helf’s attorney, Rick Gautschi, told the Adjunct Advocate in an email that “…I think it’s safe to say that the figure is somewhere in the seven-figure range.” (According to Peterson’s Four Year Colleges 2006, the University of Washington employs 609 adjunct faculty, or 18 percent of its total faculty.)

Back pay litigation against the university began in 2004, with the filing of Storti v. University of Washington, in which full-time faculty sought the recovery of merit increases owed under the terms of the Faculty Code. In March 2006, the parties settled that suit for $17.5 million, at which time Helf, concerned that language in the settlement agreement might preclude her suit on behalf of part-timers, attempted to intervene as a party. Averring that Helf was not a member of the class, the court denied the motion to intervene. Helf then filed a complaint in King County Superior Court, in Seattle.

Helf, who holds a B.A. (magna cum laude) and J.D. from the University of Minnesota, has taught at the business school for 12 consecutive years, specializing in such areas as First Amendment law, corporate ethics, and individual rights under the U.S. Constitution. At issue in her case is whether the Faculty Code requires the university to give part-time lecturers annual merit increases.

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