by Donnalynn Scillieri

My grandfather was an Italian immigrant and a silk weaver in Paterson. He played a role in union organizing and was part of the 1913 work stoppage and the 1931 National Textile Workers’ Union strike. He remained proud of that work for the rest of his life. Until his death at 89, he reflected on three things: first, how unions changed his life for the better and enabled him to pay off his mortgage before the Depression; second, how union protections brought better wages, benefits, and working conditions; and third, how those gains allowed him to build and sustain a good life for his family.

I often think of what his reaction would be to the treatment of adjunct professors today. Imagine his horror knowing that I, a worker who pays into the system, cannot get help from the very structures meant to protect working people. Imagine his horror at seeing how badly adjunct professors are treated, and how little support we receive even from the AFT that should be fighting for us

Adjunct professors in New Jersey—who teach everything from core writing courses to advanced STEM classes make up almost 80% of higher education professors—contribute to the state’s unemployment insurance system along with the NJ WDF like any other worker. Yet year after year, they are systematically denied benefits during periods when they are not under contract, often misclassified or misjudged under outdated assumptions borrowed from the K–12 system.

The core issue is the misuse of the term “reasonable assurance.” This term was created for public school teachers with predictable contracts and guaranteed positions. Adjuncts, by contrast, are hired semester by semester with no guarantees—even when encouraged verbally to return. Renewal depends on fluctuating enrollment, budgets, last-minute administrative decisions, and shifting departmental needs. Adjuncts do not receive their contracts until weeks—or sometimes just days—before a semester begins. These contracts are non-binding and cancellable up to the first day of classes, meaning an adjunct could be assigned courses and still end up with no income except a small cancellation stipend.

More simply, this issue is a clear case of lack of work. In unionized trades, when work slows down, employees are immediately sent to unemployment—no one questions whether a worker with no job on Monday deserves support. Several states already award unemployment to adjuncts during winter and summer sessions. New Jersey has not aligned with this fair and logical standard despite colleges running year-round.

This misapplication harms more than individual adjuncts—it undermines the purpose of the unemployment system itself. Denying benefits perpetuates a cycle of precarity that weakens the higher education workforce and devalues the educators who support students across the state.

The disparate treatment of adjunct professors with respect to unemployment benefits across different states raises serious constitutional concerns under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

First, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, similarly situated individuals must be treated alike under the law unless the government has a rational basis for different treatment. Adjunct professors employed under substantially similar contractual arrangements often face periods of non-employment between academic terms. However, some states permit adjunct faculty to receive unemployment benefits during these periods while others categorically deny them benefits based on assumptions of “reasonable assurance” of future employment. This inconsistency results in unequal treatment of the same class of workers solely based on geographic location, undermining the principle of equal protection.

Second, due process concerns also arise under the Fourteenth Amendment when states deny unemployment benefits without a meaningful individualized determination of whether a professor truly has reasonable assurance of reemployment. Blanket statutory exclusions or administrative practices that automatically disqualify adjunct faculty may deprive them of a protected property interest in unemployment benefits without adequate procedural safeguards.

Third, Fourth Amendment principles protecting individuals from unreasonable government intrusion can be implicated where state agencies impose overly intrusive documentation requirements, surveillance of employment status, or warrantless access to employment records when adjunct faculty seek unemployment benefits. When government investigation into employment status exceeds reasonable administrative necessity, it may constitute an unreasonable search or intrusion.

The patchwork of state unemployment policies for adjunct faculty highlights systemic inequities in how contingent academic labor is treated. Given that adjunct professors often perform identical work across states under similar contractual conditions, the inconsistent denial of unemployment benefits raises serious constitutional questions regarding equal protection, due process, and the limits of governmental intrusion.

Colleges and universities operate 12 months a year. They run summer sessions, intersessions, continuing education, charter school programs, community outreach courses, and youth enrichment programs—many of which rely on adjunct labor. Yet despite the year-round use of academic spaces and instructional staff, adjuncts are not consistently recognized as workers eligible for unemployment during periods when they are not under contract.

Financially, adjuncts typically receive their final paycheck in May and do not earn income again until September—if they receive assignments. If September arrives and no courses are available, unemployment may be granted retroactively, but adjuncts must often endure three months of no income while being advised to seek public assistance such as SNAP, Medicaid, and utility support. This is not only destabilizing—it directly contradicts the purpose of unemployment insurance.

This cycle makes it nearly impossible to job-search effectively. As established in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, individuals require basic financial stability before they can pursue higher-level goals such as professional advancement.

Granting unemployment benefits to adjuncts is not only fair—it is economically beneficial. The funds circulate directly into the New Jersey economy through rent, groceries, bills, and other essential purchases.

Adjuncts pay into the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance (NJFLI), yet when I was the sole caretaker for my parents, I was unable to access this benefit. Within three weeks, my father’s health declined rapidly and he passed away. During that same period, my daughter underwent emergency surgery to have her appendix removed, and I continued working throughout.

Adjuncts also pay into New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits (NJTDB). However, when I required surgery to reattach my Achilles tendon, I was advised that taking disability leave would likely result in losing my classes — and with them, my income for the semester. With no viable disability support available, I returned to campus in a wheelchair and subsequently suffered two additional accidents on campus.

The only accommodation I received was permission from my department chairs to teach remotely for the first week. Despite paying into these systems, adjuncts receive little to no meaningful support, and the union offered no assistance during these critical moments.

As another academic summer begins—with thousands of adjuncts unpaid—the question remains: How will New Jersey ensure fair and equitable access to unemployment benefits for workers who have earned them and who help sustain the education system?

The solution is straightforward: New Jersey must issue clear guidance affirming that contingent faculty without written, binding guarantees of future work should not be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. Policy must align with reality—and with fairness.