In re the Claim of Jama
Opinion of the Court
— Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed December 29,1982, which ruled that claimant was entitled to receive benefits from December 18, 1981 to January 24, 1982. Since 1978, claimant was employed by Queens College of the City University of New York, where she taught English to foreign students. Whether the English classes were held depended on the enrollment of an adequate number of students, which the employer did not determine until sometime after the close of the previous semester and perhaps not until the beginning of the semester. After the conclusion of the fall, 1981 semester, claimant applied for unemployment benefits and was determined to be ineligible because she had reasonable assurance of continued employment in an instructional capacity within the meaning of subdivision 10 of section 590 of the Labor Law. This initial determination was overruled by the administrative law judge who found that claimant did not have reasonable assurance of continued employment. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board affirmed, and this appeal by the
Dissenting Opinion
dissents and votes to reverse in the following memorandum. Mikoll, J. (dissenting). I respectfully dissent. Claimant was an instructor of continuing education at Queens College, a unit of the City University of New York, since 1978. The board held that claimant was eligible for unemployment benefits between semesters because she did not have reasonable assurance that she would be engaged by the college at the next term. There should be a reversal. Claimant had been asked about her availability for work before the end of the fall semester. She indicated that she was available. This procedure was consistently used in the past during her four years of employment. Her reappointment was conditional only on a sufficient registration of students. Under these circumstances, claimant had reasonable assurance of re-employment and is, therefore, ineligible for benefits pursuant to subdivision 10 of section 590 of the Labor Law. The board’s decision to the contrary is irrational and unreasonable (see Matter of Silverman [Ross], 82 AD2d 955; Matter of Wilson [Ross], 80 AD2d 980; Matter of Gaeta [Ross], 78 AD2d 742, mot for lv to app den 52 NY2d 703). The amount paid to her is not recoverable in that she received the payments in good faith. Her answers to the commissioner’s inquiries regarding her eligibility were entirely candid. Under such circumstances, a recovery is foreclosed pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 597 of the Labor Law. The decision should be reversed, without costs, and the matter remitted to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board for further proceedings not inconsistent herewith.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.