Opinion ID: 1710237
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Does the Union Contract Contain an Agreement to Vary the Provisions of Section 91A.3(1)?

Text: Section 91A.3(1) imposes at least two obligations on the school district: (1) to pay all wages due in at least monthly installments on regular paydays which are at consistent intervals from each other; and (2) to set paydays no more than twelve days after the end of the pay period. The school district claims the following provision in the union contract is an agreement to vary the terms of section 91A.3(1): Payment for services rendered shall be monthly, with the 20th of each month being designated as the payroll date. Should the date fall on week-ends, or during vacation periods, the [School] Board has the right to establish alternate dates to be designated annually. We think this contract provision addresses only the first obligation imposed on the school district by section 91A.3(1); it establishes a regular monthly payday at consistent intervals but allows the school district to vary from the statutory consistent-intervals requirement when the payday falls on a weekend or during a vacation period. This contract provision is clearly a written agreement to vary the requirements of section 91A.3(1) as they relate to the requirement of regular monthly paydays at consistent intervals from each other. It is a stretch of the imagination, however, to interpret this provision as dealing with the second obligation imposed by section 91A.3(1)to issue paychecks no more than twelve days from the end of the payroll period. This aspect of section 91A.3(1) is not mentioned in the contract. The school district points out the arbitrator noted in his award that, under the current union contract, cutoff dates are left to the unilateral selection of the school district. While that may be true insofar as the contract does not establish any cutoff dates, the school district's argument ignores the fact that the school district's discretion to set cutoff dates is limited by the parameters established by section 91A.3(1), absent a written agreement to the contrary. As noted above, there is no agreement in the union contract to alter the twelve-day period within which paychecks must be issued. Because the union contract is totally silent on cutoff dates and whether they must be within twelve days of the established paydays, the contract does not constitute a written agreement to vary the twelve-day provision of section 91A.3(1). The district court erred in so ruling. Our holding makes it unnecessary to consider the plaintiffs' contention that the union could not waive the rights of individual employees under section 91A.3(1).