The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the union representing faculty throughout the UH system, is considering taking legal action against the State Employees’ Retirement System over its method of calculating the costs for members to participate in the current one-time offer to upgrade future benefits.

The ERS has divided faculty in two categories, “teachers” and “general employees”, with teachers being assessed at a higher rate for the same upgrade in benefits.

The union believes the actuarial policy that separated teaching faculty from non-teaching faculty (researchers, etc) within the same bargaining unit improperly discriminates against the former.

In February, the UPHA Board of Directors authorized research necessary to assess the impact of the ERS policy, the chances for winning a lawsuit, and the estimated cost of going to court.

The deadline for electing to participate in the ERS benefit upgrade is Saturday, April 3, with a cash payment to cover the buy-in cost due at the end of September.

However, employees can file to participate now and withdraw later without penalty simply by failing to make the required payment, effectively extending the decision deadline, according to information distributed this week by the UH Office of Human Resources.