Currently, TRS defines temporary employment as “total employment that is expected to last less than four and one-half months in a school year.”
It is important to note the designation of ‘total employment’ means the total amount of time a person is employed with the RE, not just the actual dates they work. Therefore, if there are periods between assignments when the person is not working, but the person is still considered to be an employee of the RE, that time is counted in the total employment. If the person is not considered employed with the RE between assignments, an ED90 termination record must be submitted at the end of the first assignment.
Below are some scenarios for additional clarification:
| Scenario | Employment | TRS Eligibility |
|---|---|---|
| Defined Ending Date | An employee is first hired on Jan. 13 to work half time or more. At the time they are hired, their assignment will end, and their employment will end on May 1. | Coded as Employment Type of M‑Temporary and will not be eligible for TRS membership since the agreement is less than four and one‑half months. |
| Contract Extension | An employee is hired on Jan. 13 to work half time or more. At the time they are hired, their assignment will end, and their employment will end on May 1. However, on March 1, it is determined that their assignment will be extended until June 15. Since their employment agreement changed, the entire employment period will now last longer than four and one‑half months. | They would originally be coded with the Employment Type of M‑Temporary and will not be eligible for TRS membership. At the point that the contract is extended (March 1) the RE would need to submit an ED45 using the END/ADD functionality to end the temporary employment as of Feb. 29 and add the TRS‑eligible position beginning March 1. |
| Unknown Ending Date | An employee is hired to work on Jan. 13 to work half time or more. At the time they are hired, it is unknown when this person’s assignment will end. | This person must be reported as eligible for TRS membership and coded as Half Time or More. This person may not be coded as Temporary because their employment is for an indefinite period. |
| Multiple Assignments | An employee is first hired on Jan. 13 to work half time or more. At the time they are hired, their assignment will end on Feb. 25, but they do not terminate their employment at that time. The same employee accepts another assignment working half time or more beginning April 1, which has a defined ending date of Aug. 25. | Initially coded as Temporary and not eligible for TRS membership. Once the employee accepts the second assignment, the person must be reported as eligible for TRS membership as of April 1 and coded Half Time or More. This person may not be coded as Temporary for the second assignment because their total employment exceeds four and one‑half months. |
| Substitute/Temporary | An employee has been working as a substitute as defined by TRS, from September–March. However, the school now needs the employee to fill another temporary position from April 1–May 31. | Their substitute position would be coded with the Employment Type of S‑Substitute. Once they begin their temporary assignment this will be coded as Employment Type of M‑Temporary and will not be eligible for TRS membership, since the agreement is less than four and one‑half months and substitute employment does not count toward eligibility. |
Please remember that all employees should be evaluated for eligibility not only at the beginning of their employment, but also each time there is a change in their work agreement. See the TRS website for the TRS Membership Eligibility Requirements for further information about what employment is eligible for TRS membership. If you need assistance with evaluating the eligibility for an employee, please reach out to your TRS Coach.