In an environment where it is difficult to retain talent, what options do you have as an employer to temporarily reduce your staffing due to decreased demands? Many employers will furlough some employees and keep the remaining staff working their regular hours. This tactic allows those who are furloughed a chance to receive unemployment benefits. Are there other options?
Some states offer a program called workshare, or short-time compensation, that can address these issues for employers. When an employer creates a workshare program with the state, employees in the affected business unit have their hours reduced by a set amount each week but also qualify for a prorated portion of their unemployment weekly benefit amount. Often employees who have their hours reduced may not qualify for benefits because they are still earning more than their weekly benefit amount. Workshare programs pay benefits based on the percentage reduction in hours which provides guaranteed benefits for the impacted employees.
How does a workshare program differ from regular unemployment?
1. Workshare benefits are calculated based on the percentage of reduction in wages or hours, multiplied by the weekly benefit amount. The program does not take into consideration the amount that is still being earned by the employee. This is quite different from regular partial unemployment benefits where the claimant will only be paid if they are earning less than the weekly benefit amount.
2. Employees identified in a workshare program do not have to look for other work because they are still "attached" to your workforce. If the employee files for regular unemployment benefits, they are required to search for work each week to qualify for benefits, opening up the possibility that they leave for another employer.
What are the requirements for applying for a workshare program?
Each state that offers a workshare program differs slightly, but the general requirements are:
- Hours must be reduced by at least 10-20% and no more than 40-80%.
- The percentage of reduction must be equal for all employees in the program. Texas is an exception to this rule.
- A minimum number of employees that are impacted is met (most states set the minimum number at 2 or 3 but there are exceptions).
- The employer must be current on unemployment tax filings and payments. Some states require that the employer have a positive reserve account.
- The employer must continue to maintain health insurance and retirement benefits for the impacted employees.
- Generally temporary, seasonal, or intermittent employees are not eligible for the plan. New York is an exception to this rule.
- If the impacted employees are a part of collective bargaining agreement, the union must sign off on the plan.
If you can meet these requirements, then you can move forward with a workshare plan. All states require that an application be filed and approved prior to the reduction in hours. Once your plan is approved, there are weekly reporting requirements that must be met to continue the plan. Most plans can be approved for a 12 month time period and employers can have multiple plans in place at one time. For more information about the specific requirements or application process in the states that offer workshare, please refer to the chart below.
Thomas & Company can assist you in evaluating your specific situation and the state requirements to see if this may be an alternative for you. Unfortunately, we are unable to apply for or manage the workshare programs on your behalf as we do not have access to the data and details necessary to report weekly to the State Workforce Agencies, as required.
State-by-State Workshare Details
| State | Duration of Plan | Required Reduction of Work | Minimum Employee Participation | Employer Eligibility Requirements | Weekly Benefit Limit | Website |
| AK | No workshare plan available | |||||
| AL | No workshare plan available | |||||
| AR | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 40% | Any employer who elects to participate in the Shared Work Program must have a positive reserve account and must not have had a temporary layoff of the affected group within the four (4) month period preceding the application for the Shared Work Program. | 25 Weeks | AR Shared Work Program | |
| AZ | 12 Months | At least 10% but no more than 40% | 26 Weeks | AZ Shared Work Program | ||
| CA | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 60% | A minimum of 2 employees and at least 10% of your regular workforce must be affected by a reduction in hours and wages. | No limit on number of weeks but total paid cannot exceed 26 x WBA | CA Work Sharing Program | |
| CO | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 50% | The hours of at least 2 employees in an employing unit are impacted and the employer must verify they will not hire or have others work in that employing unit. | A positive reserve balance is required. | 26 Weeks | CO Work Share Program |
|
CT |
6 Months | At least 10% but not more than 60% | At least 2 permanent employees are needed to participate. | 6 Months | CT Shared Work Program | |
| DC | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 60% | Applies to a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the employees and no less than two (2) employees of an affected department, shift, or unit. All employees in an affected unit, shift, or department must have the same reduction percentage. |
52 weeks in a benefit year or an amount not more than the equivalent to the maximum of 26 weeks of regular unemployment compensation. | DC Shared Work Program | |
| DE | No workshare plan available | |||||
| FL | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 40% | At least 10 percent of the employees from the total staff or within a particular unit must be working reduced hours. (Two employees is the minimum for a staff or unit of less than 20 employees.) | 26 Weeks | FL STC Program | |
| GA | No workshare plan available | |||||
| HI | No workshare plan available | |||||
| IA | 24 Months | At least 20% but not more than 50% | A plan must affect at least five employees. | A participating employer’s quarterly UI reports must be current and UI taxes paid in full. | 26 Weeks | IA Shared Work Program |
| ID | No workshare plan available | |||||
| IL | 12 Months | At least 20% but not more than 60% | IL WorkShare Program | |||
| IN | No workshare plan available | |||||
| KS | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 50% | The employer must have a reduction that affects a business unit of 2 or more employees and the reduction applies to at least 10% of the employees in the affected unit. | An employer must have established an experience rating and cannot have a negative balance in their unemployment account or be delinquent on unemployment tax reports or payments. | 26 Weeks | KS Shared Work Program |
| KY | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 40% | Applies to a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the employees and no less than two (2) employees. | KY Work Share Program | ||
| LA | No workshare plan available | |||||
| MA | 52 Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 60% | The plan must include at least 2 employees. | An employer must be up to date with unemployment insurance contributions, cannot have a negative reserve balance, and must have filed all employment and wage detail reports. | 26 weeks | MA WorkShare Program |
| MD | 26 Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 60% | The plan must have a minimum of 2 employees of an affected unit in the plan. Employers must reduce the hours equally among the employees in an impacted unit. Employees must have been working for the employer for at least 3 months. |
Employers must be current with their unemployment insurance tax contributions. |
26 Weeks | MD Work Share Program |
| ME | 12 Full Calendar Months (after approval) | At least 10% but not more than 50% | At least 10% of the employees in the affected unit would have been impacted by the layoff. Employers must reduce the hours equally among the employees in an affected unit. | 52 Weeks | ME Work Share Program | |
| MI | 52 Consecutive Weeks | At least 15% but not more than 45% | A plan must include a minimum of 2 employees. |
Employer must have paid wages for at least 12 of the previous quarters. Employer must have a positive reserve balance. |
No limit on the number of weeks. The benefits are paid until the maximum benefit amount is exhausted. | MI Work Share Program |
| MN | 12 Months | At least 20% but not more than 50% | Employees must have been working for the employer for at least 3 months. | UI account balance must be paid in full including interest, fees, and penalties.
The owner/officer information on your UI employer account must be complete and up to date. |
52 Weeks | MN Alternatives to Layoffs |
| MO | 12 Months | At least 20% but not more than 40% | There is an affected unit of 3 or more employees and the plan applies to at least 10% of the employees in that unit. | Employer has submitted all quarterly contribution and wage reports required to be filed for all past and current periods, and has paid all taxes due for all past and current periods. | 52 Weeks | MO Shared Work Program |
| MS | No workshare plan available | |||||
| MT | No workshare plan available | |||||
| NC | No workshare plan available | |||||
| ND | No workshare plan available | |||||
| NE | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 60% | A minimum of 3 participants is needed to apply. | 52 weeks or until the maximum benefit amount is exhausted. | NE STC Program | |
| NH | 26 Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 50% | The reduction in hours must be spread out equally across all employees in the impacted area. | Plans are available to employers whose taxes are up to date and who is in good standing with NH DOL. | No limit on number of weeks but total paid cannot exceed 26 x WBA | NH Work Share Program |
| NJ | 12 Months | At least 10% | A minimum of 2 participants is needed to apply. The same percentage reduction in hours must apply to all employees in the unit for all weeks. | Employer must have 10 employees on NJ payroll. | NJ Shared Work Program | |
| NM | No workshare plan available | |||||
| NV | No workshare plan available | |||||
| NY | 53 Weeks | At least 20% but not more than 60% | An employer must have a minimum of two employees to be eligible to participate. Seasonal, intermittent, or temporary workers are eligible. |
*Employees facing a layoff may petition an employer to participate in a Work Share Program. Employers have 7 days to respond and are not required to implement a Work Share Program | 26 times the participant's weekly benefit rate during their benefit year | NY Shared Work Program |
| OH | 52 Calendar Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 60% | Employers must have at least 2 affected employees that do not work on a seasonal, temporary or intermittent basis. | Employers must be current on unemployment insurance reporting, contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties due. | 52 Weeks | OH Shared Work Program |
| OK | No workshare plan available | |||||
| OR | 52 Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 50% | Employers must select 3 or more employees with reduced hours to participate. Each employee must have worked full time for 6 months or part-time for 12 months before the plan is submitted. | Total paid cannot exceed 26 x weekly benefit amount | OR Work Share Program | |
| PA | 52 Weeks | At least 20% but not more than 40% | Employers must have at least 2 participating employees in the program that are determined to be eligible for benefits. Employees must have worked at least 3 months in the affected unit and will not work over 40 hours a week once hours are reduced. |
Employers must have filed all Unemployment Compensation tax reports and paid all amounts due under PA UC law. Must have a positive reserve balance and have paid wages for the last 12 completed, consecutive quarters. | 52 Weeks | PA Shared Work Program |
| PR | No workshare plan available | |||||
| RI | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 50% | Employer must have 2 or more employees. | 52 Weeks | RI Work Share Program | |
| SC | No workshare plan available | |||||
| SD | No workshare plan available | |||||
| TN | 12 Months | Not less than 10% and not more than 40% | Employer must have 2 or more employees and apply to at least 10% of the employees in the affected group. | During the previous 4 months, the affected group must not have been reduced by temporary layoffs of more than 10%. | TN Workshare Legislation | |
| TX | 12 Months | At least 10% but not more than 40% | Reduction must affect at least 10% of the employees in the affected unit. The percentage of reduction can be different for different individuals as long as it ranges between 10-40% each week. |
52 Weeks | TX Shared Work Program | |
| UT | No workshare plan available | |||||
| VA | At least 10% but not more than 60% | Total paid cannot exceed 26 x weekly benefit amount | VA Work Share Program | |||
| VI | No workshare plan available | |||||
| VT | Workshare program inactivated as of 7/1/2020 due to lack of use. | |||||
| WA | 12 Months or date of plan, if earlier | Not less than 10% or more than 50% | Employers must enroll a minimum of 2 permanent employees in the plan. | No limit on weeks but cannot exceed maximum benefit amount | WA Shared Work Program | |
| WI | Total of 12 Months in any 5-year period | At least 10% but not more than 60% | Employer must designate a minimum of two employees. Working hours are not required to be evenly reduced among employees in the program but remain consistent every week. Only employees that have been employed for a period of at least 3 months on the effective date of the program can be participants. |
26 Weeks | WI Work Share Program | |
| WV | 52 Consecutive Weeks | At least 10% but not more than 60% | Each affected unit must have the same reduction percentage, but an employer may have multiple STC plans covering different departments, shifts, or units, and there may be different reduction percentages in different plans. | Employees may receive STC benefits until the STC plan ends or until the employee’s regular UC entitlement ends, whichever occurs first. | WV STC Program | |
| WY | One Year | At least 10% but not more than 60% |
A minimum of two employees must be affected. The employees must also be eligible for unemployment benefits. |
WY STC Program | ||