(A) An employer who wishes to participate in the SharedWork Ohio program shall submit a plan to the director of job and family services in which the employer does all of the following:

(1) Identifies the participating employees by name, social security number, affected unit, and normal weekly hours of work;

(2) Describes the manner in which the employer will implement the requirements of the SharedWork Ohio program, including the proposed reduction percentage, which shall be between ten per cent and fifty per cent, and any temporary closure of the participating employer's business for equipment maintenance or other similar circumstances that the employer knows may occur during the effective period of an approved plan;

(3) Includes a plan for giving advance notice, if feasible, to an employee whose normal weekly hours of work are to be reduced and, if advance notice is not feasible, an explanation of why that notice is not feasible;

(4) Includes a certification by the employer that the aggregate reduction in the number of hours worked by the employees of the employer is in lieu of layoffs and includes an estimate of the number of layoffs that would have occurred absent the ability to participate in the SharedWork Ohio program;

(5) Includes a certification by the employer that if the employer provides health benefits and retirement benefits under a defined benefit plan, as defined in 26 U.S.C. 414(j), as amended, or contributions under a defined contribution plan as defined in 26 U.S.C. 414(i), as amended, to any employee whose normal weekly hours of work are reduced under the program that such benefits will continue to be provided to an employee participating in the SharedWork Ohio program under the same terms and conditions as though the normal weekly hours of work of the employee had not been reduced or to the same extent as other employees not participating in the program;

(6) Permits eligible employees to participate, as appropriate, in training to enhance job skills approved by the director, including employer-sponsored training or worker training funded under the federal "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.;

(7) Includes any other information as required by the United States secretary of labor or the director under the rules the director adopts under section 4141.50 of the Revised Code;

(8) Includes an attestation by the employer that the terms of the written plan submitted by the employer and implementation of that plan are consistent with obligations of the employer under the applicable federal and state laws;

(9) Includes a certification by the employer that the employer will promptly notify the director of any change in the business that includes the sale or transfer of all or part of the business, and that the employer will notify any successor in interest to the employer's business prior to the transfer of all or part of the business, of the existence of any approved shared work plan;

(10) Includes a certification by the employer that, as of the date the employer submits the plan, the employer is current on all reports and has paid all contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties due under this chapter;

(11) Includes an assurance from the employer that the employer will remain current on all employer reporting and payments of contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties as required by this chapter;

(12) Includes a certification by the employer that none of the participating employees are employed on a seasonal, temporary, or intermittent basis;

(13) Includes an assurance from the employer that the employer will not reduce a participating employee's normal weekly hours of work by more than the reduction percentage, except in the event of a temporary closure of the employer's business for equipment maintenance, or when the employee takes approved time off during the week with pay, and the combined work hours and paid leave hours equal the number of hours the employee would have worked under the plan.

(B) The director shall approve a shared work plan if an employer includes in the plan all of the information, certifications, and assurances required under division (A) of this section.

(C) The director shall approve or deny a shared work plan and shall send a written notice to the employer stating whether the director approved or denied the plan not later than thirty days after the director receives the plan. If the director denies approval of a shared work plan, the director shall state the reasons for denying approval in the written notice sent to the employer.

(D) The director shall enforce the requirements of the SharedWork Ohio program in the same manner as the director enforces the requirements of this chapter, including under section 4141.40 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

Added by 130th General Assembly File No. 35, HB 37, §1, eff. 7/11/2013.