The Long Beach Community College District has agreed to pay $18 million to settle a class action brought by its part-time faculty, resolving claims that adjuncts were never paid for grading, lesson prep, office hours, and other work done outside the classroom. If the court grants final approval, each of the 1,456 class members is expected to receive more than $11,000.1Long Beach Post. LBCC Adjunct Lawsuit Settlement The district’s board approved the deal in January 2026, and a final approval hearing before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stuart Rice is set for July 1, 2026.2EdSource. Long Beach Community College District to Pay $18M to Settle Adjunct Lawsuit
Who Is Covered and What You Get
The settlement covers 1,456 adjunct faculty members at Long Beach City College. The backpay reaches non-instructional work performed by part-time faculty dating back to 2019.3LBCC Viking. LBCC Part-Time Faculty Settlement Each eligible class member is expected to receive more than $11,000 from the $18 million fund. Plaintiffs’ attorney Eileen B. Goldsmith called the payout “a very meaningful result for these class members, particularly given the novel issues in this litigation.”1Long Beach Post. LBCC Adjunct Lawsuit Settlement
Key Dates and Current Status
The district’s board approved the settlement in January 2026. Attorneys filed a motion for preliminary court approval on February 4, 2026.3LBCC Viking. LBCC Part-Time Faculty Settlement The deal still needs a court sign-off to become final. That hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2026, before Judge Rice in Los Angeles County Superior Court.4Inside Higher Ed. Community College District Settles With Adjuncts Until then, no payments go out.
The Ongoing Raise Built Into the Deal
The settlement is not only a lump-sum payment. Starting spring 2026, part-time faculty move to new pay rates pegged to a 51% parity factor with full-time faculty, up from 42%. On average, that works out to a raise of about 8.94% across the salary schedule. The lowest-paid adjuncts see increases of more than 15%, retroactive to August 2025.5CTA. Long Beach Part-Time Faculty Win After Successful Wage Lawsuit
What the Lawsuit Alleged
Art history instructor Karen Roberts and art instructor Seija Rohkea, both LBCC adjuncts, filed the case in Los Angeles County Superior Court on April 4, 2022 (case number 22STCV11381).6EdSource. Long Beach Community College Adjuncts Sue Over Unpaid Work Hours7Sierra College. CTA Response to Districts PERB Amended Charge The core allegation was simple. LBCC paid adjuncts only for time spent in front of a class, even though the job required grading papers and exams, preparing syllabi and lectures, answering student emails, holding office hours, attending mandatory meetings, and completing COVID-era training.8CTA. Part-Time Long Beach City College Faculty Win Landmark Ruling Once every hour actually worked was counted, the plaintiffs argued, effective pay fell below California’s minimum wage.9ABC7. Long Beach City College Class Action Lawsuit Minimum Wage
In March 2024, Judge Rice certified the case as a class action, sweeping in more than 900 additional adjuncts.10CTA. Judge Expands Class of LBCC Part-Time Staff Lawsuit
The Ruling That Drove the Settlement
On February 19, 2025, Judge Rice ruled that LBCC’s adjuncts are not exempt from California’s minimum wage laws. The district had argued the “professional exemption” applied, which lets employers skip overtime and minimum-wage tracking for certain salaried professionals. To qualify, though, an employee must earn at least twice the full-time minimum wage, a threshold that worked out to roughly $69,000 a year. LBCC’s adjuncts fell well short, and by law they cannot teach more than 67% of a full-time load, so they could not have reached that number through classroom pay alone.8CTA. Part-Time Long Beach City College Faculty Win Landmark Ruling11Long Beach Post. Judge Certifies Class Action Status in Lawsuit Alleging Part-Time LBCC Faculty Make Less Than Minimum Wage
Because the exemption did not apply, the court held that the district had to pay at least minimum wage for every hour worked, including all the grading, planning, and office hours that had gone uncompensated. Judge Rice cited “a myriad of problems” with the district’s defense that such labor was not compensable under state law.1Long Beach Post. LBCC Adjunct Lawsuit Settlement The ruling established the legal principle, and the case moved into a remedy phase to determine back pay. The parties settled rather than try damages.8CTA. Part-Time Long Beach City College Faculty Win Landmark Ruling
Does This Settlement Reach Other California Adjuncts?
No. This deal covers LBCC’s adjuncts only. A separate case, Martin v. California Community Colleges, is testing whether the same theory reaches the state’s 116-college system. Filed in 2022 by John Martin, an adjunct in the Shasta and Butte districts and chair of the California Part-Time Faculty Association, the suit names the Board of Governors and several local districts. In March 2025, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jill H. Talley denied the system’s motion to dismiss, ruling the board of governors bears “an obligation that extends to faculty wages.”12EdSource. Lawsuits Involving Community College Adjuncts Being Watched Martin’s attorney, Dan Galpern, said a favorable outcome could bring “uniformity in pay” across the system.13Long Beach Post. Community College Adjunct Professors Optimistic as Two Lawsuits Over Pay Progress The chancellor’s office said it is disappointed by the ruling and is evaluating options, including an appeal.14LAist. Community College Adjunct Professors Optimistic as Two Lawsuits Over Pay Progress
Goldsmith, the LBCC plaintiffs’ attorney, said the litigation has already had “a major impact throughout the state,” with multiple districts starting to negotiate contract terms that would pay adjuncts for prep and grading time.1Long Beach Post. LBCC Adjunct Lawsuit Settlement Whether that becomes back pay elsewhere will depend on those separate cases and contracts, not on this settlement.