Southern Illinois University Carbondale owes 1,500 current and former employees back pay, according to an administrative law judge with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board.

Judge Colleen Harvey found that SIUC acted illegally during a 2011 contract dispute when university administrators did not negotiate in good faith with three labor unions, improperly pushing them “to the point of impasse.”

The negotiations partly centered on whether employees would be mandated to take furloughs.

Harvey wrote that the university's actions “demonstrated that it lacked an open mind and a sincere desire to reach agreement.”

The judge added that SIUC operated in bad faith, engaged in unfair labor practices and took certain actions “simply so it could impose its offer” on unions representing faculty and staff.

Union representatives estimate that Harvey's ruling could cost the university an estimated $1.9 million in lost employee salaries.

In a statement, James Wall, president of the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, said the university essentially reduced employee salaries by two percent by demanding that they take furloughs.