CHAPARRAL

Summertime, and the adjuncts need reminding...

As we head into the summer intersessions and a much more challenging budget situation in the fall, there are some important facts and possible changes that adjuncts should be aware of.

     If you will not be working (or will be working at a much reduced level) during the summer intersession(s), you have a right to apply for unemployment insurance benefits. There are some important things to keep in mind when applying for unemployment.  Calling the EDD directly is almost impossible. You are required to use its website, either from your home computer or if you need help from one of the EDD offices set up with computers for this purpose.  As easy as the website is to use, it is not set up to accommodate the unique nuances that affect adjuncts.  For example, the website will not give us the opportunity to cite the Cervisi case.  The 1989 Cervisi v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board states that adjunct faculty are eligible for benefits because we are on short-term contracts that do not provide “reasonable assurance” of employment. Adjunct assignments are contingent upon funding and enrollment, and a request from your division chair for your availability is not assurance of actual employment. Remember, you have no guarantee of a contract for the next semester even if your name is in the schedule of classes. Lastly, it does not matter if an adjunct is being paid during winter or summer for work previously completed (once you turn in grades, your work is completed!). These facts of the Cervisi case will be helpful to you when you file for benefits.

     When should you file? You should file for unemployment on the last day of the semester, which is June 11.  Yes, you may have a paycheck coming from Glendale College afterwards (see above paragraph), but when you turn grades in you are unemployed! In the past we have suggested using your last final exam day, but this is no longer safe. Human Resources, which reports your last work date, cannot know every part-timer’s last final exam date, so they always report your last work day as the last day of the semester. You, therefore, must also use that date.

  You also need to keep in mind that there is a week of unpaid benefits prior to receiving that unemployment check.  When you file, have at hand your social security number, and the name, address, and phone number of the college. You also need to know how much you were paid the last week that you worked for your employer. You should try to corroborate this with the payroll department or Ed Bugayong in HR, since if your numbers do not match the ones that Glendale College reports, you may be dinged for future benefits and have penalties assessed against you.

     You also have to let the EDD know that you have been laid off because your contract ended and just keep using the phrase “no reasonable assurance of work with this employer in the future.”

     You are not a member of the union when you are unemployed, so answer the question about union membership with a “no.” Some unions, particularly in the trades, pay unemployment benefits to their members and help them get work, but that is not the case for community college faculty.

     Check with your division chair and make sure that the courses that you were offered in the fall are still “yours.” Some full-time faculty released-time positions may have been eliminated in light of the poor budget. These full-timers may be taking back some courses now taught by adjuncts to fulfill their full-time load requirement. Find out if you are on the “rehire list” and therefore guaranteed a course the following semester if you lose your position for the fall semester. Make sure that your division chair knows that as a “rehire list” adjunct, you are expecting to return to teach a section in the following semester if you have lost all of your classes.

     Be aware that in the fall, adjunct medical benefits will be changing to a maximum of 50% of the premium or $3,000/year, whichever is less. However, the new Blue Shield HMO 40/40 plan and the PPO will now also be available options for adjuncts, so there will be other choices to consider. More information will be forthcoming in the fall when the next enrollment period begins.

     Have a great end to the semester and remember that the Guild is here to help you throughout the year with whatever work related situations arise. &

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