Tuesday, November 13, 2012

UC - wages - full-time student employed by school s/he is attending

Miller v. UCBR – Cmwlth. Court – November 13, 2012


Wages earned by a full-time student who worked part time as a lecturer are not includable as UC wages under 43 P.S. §753(l)(4)(10)(B), which says that employment shall not include:  Service performed in the employ of a school, college or university if such service is performed (i) by a student who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at such school, college or university . . . .

In Knee v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 415 A.2d 1008 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1980), Knee was registered as a full-time dissertation student, having completed her formal classroom studies, and was preparing for her comprehensive examinations. The UCBR excluded the wages she earned while she was preparing for her comprehensive examinations and working as a teaching fellow because she was enrolled as a full-time dissertation student at that time. Id. at 1009. This court affirmed, finding that Knee was a full-time dissertation student and was not finished with her studies. Id.
Here, the UCBR found that Claimant was employed as a part-time lecturer while he was enrolled as a full-time student working on his dissertation, from August 23, 2010, through May 5, 2011. (UCBR’s Findings of Fact, Nos. 1-3.) Claimant was registered as a full-time student while completing the dissertation portion of the doctoral program at PSU. Therefore, according to Knee, Claimant was not eligible for unemployment benefits. The UCBR did not err in excluding Claimant’s earnings.