California part-time faculty are filing lawsuits alleging they were not compensated for work performed outside contracted classroom hours, including lecture preparation, travel between campuses, grading, and student communication. The complaints also claim district policies fail to cover work that occurs during the week but falls outside “classroom hours” definitions. The wave follows an earlier $18 million settlement reached by part-time faculty with Long Beach Community College District. Systemwide, plaintiffs cite Chancellor’s Office data showing more than two-thirds of the system’s 60,000 academic employees are temporary or part-time. The dispute raises immediate operational risks for institutions—workload definition, budget planning, compliance with labor expectations, and potential follow-on litigation—while also reflecting an accelerating organizing and unionization trend among adjuncts.