Based on California labor law, the university must compensate adjunct faculty for time worked and adjunct faculty are required to submit timesheets for actual hours worked (the university maintains adjunct timesheets on the Self-Service website).
In order to ensure adjunct faculty are compensated in a timely manner (in the pay period when work occurs), including when a required timesheet is not submitted for a pay period, the university will pay the adjunct contract total for the term over seven pay periods.
Example:
If an adjunct instructor has teaching contracts for the fall semester that total $3,500, they will be paid $500 per pay period (9/15, 9/29, 10/13, 10/31, 11/15, 11/30, 12/15). This pay will appear on the instructor’s Self-Service earnings statement as “Adjunct Pay – Stipend.”
The instructor is required to record actual hours worked on their Self-Service timesheet. Since the adjunct’s compensation is based on an hourly rank rate, the payroll office will determine if the actual hours submitted on a pay period timesheet equal more than the established $500 per pay period. This is done by determining the pay period hours equivalent. If the adjunct’s hourly rank rate is $30, the pay hours equivalent is ($500/$30) 16.66 hours.
If the instructor’s actual work time on their timesheet for a pay period is 22 hours, their pay for the pay period will be:
Pay period pay based on contract = $500
Excess hours (22-16.66) = 5.34 hours x $30 / hour = $160.20
Total pay = $660.20
IMPORTANT:
If an adjunct instructor records hours in excess of their pay period hours equivalent, they will be paid their hourly rate in the pay period for the excess hours and the pay for the excess hours will not be deducted from the pay period pay based on their contract.
If an adjunct instructor records hours that are less than their pay period hours equivalent there will be no reduction in the pay period pay based on their contract.
Adjunct faculty timesheets will be rejected on the Self-Service website. This is done to keep the per pay period pay based on the contract total from being duplicated.
A rejected timesheet has no impact on pay. Submitting a timesheet for actual hours worked is required by California labor law and a submitted timesheet is required to determine timely pay for actual hours worked.