Enhanced COVID Sick Leave: March 2020-December 2022: Revised

AFT reached an agreement with the District in September 2020 that every faculty member who was assigned in-person from March 17, 2020 through Fall 2022 earned sick leave at 1.5x the normal accrual rate. It took a long drawn-out grievance and the beginnings of a formal arbitration process to get the District to follow through on this agreement, but we finally have an MOU on COVID sick leave. See details on the MOU here.

This MOU represents another common sense win for our community: it will increase faculty morale and in turn improve student learning. Increased COVID sick leave for faculty who worked in-person in the midst of a global pandemic was a means of supporting those faculty and their families, and keeping our community safe.

The District has committed to calculating the leave, but the method they are using has been confusing and inconsistent. If you worked in-person at any time from March 17, 2020 – December 2022, talk to your chair and make sure they know the hours. Part-time faculty, counselors, librarians, and non-credit instructors should report hours, even if you are also asked to report a percentage of load.

Unemployment Benefits for Summer

Part-time faculty who don’t have summer assignments or sufficient income from other work are entitled to unemployment benefits over summer break. Even if you’re pretty sure you’ll have an assignment in Fall, you are still eligible. You are considered unemployed until that assignment actually starts, since the assignment isn’t guaranteed.

Apply as soon as possible on or after your last day of work. Your application is retroactive only to the Sunday of the week in which you apply.

When you apply for benefits, you must report your earnings. Remember that all assignments except subbing and office hours are now paid by load. Web4 paystubs still list hours and hourly rates, but those rates are misleading. You were not paid hourly, except for subbing and office hours.

For detailed information about how to calculate your earnings and apply for unemployment, see the AFT 2121 unemployment page.