Pennsylvania Court Rules Head Start Program Staff Not Eligible for Unemployment Over Summer Break

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Employment, Head Start

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Attorney, Executive Director, Human Resources Director, Program Director

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2008

Head Start employees in Pennsylvania who are filing for unemployment compensation during summer recess this year may be in for a disappointment. In Montgomery County Head Start v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review,1 a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, a Head Start program run by a nonprofit “direct-grantee” was held to qualify as an “educational institution” for the purposes of the state’s unemployment compensation (UC) statue. Because employees of “educational institutions” are not entitled to UC benefits during regularly scheduled school breaks, this recent ruling by Pennsylvania’s appellate court has the potential to significantly impact the unemployment compensation benefits available to Head Start employees in Pennsylvania during summer recess and could influence decisions in other states as well.

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