Takeaway: We will be holding info sessions on work-sharing eligibility on Monday, April 12, at 4 p.m. and Tuesday, April 13, at 12:00 p.m. (click here to RSVP for either session). Read this email for more detailed information about the process for determining who’s eligible.
Dear colleague,
We want to get you more information about the work-sharing program in our ratified agreement—and focus specifically on who is eligible. Under work-sharing, all full-time faculty (not just union members) will furlough for a half-day per week through the end of June, unless they are exempted (see the “Who Is Eligible?” section at the end of this email or consult our Work-Sharing and Furloughs FAQ to see who is exempted).
Do not try to apply for unemployment yet. Management needs to send the state a list of all faculty who will participate in work-sharing. After that (next week at the earliest), UHR will provide specific instructions on applying, and the union will hold seminars and info sessions. Please don’t try to apply yet.
Management is in the process of compiling a roster of all faculty to send to departments and programs, indicating who they think should be exempted from work-sharing. Departments will then have the job of confirming that information. If you think you should be exempted from work-sharing for one of the reasons listed in the “Who Is Eligible?” section below, you should contact your department chair to confirm that you aren’t participating. This is especially important if management might not know your reason for exemption—if you, for example, have an additional job outside Rutgers during the work-sharing program, now through the end of June.
Departments are being instructed to contact individual faculty about work-sharing eligibility, so watch your inbox for a communication. But if you think you should be exempted—or want to confirm whether you are exempted or not—don’t wait for the email; reach out to your department chair.
We know many of you have questions about this, so we will be holding info sessions on eligibility on Monday, April 12, at 4 p.m. and Tuesday, April 13, at 12 p.m. (click here to RSVP for either session). Email us anytime with concerns at aaup@rutgersaaup.org. Lastly, remember to contact your department chair if you think you should be exempted or want to confirm whether you will participate in work-sharing or not.
In solidarity,
Todd and Becky
Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rebecca Givan, Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Who Is Eligible?
The work-sharing program covers all faculty represented by our union (not just members) unless you fit in one of the following categories:
— You work at Rutgers under a non-immigrant visa. All people with, for example, an H1B visa would be exempted. However, green card holders will participate in the work-sharing program unless otherwise ineligible. According to the experts in immigration law we have consulted, nothing about the work-sharing program will jeopardize the immigration status of green card holders. Email aaup@rutgersaaup.org if you would like to know more about this issue.
— Your salary is fully funded by external grants. Faculty whose salary is fully funded by external grants are exempted. If more than 90 percent of your salary is funded by external grants, you should contact your department chair to see if you will be considered eligible. Furloughing for 10 percent of your week might cut into work time governed under the terms of your grant.
— You have a secondary appointment at Rutgers. If you have an appointment as a co-ad, grader, overload, etc., at any time during the duration of the work-sharing program (April 19–June 30), you are exempt.
— If your sole secondary appointment at Rutgers is teaching Summer Session or getting a summer salary for externally funded research, you would participate in work-sharing from the start of the program in April until your first class or May 28, whichever comes first. You would participate for just over half of the program.
— You have another job outside Rutgers (including freelance work during the duration of the program). Any additional income during the work-sharing program would make you ineligible for unemployment payments, so you would be exempted. If you start participating in work-sharing and are ruled ineligible for unemployment for this reason, management has committed to reimbursing you for wages and benefits lost during any furlough days taken. But you should contact your department chair now to make sure they know you have secondary employment and should be removed from the list of participants.
— You are on sabbatical, competitive fellowship leave, approved family leave, or another type of paid leave absence during the work-sharing program. You are exempt.
— If someone filed a fraudulent unemployment claim in your name, we are working to make sure that both the state and the university are alert to your case and are making arrangements to expedite your application. If we aren’t satisfied with the process for dealing with these cases, we will ask that these faculty be excluded. If you know someone fraudulently filed for unemployment in your name, be sure to let us know (email aaup@rutgersaaup.org), and tell your department chair, so they can inform management of your specific case.