Instructor at Community College Entitled to Unemployment Benefits, No Reasonable Assurance of Continued Employment

The Third Department determined claimant, an adjunct instructor at a community college, was properly awarded unemployment insurance benefits because he did not receive reasonable assurance of continued employment during the following term:

Labor Law § 590 (10) precludes a professional employed by an educational institution from receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the period between two successive academic terms if the educational institution has provided the professional with a reasonable assurance of continued employment … . A “reasonable assurance,” in turn, is a representation by the educational institution “that substantially the same economic terms and conditions will continue to apply to the extent that the claimant will receive at least 90% of the earnings received during the first academic period” … . This is a factual question for the Board to resolve and its determination in this regard will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence … .

Here, although the department chair mentioned that claimant could teach potentially four courses during the spring 2014 semester, which exceeded the number that he taught during the fall 2013 semester, this was never confirmed during any subsequent conversations nor in the letter sent to claimant. Significantly, the letter did not specify the details of the spring 2014 semester teaching assignment and conditioned claimant’s further employment upon “enrollment and/or budget constraints.” In cases where educational institutions have failed to set forth the terms or conditions of continued employment or have made such employment contingent upon certain conditions, courts have found that a reasonable assurance was lacking … . Matter of Upham (Dutchess Community Coll.–Commissioner of Labor), 2015 NY Slip Op 07898, 3rd Dept 10-29-15