On Nov. 15, a state judge approved back wages totaling more than $14 million for roughly 10,000 substitute teachers in Hawaii. The class action lawsuit was filed more than a decade ago.

In the 2002 suit, the teachers argued the state violated a law that pegged substitute teacher salaries to rates for Class II teachers, a term describing full-time instructors who have Bachelor's degrees but have yet to receive advanced training. Between 1996 and 2005, the pay for substitute teachers increased by 11 percent, while pay for Class II teachers increased by 40 percent. According to the Star Advertiser, the Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled in 2009 that the state underpaid thousands of substitutes between 2000 and 2005. The statute of limitations prevented the litigation from claiming lost wages prior to 2000, reported Honolulu Civil Beat.

In an interview with Civil Beat, the substitutes' attorney Paul Alston criticized the Department of Education for not sorting out the situation in a more efficient manner. He said it has taken a very long time for the organization to calculate how much each individual is owed.

Since 1 in 10 teachers is absent on any given day, they depend on substitutes, Alston said.

"It's painful because these people worked in good faith," he added.

Utilizing time and attendance software helps employers to calculate potential back wages that are owed.

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