Court Says UDC Erred in Firing 125 Faculty Members

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 21, 1999

WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court ruled late last month that officials of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the D.C. Financial Control Board violated a collective bargaining agreement when they fired 125 faculty members two years ago during a economic crisis (see Black Issues, April 17, 1997). The ruling could cost the city millions of dollars in back pay and severance pay, according to a Washington Post story.

Approximately one-third of UDC's full-time staff was fired, leading to a lawsuit by the Faculty Association, the collective bargaining agent for the university's faculty members. The association complained that seniority rules were not followed and that most fired faculty members were entitled to severance benefits. It also claimed that the control board had no right to interfere with labor contracts.

The three-judge panel sided with the association. In explaining the court's ruling, Chief Judge Harry T. Edwards wrote: "Congress did not grant the Control Board the authority to abrogate existing contracts between the District and its employees."

The ruling means that 28 senior faculty members must be offered a chance to return to work with back pay. The District must also provide a year's worth of severance pay to at least 85 other faculty members. Twelve other dismissed faculty members either retired or were reinstated following internal university appeals.

The control board has not yet announced if it will appeal the ruling.

At the rime the dismissals occurred in 1997, UDC had a $16 million projected budget deficit. The dismissals were supposed to reduce the deficit by $8 million.

Currently, UDC appears to be on the road to financial recovery (see Black Issues, Sept. 3, 1998). But the university's president, Dr. Julius F. Nimmons, acknowledges that another speed bump has been placed in UDC's path.

"On balance, we are still fragile. But we are doing well in our recovery," he says. "We are progressing and moving forward with our recovery initiatives and our plans for the future."