Increases the amount of credit to be certified under the federal public service loan forgiveness program for faculty or teachers to five hours worked for each hour of lecture or classroom time.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10284
SPONSOR: Bronson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to the calculation of full-
time employment for purposes of the federal public service loan forgive-
ness program
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to increase the number of hours adjunct
faculty are considered to have worked per credit for the purpose of
determining eligibility for the federal public service loan forgiveness
program.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 1001 of the labor law to
change the credit-hour multiplier from 3.35 to 5.0'for the purpose of
determining eligibility for the federal public service loan forgiveness
program.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Adjunct faculty play a vital role in institutions of higher education
throughout the state and nation. Adjunct faculty hold non-tenure-track
positions and are paid per course taught. Many are not eligible for the
federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program because they do
not meet the definition of full-time employment. However, faculty
members perform significant amounts of labor outside of classroom time.
This includes activities directly related to the course such as develop-
ing assignments, planning lessons, grading, and providing students indi-
vidualized feedback. Instructors spend additional time supporting
students through office hours, advising, responding to emails, and writ-
ing letters of recommendation. Furthermore, contingent faculty have
other professional responsibilities including attending department meet-
ings, serving on committees, and participating in trainings.
This bill recognizes the multiple extra hours that adjunct faculty work
for each course they teach. This legislation would increase the credit
multiplier from 3.35 hours to 5.0 hours solely for calculating full-time
employment for the purposes of PSLF eligibility. Under current state
law, adjunct faculty are considered to have worked 3.35 hours per course
credit, which is the minimum set forth in federal statute. This bill
would increase that multiplier to 5.0, thereby making more faculty
members eligible for PSLF. According to federal law, an employee must
work 30 hours a week to qualify as full-time. If the multiplier is
raised to 5.0 hours, then a contingent faculty member teaching two
3-credit courses would qualify, after accounting for all of their labor
performed outside of the classroom. At a time when the federal govern-
ment is attempting to restrict access to PSLF and is attacking public
employees, especially those in higher education, New York State should
reaffirm our commitment to our public servants. Furthermore, enhancing
adjunct faculty's eligibility for PSLF may improve retention of such
faculty, supporting the institution's success and educational quality
while reducing the cost of hiring and training new employees.
This bill does not require institutions to assign more hours or increase
pay. It merely increases the number of hours an adjunct is considered to
have worked for the purpose of determining full-time status and thus
eligibility for PSLF. In 2023, Colorado increased their credit-hour
multiplier, and Oregon did so in 2022. New York should increase the
hours credited to adjunct faculty as well and continue to be a leader in
recognizing the labor of our public servants and allow them to partic-
ipate in the federal PSLF program.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10284
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the calculation of full-
time employment for purposes of the federal public service loan
forgiveness program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 1001 of the labor law, as added by
2 chapter 562 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
3 1. For faculty or teacher employees, a public service employer certi-
4 fying employment after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of
5 two thousand twenty-six that amended this subdivision shall credit
6 [3.35] five hours worked for each hour of lecture or classroom time,
7 regardless of when the hours were worked, including hours worked prior
8 to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twen-
9 ty-six that amended this subdivision. This subdivision does not super-
10 sede any greater adjustment factor established by a collective bargain-
11 ing agreement or employer policy in recognition of additional work
12 associated with lecture or classroom time for the purpose of the public
13 service loan forgiveness program.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14841-01-6
