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On July 1 Claimant applied, and was approved, for unemployment insurance benefits. The District appealed, contending Claimant was not totally unemployed during the following two summer months as she had been paid for a full year of service through August 30 of that year.
This 10-month payroll mode is offered by many school districts, with the last pay check "prepaying" health insurance premiums for "July and August." The school district usually would prevail once it was able to demonstrate the distinction between the professional obligation of the teacher (one year of service) and the method of payment (either a 21 payroll period mode or a 26 payroll period mode).*
There was a difference in Claimant's situation, however. This difference Appellate Division** found was "critical to the Unemployment Insurance Board's determination." The record indicated that Claimant's final salary payment was made in June and although the employer typically pre-paid the employer contribution for its employee's health insurance and the educators "pre-paid" any required employee health insurance contributions in order to provided uninterrupted health insurance coverage through August, Claimant's health insurance coverage ceased on June 30.
Had Claimant's health insurance coverage been continued through the end of August presumably both the Unemployment Insurance Board and the Appellate Division would have ruled that Claimant was not fully unemployed during July and August and thus not entitled to Unemployment Insurance benefits for that period.
* The New York State Teachers' Retirement Systems gives the member one year of member service credit for a "10 months" professional obligation, regardless of the payroll mode used to compensate the educator.
** See Smith v