100 signatures reached
To: Representative Paul Holvey, Director Department of Education, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Director of Public Employee Retirement System
Outsourced Substitute Teachers are School Employees!
ORS 342.610, needs to change to add, that Substitute Teachers are employees of school district when they are in the classroom regardless of the length of assignment. These same teachers, if they have worked the required hours, are entitled to apply for retirement benefits back to January 1, 2018.
Why is this important?
51 of 204 School Districts in Oregon have outsourced their substitute teachers to staffing agencies. This also includes classified staff like bus drivers, janitors, instructional assistants and kitchen staff. When these substitutes work the required number of hours in the school they are NOT eligible for retirement benefits because the staffing agency is NOT considered the employer. The staffing agency does not provide the jobs and does not manage the work of these teachers and support staff. All the staffing agency does is perform a payroll function. Thousands of school staff licensed and non-licensed have lost retirement credits because of outsourcing. The staff agency fee paid by school districts more than pays for the retirement benefits. Also school districts have not accounted for the fact that most substitute teachers do not work enough hours to qualify for retirement benefits, yet they still pay the anywhere from 24-26% staffing fee on the base wage of the outsourced substitute teacher. In some cases the School District pre-pay the staffing agencies fee based on previous use of substitute teachers. This money paid is also leaving the State, as these staffing agencies are not local to Oregon. ORS 342.610 is the fundamental pay statute for all substitute teachers state-wide. Those substitute teachers working in Districts without outsourcing are eligible for retirement benefits. This has gone on too long. See also HB3130 during the regular 2021 Legislative Session. HB3130 v2.0 is in the works. Help Teachers, Help Outsourced Substitute Teachers, Help Outsourced Support Staff.
How it will be delivered
In person.