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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Unemployment insurance is a benefit that is
3supposed to cover workers during times of unemployment when a
4worker has no income; under current law, however, many
5part-time faculty working in colleges and universities in this
6State are unable to receive unemployment insurance when they
7have become unemployed between semesters because the college or
8university holds that they have a "reasonable assurance" of
9continuous employment under labor law; and
 
10    WHEREAS, These employees, who generally work 30 weeks a
11year, are seasonal workers, like actors, construction workers,
12diamond cutters, and furriers, all of whom are eligible for
13benefits during periods they are not employed; these part-time
14faculty employees have no reasonable assurance that they will
15have a job when the next semester starts as that decision rests
16entirely with the employer and is often based on contingent
17factors such as enrollment, funding, and programmatic changes;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, In many cases, these employees are not notified by
20the college or university that there is no position for them
21until they are very close to the start of the next semester; in
22fact, current law provides an incentive for colleges and
23universities to wait as long as possible to officially disclose

 

 

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1to part-time faculty that they will not be employed for the
2upcoming semester to avoid paying unemployment insurance costs
3for those employed between semesters; part-time faculty are
4treated unfairly under the current law as they are only
5eligible for unemployment insurance benefits from the time they
6are officially notified they are not renewed by the college or
7university for the next semester; it is only at this time that
8they can file a claim to be eligible for benefits even though
9they may have been out of work for months before this
10notification and have absolutely no control over their
11employment; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Both the California and Washington state
13legislatures have passed legislation that ensures the ability
14of part-time professional employees to collect benefits during
15periods when they are not working; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
18should create a task force to make a recommendation for a
19proposal that would help to ensure that part-time faculty
20members at colleges and universities are treated equitably
21under the law as other workers who have no reasonable assurance
22of future employment as it is certainly reasonable and just to
23afford these benefits to part-time faculty who have no control
24over their contract employment and, therefore, have no

 

 

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1reasonable assurance of employment.