Adjunct faculty members without sufficient earnings from other employment may be eligible for unemployment insurance over winter break. “Underemployed” adjuncts may be able to receive reduced benefits. To maximize benefits, adjuncts should apply as soon as possible after the last day of the semester.

Unlike many teachers, who know they will have a job to come back to in the spring, adjunct faculty are “temporary” employees, and do not have “reasonable assurance” of re-employment the following term. Their assignments are made on a tentative basis and may be cancelled for a number of reasons: enrollment, program changes, assignment of a full-time faculty member, or district prerogatives. A landmark 1989 decision (Cervisi v Unemployment Ins. Appeals Bd) established that “an assignment that is contingent on enrollment, funding, or program changes is not a ‘reasonable assurance’ of employment.”

About Applying for Benefits

Applications can be filed online at www.edd.ca.gov/fleclaim.htm or by calling the Employment Development Department (EDD) at 1-800-300-5616.

Plan to apply for benefits on your first day of unemployment. Your claim will start at the beginning of the week you apply. Payments will only go back to the first day of application, so be sure to submit your claim in a timely fashion. There is a one-week waiting period for each benefit year, which begins with the date of filing for benefits and ends one calendar year later. Note that you are paid from the beginning of flex week through the end of the academic semester (unless you have a specified, shorter-term contract).

Be sure to let the EDD know you are a temporary, part-time employee and that you do NOT have reasonable assurance of a job to go back to. It is important to understand, and convey when filing, that your assignment may be withdrawn at the District’s discretion at the last minute because of funding, enrollment, or other changes. This language is found in section 16.5 of the Contract, we recommend you have a copy on hand during the application process.

You may also want to mention your entitlement to benefits under the case of Cervisi v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (1989) 256 Cal.Rptr.142.

In filing your claim, please note that your union number is AFT local 4400. Also note that the union does not operate a hiring hall or help its members find work (answer “no” to 22 d-g).

More Information

• For filling information and details about eligibility see the EDD website at edd.ca.gov/fleclaim.htm.
• For general information and links to useful handbooks see the CCFT website at http://devcp19.ccftcabrillo.org/unemployment-for-pters/

If you have additional questions or comments, please call CCFT representative Maya Bendotoff at 464-2238.

Unemployment Filing Session

CCFT PT reps will host an unemployment filing workshop on

Monday, December 22 from 11AM-1PM in room 516

The workshop will only take place if enough faculty RSVP in advance!
RSVP to ccft@ccftcabrillo.org

What to bring:

• Information on how much you earned during the last 18 months from all employers.
  • Note that for the purpose of calculating unemployment benefits, EDD only cares about when you actually worked and earned the income — not when you were paid for it.
  • If your only employment was Cabrillo College, you can get a printout of your wages for the last 18 months from the Payroll dept. on the morning of the workshop
  • If you worked at an institution other than Cabrillo, you will need to bring your paystubs for the last 18 months, or you will need to know how much you earned during this period from each institution. You will also need the name, address, and phone number of your “very last employer,” the name of the person who was your immediate supervisor, and the first and last date you worked for the employer.
• Personal data such as Social Security number and driver license number.
• The two most recent dates you previously filed a claim for Unemployment Insurance or Disability Insurance over the last two years.
• You may bring a flash drive to save a copy of your application to take home.