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Chronology of Litigation
WPEA, et
al. vs. State of WA et al. ("Journeyman Trade Workers
II")
Thurston County Superior Court No. 99-2-01865-3;
Shroll,
et al. v. State,
Thurston Co. No. 99-2-001886-6
Judge
Daniel J. Berschauer
This class-action
lawsuit was filed in October 1999 to continue our
pursuit of resolving disparities in pay between
General Government and Higher Education pay scales for
similar or identical classes.
A similar suit (Shroll
v. State) was also filed in October by
class-action counsel for non-WPEA member plaintiffs in
the Warner case. The two cases were
consolidated for trial purposes before Judge
Berschauer.
A stay of proceedings
was ordered by Judge Berschauer on November 12, 1999.
The stay, intended to allow time for the State to
resolve the pay disparities underlying the suit,
remained in effect until after the 2001 legislative
session.
On December 17, 1999,
District 1199NW Hospital and Health Care Employees
Union, SEIU, AFL-CIO, was allowed to intervene as a
plaintiff in the consolidated case on behalf of a
class of registered nurses represented by 1199NW.
As a part of the
settlement of Warner I, a committee comprised
of WPEA, WFSE, and Department of Personnel
representatives was formed to review and recommend a
course of action with regard to other common classes.
A common class list and a proposed funding plan to
equalize salaries between common classes was adopted
by the Personnel resources Board in 2000.
A proposed settlement
was signed by WPEA and other parties in April 2001,
contingent upon funding by the 2001 legislature. The
Court approved the proposed settlement class and the
settlement order on June 8, 2001.
The 2001 legislature
rejected the settlement when it refused to appropriate
funds. The settlement and the previous stay are now
dissolved and the parties are in the process of
preparing the case for trial to the court.
Washington Federation of
State Employees, AFSCME has moved to intervene in the
Schroll case and the parties agreed to join AFSCME in the
case.
In 2002, the State legislature killed a
proposed settlement of the long-running common class
lawsuit by refusing to provide funding in the 2001-2002
budget. The legislature’s failure to fund the proposed
settlement torpedoed the plan approved by the Thurston
County Superior court on June 8, 2001, sending the case
back to court.
June 2003 Judge
Berschauer Grants the State Summary Judgment against
WPEA and other employees. A written order will be
presented at a later date, clearing the way for an
appeal.
January 2006,
the State proposed a $30 million settlement to
those classes affected by our "equal-pay for
equal-work" lawsuit.
March 2006,
the
final budget incorporated more then $22.5
million towards the lawsuit with the rest being funded in future
budgets.
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