Reader Question: I work for a school and now finished the school year. Am I eligible for unemployment during the summer?
In short
- If you don’t have a job waiting for you for after the summer break then you are eligible for regular unemployment just like anyone else who lost their job.
- If you do have a job waiting for you at the school in September, then you are not eligible for regular unemployment but may still be eligible for PUA (Pandemic Unemployment), see below.
Further details
- If you were not told that you have a job waiting for you in September, then you are eligible for unemployment – either regular or PUA, depending on your earning amounts.
- If you were told that you do have a job in September, then you are not eligible for regular unemployment during the summer.
- If you were told only that you might have a job in September then you are eligible for regular unemployment during the summer.
Job waiting in September – Eligible for PUA?
I haven’t seen it written anywhere, but as far as I understand, you would be eligible, if one of the Covid- related reasons apply to you during the summer. So, if you wanted to work another job during the summer, but couldn’t due to Covid-19 (for example you were going to work at a camp that is closed due to Covid), then you should be eligible for PUA for the summer months.
In this case, apply using the comprehensive application and then if you click that you are eligible for a Covid-related reason, the rest of the eligibility related questions, including questions regarding the school summer break, don’t even come up (the application is dynamic and future questions are added or removed based on answers to previous questions).
Guidelines from DOL
Read ‘Unemployment Insurance Benefit Rules for Teachers and Other School Workers’ from the DOL for further details.
Updated Explanation: The reason why a teacher is not eligible for regular unemployment (only PUA) if the teacher was told they have a job in September, is because the amount that someone is eligible for from regular unemployment is based on wages that they earned at a previous job, so if the teacher is still considered as working for the school, then the wages that the teacher earned is from a current job and as such cannot be used to determine eligibility. With PUA on the other hand someone can be eligible even without any prior earnings, hence PUA is an option.
8 thoughts on “School Teachers and Unemployment”
I was a teacher this past year and just finished, I’m not continuing next year. However I am still getting paid through the summer because my salary is devided over 12 months. Can i still apply for unemplyment for the summer?
My understanding is that it depends on your contract. If your contract finished and it’s just that the salary is divided over 12 months, then you should be eligible.
See this page from the NY DOL for more: https://labor.ny.gov/ui/claimantinfo/school-personnel-faq.shtm
I am a teacher with a 10 month contract. I am resuming next year. I had a job at a camp that was canceled due to Covid . Am I allowed to get unemployment for:
1) The weeks before my potential job at camp was supposed to begin?
2) If yes, can I get unemployment also for the weeks that I was not teaching, but still receiving my salary (which is less than $500 a week)?
1) My understanding is that you would only become eligible on the date that you were going to start your job. So, if you had other work that you were going to do in between school and camp, then you would be eligible for those weeks, and if not, then you would likely only be eligible from the date that you were going to start camp.
2) Yes.
In addition, if you are only receiving $500 a week while you were teaching as well and you were teaching 3 or fewer days per week, then you might be eligible for backpay as well
Thank you!
If so, I certified for a week that I was not allowed to receive payment for (and I already got the money).
Do you know how I can return this money to the DOL?
Will it effect me recertifying the following weeks?
The first thing is to clarify if you were indeed not meant to get money for that week.
If you are eligible due to another covid-related reason, which would have stopped you from working for the school had the school been open, you may be eligible for the weeks before camp started as well.
Otherwise, you can contact the DOL.
Each week is on its own. So if you are eligible for future weeks, it shouldn’t effect you.
Hi. I work at a school getting less than $500 a week. I am also self employed (tutoring). I continued working at the school, getting my regular paycheck throughout the pandemic, but could not tutor. Am I eligible for unemployment?
If you could not do your self-employed job due to Covid-19, then you should be eligible from the date that you had to stop your self-employed work due to Covid-19.