New Law Makes it Easier for NJ Adjuncts to Collect Unemployment
Sweeney-Cunningham Bill Allows Adjunct Professors to Collect Unemployment Benefits
To make sure that adjunct professors are able to collect unemployment benefits during the pandemic-caused shutdown, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Sandra Cunningham introduced legislation to ensure eligibility for the college instructors during the summer months, rectifying circumstances that have denied benefits to those unlikely to return to work in the fall. By a vote of 38-0, the state Senate on Sept. 24 approved S2852, the bill that would enable adjunct professors to collect unemployment benefits. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Nov. 10 signed the legislation to enable adjunct professors in the Garden State to collect unemployment insurance benefits.
This law states that adjunct faculty may not be denied unemployment benefits during a summer or holiday break without assurance of reinstatement.
“The precarious nature of work by adjunct professors combined with the unknown length of college shutdowns has resulted in them being denied unemployment benefits at a time when they need the help the most,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “They pay into the unemployment insurance program just like other employees, so there should be no doubts about their right to collect benefits. This is unfair to a sector of the workforce that is experiencing the same economic hardship and anxiety as others.”
“These adjunct professors play an important role in educating students,” said Senator Cunningham (D-Hudson), the chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. “They should be treated fairly so they can support themselves and their families during this time of crisis. We need them to be able to return to the classroom when conditions allow. Our colleges and universities need them.”
New Jersey adjuncts have been denied benefits because they are told they have “reasonable assurances” of reemployment following the summer break, when the likelihood that their schools will resume and they will be reemployed is uncertain, at best.
The legislation clarifies the qualifying definition of reasonable assurances to mean that it is “highly probable” they will have their jobs after the end of summer, or other holiday or vacation breaks.
“In the past decade institutions of higher education began to hire more adjunct faculty/part time lecturers to educate students,” said Donna Chiera, President of the AFTNJ/AFL-CIO. “In many cases these professionals bring valuable real life experiences to their classroom. At the same time, management viewed them not as professionals but as a cost saving measure. This legislation not only begins to acknowledge them as the professionals they are, it allows them to receive a benefit in which they pay into.
The law also states that adjuncts can’t be denied benefits if an offer of employment is contingent on the allocation of available funding, final course offerings, program changes, facility availability or other factors within the employer’s control.
“The passage of this legislation is a perfect example of the positive change that can occur when you elect people who care about workers,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Thank you, Gov. Phil Murphy, and the other pro-labor officials responsible for coming up with a solution to a problem that’s plagued part-time, non-tenured college and university educators for years.”
“We make up almost 75 percent of the faculty in higher education, and we need to have access to the same benefits as other public workers,” said Bill Lipkin, Secretary/Treasurer for the United Adjunct Faculty of New Jersey (Local 2222). “Hopefully this law will simplify the process and allow adjunct faculty the right to survive when they are not employed.”
