Bill Text: PA SB860 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Further providing for shared work program.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-22 - Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY [SB860 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SB860-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 885
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 860 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY McILHINNEY, GREENLEAF, WAUGH, PILEGGI, WASHINGTON, TOMLINSON AND MENSCH, MARCH 22, 2011
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MARCH 22, 2011
AN ACT
Amending the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
P.L.2897, No.1), entitled "An act establishing a system of
unemployment compensation to be administered by the
Department of Labor and Industry and its existing and newly
created agencies with personnel (with certain exceptions)
selected on a civil service basis; requiring employers to
keep records and make reports, and certain employers to pay
contributions based on payrolls to provide moneys for the
payment of compensation to certain unemployed persons;
providing procedure and administrative details for the
determination, payment and collection of such contributions
and the payment of such compensation; providing for
cooperation with the Federal Government and its agencies;
creating certain special funds in the custody of the State
Treasurer; and prescribing penalties," further providing for
shared work program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937
P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment Compensation Law, is
amended by adding an article to read:
ARTICLE XIII
SHARED WORK PROGRAM
Section 1301. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Affected unit." A department, shift or other organizational
unit of two or more employees that is designated by an employer
to participate in a shared-work plan.
"Approved shared-work plan." An employer's shared-work plan
which meets the requirements of section 1303 and which the
department approves in writing.
"Fringe benefit." Health insurance, a retirement benefit
received under a pension plan, a paid vacation day, a paid
holiday, sick leave and any other similar employee benefit
provided by an employer.
"Participating employee." An employee in the affected unit
whose hours of work are reduced by the reduction percentage
under the shared-work plan.
"Participating employer." An employer who has a shared-work
plan in effect.
"Reduction percentage." The percentage by which each
participating employee's normal weekly hours of work are reduced
under a shared-work plan in accordance with section 1303(b).
"Shared-work plan." A plan for reducing unemployment under
which participating employees of an affected unit share the work
remaining after reduction in their normal weekly hours of work.
Section 1302. Application to approve plan.
(a) Requirements.--An employer that meets all of the
following requirements may apply to the department for approval
of a shared-work plan:
(1) The employer has filed all quarterly reports and
other reports required under this act and has paid all
contribution, reimbursement, interest and penalty due through
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the date of the employer's application.
(2) If the employer is contributory, the employer's
reserve account balance as of the most recent computation
date preceding the date of the employer's application is a
positive number.
(3) The employer has paid wages for the 12 consecutive
calendar quarters preceding the date of the employer's
application.
(b) Application.--An application under this section shall be
made in the manner prescribed by the department and contain all
information required by the department, including the following:
(1) The employer's assurance that it will provide
reports to the department relating to the operation of its
shared-work plan at the times and in the manner prescribed by
the department and containing all information required by the
department, including the number of hours worked each week by
participating employees.
(2) The employer's assurance that it will not hire new
employees in, or transfer employees to, the affected unit
during the effective period of the shared-work plan.
(3) The employer's assurance that it will not lay off
participating employees during the effective period of the
shared-work plan, or reduce participating employees' hours of
work by more than the reduction percentage during the
effective period of the shared-work plan, except in cases of
holidays, designated vacation periods, equipment maintenance
or similar circumstances.
(4) A list of the week or weeks within the requested
effective period of the plan during which participating
employees are anticipated to work fewer hours than the number
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of hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) due to
circumstances included in paragraph (3).
(5) The employer's certification that the implementation
of a shared-work plan is in lieu of temporary layoffs that
would affect at least 10% of the employees in the affected
unit and would result in an equivalent reduction in work
hours.
(6) The employer's assurance that it will abide by all
terms and conditions of this article.
(c) Multiple plans.--An employer may apply to the department
for approval of more than one shared-work plan.
Section 1303. Plan requirements.
(a) General rule.--The department may approve a shared-work
plan only if the plan meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The shared-work plan applies to one affected unit.
(2) All employees in the affected unit are participating
employees, except that the following employees may not be
participating employees:
(i) An employee who has been employed in the
affected unit for less than three months prior to the
date the employer applies for approval of the shared-work
plan.
(ii) An employee whose hours of work per week
determined under paragraph (5) is 40 or more hours.
(3) There are no fewer than two participating employees,
determined without regard to corporate officers.
(4) The participating employees are identified by name
and Social Security number.
(5) The number of hours a participating employee will
work each week during the effective period of the plan is
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determined by the following formula:
employee's normal weekly hours of
work x (100% - reduction percentage)
(6) As a result of a decrease in the number of hours
worked by each participating employee, there is a
corresponding reduction in wages.
(7) If any participating employee is covered by a
collective bargaining agreement, the plan is approved in
writing by the collective bargaining representative.
(8) The plan does not affect the fringe benefits of any
participating employee not covered by a collective bargaining
agreement.
(9) The effective period of the plan is not more than 52
consecutive weeks.
(10) The effective period of the plan combined with
effective periods of the participating employer's prior plans
does not equal more than 104 weeks out of a 156-week period.
(11) The reduction percentage satisfies the requirements
of subsection (b).
(b) Reduction percentage.--The reduction percentage under an
approved shared-work plan shall meet all of the following
requirements:
(1) The reduction percentage shall be no less than 20%
and no more than 40%.
(2) The reduction percentage shall be the same for all
participating employees.
(3) The reduction percentage shall not change during the
period of the shared-work plan unless the plan is modified in
accordance with section 1308.
Section 1304. Approval or disapproval of shared-work plan.
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The department shall approve or disapprove a shared-work plan
no later than 15 days after the date the employer's shared-work
plan application that meets the requirements of section 1302(b)
is received by the department. The department's decision shall
be made in writing and, if the shared-work plan is disapproved,
shall include the reasons for the disapproval.
Section 1305. Effective period of plan.
(a) Number of weeks.--A shared-work plan is effective for
the number of consecutive weeks indicated in the employer's
application, or a lesser number of weeks as approved by the
department, unless sooner terminated in accordance with section
1308.
(b) Start date.--The effective period of the shared-work
plan shall begin with the first calendar week following the date
on which the department approves the plan.
Section 1306. Criteria for compensation.
(a) General rule.--Compensation shall be payable to a
participating employee for a week within the effective period of
an approved shared-work plan during which the employee works the
number of hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) for the
participating employer on the same terms, in the same amount and
subject to the same conditions that would apply to the
participating employee without regard to this article, except as
follows:
(1) A participating employee shall not be required to be
unemployed within the meaning of section 4(u) or file claims
for compensation under section 401(c).
(2) Notwithstanding section 404(d)(1), a participating
employee shall be paid compensation in an amount equal to the
product of his weekly benefit rate and the reduction
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percentage, rounded to the next lower whole dollar amount.
(3) The department shall not deny compensation to a
participating employee for any week during the effective
period of the shared-work plan by reason of the application
of any provision of this act relating to active search for
work or refusal to apply for or accept work other than work
offered by the participating employer.
(4) A participating employee satisfies the requirements
of section 401(d)(1) if the employee is able to work and is
available for the employee's normal weekly hours of work with
the participating employer.
(b) Equivalent remuneration.--For purposes of subsection
(a), if a participating employee works fewer hours than the
number of hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) for the
participating employer during a week within the effective period
of the approved shared-work plan, but receives remuneration
equal to remuneration the employee would have received if the
employee had worked the number of hours determined under section
1303(a)(5), the employee will be deemed to have worked the
number of hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) during that
week.
(c) Inapplicability of article.--A participating employee's
eligibility for compensation for a week within the effective
period of an approved shared-work plan shall be determined
without regard to this article under any of the following
circumstances:
(1) The employee works fewer hours than the number of
hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) for the
participating employer during the week and subsection (b)
does not apply.
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(2) The employee works more hours than the number of
hours determined under section 1303(a)(5) for the
participating employer during the week.
(3) The employee receives remuneration for the week from
the participating employer for hours in excess of the number
of hours determined under section 1303(a)(5).
Section 1307. Participating employer responsibilities.
(a) Filing claims.--The department shall establish a
schedule of consecutive two-week periods within the effective
period of the shared work plan. The department may, as
necessary, include one-week periods in the schedule and revise
the schedule. At the end of each scheduled period, the
participating employer shall file claims for compensation for
the week or weeks within the period on behalf of the
participating employees. The claims shall be filed no later than
the last day of the week immediately following the period,
unless an extension of time is granted by the department for
good cause. The claims shall be filed in the manner prescribed
by the department and shall contain all information required by
the department to determine the eligibility of the participating
employees for compensation.
(b) Benefit charges.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this act, compensation paid to participating employees for weeks
within the effective period of an approved shared-work plan will
be charged to the participating employer.
Section 1308. Modification of plan.
An employer may apply to the department for approval to
modify a shared-work plan to meet changed conditions. The
department shall reevaluate the plan and may approve the
modified plan if it meets the requirements for approval under
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section 1304. If the modifications cause the shared-work plan to
fail to meet the requirements for approval, the department shall
disapprove the proposed modifications.
Section 1309. Termination of plan.
(a) General rule.--The secretary may terminate a shared-work
plan for good cause.
(b) Good cause.--For purposes of subsection (a), good cause
includes any of the following:
(1) The plan is not being executed according to its
approved terms and conditions.
(2) The participating employer fails to comply with the
assurances given in the plan.
(3) The participating employer or a participating
employee violates any criteria on which approval of the plan
was based.
(c) Termination by employer.--The employer may terminate a
shared-work plan by written notice to the department.
Section 1310. Department discretion.
The decision to approve or disapprove a shared-work plan, to
approve or disapprove a modification of a shared-work plan or to
terminate a shared-work plan will be made within the
department's discretion. Such decisions are not subject to the
appeal provisions of Article V.
Section 1311. Publication of notice.
The department shall transmit to the Legislative Reference
Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin notice that
the provisions of this article have been approved by the
Department of Labor as required under section 3304(a)(4)(E) of
the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (Public Law 86-778, 26 U.S.C. §
3304(a)(4)(E)) and section 303(a)(5) of the Social Security Act
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(49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 503(a)(5)).
Section 1312. Severability.
Notwithstanding any other section of this act, if any
provision or provisions of this article cause the Department of
Labor to withhold approval of this article as required under
section 3304(a)(4)(E) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act
(Public Law 86-778, 26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(4)(E)) and section 303(a)
(5) of the Social Security Act (49 Stat.620, 42 U.S.C. § 503(a)
(5)), the department is authorized to permanently suspend the
provision or provisions.
Section 1313. Expiration.
This article shall expire five years from its effective date.
Section 2. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) The addition of Article XIII of the act shall take
effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of the
notice required under section 1311 of the act or July 1,
2011, whichever occurs later.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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