The Uninsured Adjunct

by E Wayne Ross on November 30, 2009

Inside Higher Ed: The Uninsured Adjunct

While the national debate on health care continues, some adjuncts are trying to draw attention to their status among the well-educated professionals who get little or no insurance from their employers — and who many times go without any coverage.

Adjuncts at Massachusetts community colleges sued the state last week, charging that they were entitled to coverage through state plans, and that they are unfairly classified as consultants rather than employees. Whether adjuncts in public higher education have coverage depends largely on how states define employees and employee status. As the Massachusetts ruling illustrates, adjuncts who teach multiple courses — semester after semester, at the same institutions — can still be denied coverage by their colleges.