Work-Share-A “job saving” concept that started out in Europe is becoming popular in here in the United States as well.  In Germany, the government announced a program to keep employers from letting workers go when sales and manufacturing slowed.  They publicized the Work-Share program to help employers keep skilled workers in their positions, and off of full-time unemployment.  Other countries have seen the success and are also using the idea.
The Work-Share program here in the U.S. helps employers to cut hours from 20-40% without cutting jobs.  The federally funded state unemployment programs then compensate for a percentage of the lost wages until the company picks back up again, thus  keeping employees from having to be on unemployment and other government benefits full-time and having to seek work in an already slow industry.As part of the “Economic Stimulus Package” (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) $8.3 Billion in Federal Grant Money has been allotted to the U.S. Department of Labor for Unemployment Benefits to be distributed by state agencies.

So far 17 states have adopted the program, and more are looking into it.  Aside from Connecticut and New York, many of the states that have Work-Share programs have not publicized it. There are a lot of companies that could benefit from it, and yet have no idea that it exists.   The Federal Grant Money that each state receives for unemployment benefits is distributed differently depending on the unemployment laws of each state.
“I frankly don’t understand why there aren’t more states that participate in this program,” said Suzanne Bump, the Massachusetts secretary of labor and workforce development. 1
Typically unemployment benefits equal out to 40-50% of a workers’ wages.2  In the states that are using the Work-Share program, unemployment benefits have covered close to half of the lost wages for the hours that are cut.  When taxes and commuting are taken into account, its not such a big loss for many workers.  Also with this program, employees have been able to keep their benefits just as if they would for working full time.
The Work Sharing program can meet employers’ needs due to its built-in flexibility3

* Minimizes or eliminates the need for layoffs and the accompanying hardships for employees.
* Enables a business to retain trained employees and avoid the expense of recruiting, hiring,and training new employees.
* Enables employees to be retained during a temporary slowdown so employers can quickly gear-up when business conditions improve.
* Assists employers who need to reduce their work force permanently to use Work Sharing as a phased transition to layoff.
* Allows affected employees to continue to work at reduced levels with an opportunity to find other employment before an expected layoff.
* Treats employees more equitably than layoffs, which place the burden of economic
adjustments for an entire business on relatively few employees.
* Allows almost all types of business or industry to use the Work Sharing program

Not all companies qualify for the program.  Typically only those that expect to return to normal working hours after a certain period of time (this differs from state to state).   Most states require the company to have a need to reduce at least 10% of the workforce and also a 10% reduction in payroll.

To see if your company can qualify for this program, check with your state unemployment agency.  The following link can provide you with the info to contact your local agency http://www.statelocalgov.net/50states-jobs.cfm

1www.usaspending.gov

2http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/business/economy/16workshare.html?ref=business
3 http://www.mainstreet.com/article/career/employment/how-work-share-programs-prevent-layoffs
4 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1466
5http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2329.pdf

Tags: federal grant money, federally funded, government benefits, government funding, lay-offs, stimulus package, unemployment, unemployment benefits, work share

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