In a move that Maria Maisto, president of the New Faculty Majority, called “A Huge Step Forward”, the Internal Revenue Service  proposed rules for employers that would include the non-classroom hours of adjunct faculty when evaluating whether employers must provide them with health benefits.  According to Audrey Williams June at the Chronicle of Higher Education, because many adjuncts do not receive health benefits and yet do so much work outside the classroom, the legislation has the potential “to pave the way for them to finally get access.”

Coincidentally, the AHA Council decided last week to appoint an ad hoc committee “to develop recommendations on ways the AHA can and should address the educational implications of the growing use of adjunct and part-time faculty.” The announcement has already become a topic of conversation amongst our readers, and we hope to see it grow in the coming months as the committee assembles. To read more about the proposed rules for employers, and reactions, please read “IRS Says Colleges Must Be ‘Reasonable’ When Calculating Adjuncts’ Work Hours”, found in the Chronicle.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.