Effective 27 Jun 2014, see footnote

288.500. Shared work program created — definitions — plan, requirements — plan denied, submission of new plan, when — contribution by employer, how computed — benefits — severability clause. — 1. There is created under this section a voluntary "Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program". In connection therewith, the division may adopt rules and establish procedures, not inconsistent with this section, which are necessary to administer this program.

2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Affected unit", a specified department, shift, or other unit of three or more employees which is designated by an employer to participate in a shared work plan;

(2) "Division", the division of employment security;

(3) "Fringe benefit", health insurance, a retirement benefit received under a defined benefit pension plan, as defined in Section 414(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, or contributions under a defined contribution plan, as defined in Section 414(i) of the Internal Revenue Code, a paid vacation day, a paid holiday, sick leave, and any other analogous employee benefit that is provided by an employer;

(4) "Normal weekly hours of work", as to any individual, the lesser of forty hours or the average obtained by dividing the total number of hours worked per week in the preceding twelve-week period by the number twelve;

(5) "Participating employee", an employee who works a reduced number of hours under a shared work plan;

(6) "Participating employer", an employer who has a shared work plan in effect;

(7) "Shared work benefit", an unemployment compensation benefit that is payable to an individual in an affected unit because the individual works reduced hours under an approved shared work plan;

(8) "Shared work plan", a program for reducing unemployment under which employees who are members of an affected unit share the work remaining after a reduction in their normal weekly hours of work;

(9) "Shared work unemployment compensation program", a program designed to reduce unemployment and stabilize the work force by allowing certain employees to collect unemployment compensation benefits if the employees share the work remaining after a reduction in the total number of hours of work and a corresponding reduction in wages.

3. An employer who wishes to participate in the shared work unemployment compensation program established under this section shall submit a written shared work plan in a form acceptable to the division for approval. As a condition for approval by the division, a participating employer shall agree to furnish the division with reports relating to the operation of the shared work plan as requested by the division. The employer shall monitor and evaluate the operation of the established shared work plan as requested by the division and shall report the findings to the division.

4. The division may approve a shared work plan if:

(1) The employer has filed all reports required to be filed under this chapter for all past and current periods and has paid all contributions due for all past and current periods;

(2) The shared work plan applies to and identifies a specified affected unit;

(3) The employees in the affected unit are identified by name and Social Security number;

(4) The shared work plan reduces the normal weekly hours of work for an employee in the affected unit by not less than twenty percent and not more than forty percent;

(5) The shared work plan applies to at least ten percent of the employees in the affected unit;

(6) The employer certifies that, if the participating employer provides fringe benefits, as defined in this section, to any employee in the affected unit, such benefits shall continue to be provided to employees participating in the shared work unemployment compensation program under the same terms and conditions as though the normal weekly hours of work had not been reduced or to the same extent as other employees not participating in the shared work unemployment compensation program;

(7) The employer certifies that the implementation of a shared work plan and the resulting reduction in work hours is in lieu of layoffs that would affect at least ten percent of the employees in the affected unit and that would result in an equivalent reduction in work hours;

(8) The shared work plan includes an estimate of the number of employees who would be laid off if the employer does not participate in the shared work unemployment compensation program;

(9) The shared work plan describes the manner in which employees in the affected unit will be notified of the employer's participation in the shared work unemployment compensation program. If the employer will not provide advance notice to the employees in the affected unit, the shared work plan must contain a statement explaining why it is not feasible to provide advance notice;

(10) The employer certifies that participation in the shared work plan and its implementation is consistent with the employer's obligation under applicable federal and state laws; and

(11) The shared work plan includes any other provision that the United States Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate for the purpose of a shared work unemployment compensation program.

5. If any of the employees who participate in a shared work plan under this section are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the shared work plan shall be approved in writing by the collective bargaining agent.

6. No shared work plan which will subsidize seasonal employers during the off-season shall be approved by the division. No shared work plan benefits will be initiated when the reduced hours coincide with holiday earnings already committed to be paid by the employer. Shared work plan benefits may not be denied in any week containing a holiday for which holiday earnings are committed to be paid by the employer unless the shared work benefits to be paid are for the same hours in the same day as the holiday earnings.

7. The division shall approve or deny a shared work plan not later than the thirtieth day after the day on which the shared work plan is received by the division. The division shall approve or deny a plan in writing. If the division denies a plan, the division shall notify the employer of the reasons for the denial. Approval or denial of a plan by the division shall be final and such determination shall be subject to review in the manner otherwise provided by law. If approval of a plan is denied by the division, the employer may submit a new plan to the division for consideration no sooner than forty-five calendar days following the date on which the division disapproved the employer's previously submitted plan.

8. The division may revoke approval of a shared work plan and terminate the plan if it determines that the shared work plan is not being executed according to the terms and intent of the shared work unemployment compensation program, or if it is determined by the division that the approval of the shared work plan was based, in whole or in part, upon information contained in the plan which was either false or substantially misleading.

9. Each shared work plan approved by the division shall become effective on the first day of the week in which it is approved by the division or on a later date as specified in the shared work plan. Each shared work plan approved by the division shall expire on the last day of the twelfth full calendar month after the effective date of such shared work plan.

10. An employer may modify a shared work plan created under this section to meet changed conditions if the modification conforms to the basic provisions of the shared work plan as originally approved by the division. The employer shall report the changes made to the plan in writing to the division at least seven days before implementing such changes. The division shall reevaluate the shared work plan and may approve the modified shared work plan if it meets the requirements for approval under subsection 4 of this section. The approval of a modified shared work plan shall not, under any circumstances, affect the expiration date originally set for the shared work plan. If modifications cause the shared work plan to fail to meet the requirements for approval, the division shall deny approval of the modifications as provided in subsection 7 of this section.

11. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, an individual is unemployed for the purposes of this section in any week in which the individual, as an employee in an affected unit, works less than his normal weekly hours of work in accordance with an approved shared work plan in effect for that week.

12. An individual who is otherwise entitled to receive regular unemployment insurance benefits under this chapter shall be eligible to receive shared work benefits with respect to any week in which the division finds that:

(1) The individual is employed as a member of an affected unit subject to a shared work plan that was approved before the week in question and is in effect for that week;

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 288.040, the individual is able to work and available for his or her normal hours of work with the participating employer;

(3) The individual's normal weekly hours of work have been reduced by at least twenty percent but not more than forty percent, with a corresponding reduction in wages; and

(4) The individual has served a waiting week as defined in section 288.030.

13. A waiting week served under the provisions of subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of section 288.040 shall serve to meet the requirements of subdivision (4) of subsection 12 of this section and a waiting week served under the provisions of subdivision (4) of subsection 12 of this section shall serve to meet the requirements of section 288.040. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, an individual who files a new initial claim during the pendency of the twelve-month period in which a shared work plan is in effect shall serve a waiting week whether or not the individual has served a waiting week under this subsection.

14. The division shall not deny shared work benefits for any week to an otherwise eligible individual by reason of the application of any provision of this chapter that relates to availability for work, active search for work, refusal to apply for or accept work with an employer other than the participating employer under the plan, or training that is approved by the director, as provided in section 288.055, such as employer-sponsored training or training funded under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

15. The division shall pay an individual who is eligible for shared work benefits under this section a weekly shared work benefit amount equal to the individual's regular weekly benefit amount for a period of total unemployment less any deductible amounts under this chapter except wages received from any employer, multiplied by the full percentage of reduction in the individual's hours as set forth in the employer's shared work plan. If the shared work benefit amount calculated under this subsection is not a multiple of one dollar, the division shall round the amount so calculated to the next lowest multiple of one dollar.

16. An individual shall not be entitled to receive shared work benefits and regular unemployment compensation benefits in an aggregate amount which exceeds the maximum total amount of benefits payable to that individual in a benefit year as provided under section 288.060. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, an individual shall not be eligible to receive shared work benefits for more than fifty-two calendar weeks during the twelve-month period of the shared work plan. No week shall be counted as a week of unemployment for the purposes of this subsection unless it occurs within the twelve-month period of the shared work plan.

17. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, all benefits paid under a shared work plan which are chargeable to the participating employer or any other base period employer shall be charged to employers in the same manner as regular unemployment benefits are chargeable under this chapter.

18. An individual who has received all of the shared work benefits and regular unemployment compensation benefits available in a benefit year is an exhaustee under section 288.062 and is entitled to receive extended benefits under section 288.062 if the individual is otherwise eligible under that section.

19. If the United States Secretary of Labor determines any provision of this section to be nonconforming with federal law, the nonconforming provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this section.

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(L. 1987 S.B. 153, A.L. 1988 S.B. 455, A.L. 1989 S.B. 351, A.L. 1993 H.B. 502, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1268 & 1211, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1456, A.L. 2010 H.B. 1544, A.L. 2014 S.B. 844)

Effective 6-27-14