Bill Text: PA SB677 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Further providing for shared work program.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-28 - Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY [SB677 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SB677-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 922
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 677 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY TARTAGLIONE, HUGHES, GREENLEAF, FONTANA, COSTA, YUDICHAK, BREWSTER AND FARNESE, MARCH 28, 2011
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MARCH 28, 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" or "approved 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 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
illness, holidays, vacation or similar circumstances.
(4) 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
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hours.
(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.
(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
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.
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(8) The plan does not affect the fringe benefits of any
participating employee not covered by a collective bargaining
agreement.
(9) The plan does not serve as a subsidy to seasonal
employers during the off-season or as a subsidy to employers
who traditionally use part-time employees.
(10) The effective period of the plan is not more than
52 consecutive weeks.
(11) 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.
(12) 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 1307.
Section 1304. Approval or disapproval of shared-work plan.
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.
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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) 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 provided for in subsection (b).
(b) Additional criteria.--
(1) A participating employee shall not be required to be
unemployed.
(2) Section 404(d)(1) shall be applicable as if it
provided as follows: A participating employee shall be paid
compensation in an amount equal to his weekly benefit rate
less the total of:
(i) an amount equal to the product of his weekly
benefit rate and the reduction percentage, rounded to the
next lower whole dollar amount; and
(ii) remuneration earned from an employer other than
the participating employer and remuneration from self-
employment that is not disqualifying under section
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402(h), except that remuneration earned from employment
or self-employment that commenced before the
participating employer applied for approval of the
shared-work plan will not be deducted if the preexisting
employment or self-employment does not increase during
the effective period of the plan.
(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.
(c) Express work hours.--A participating employee's
eligibility for compensation for a week within the effective
period of an approved shared-work plan during which the employee
works more hours than the number of hours determined under
section 1303(a)(5) shall be determined without regard to this
article.
(d) Number of hours.--For purposes of this section, the
following shall apply:
(1) To the extent that a participating employee works
fewer hours during a week than the number of hours determined
under section 1303(a)(5) by reason of illness, holidays,
vacation or the like, the employee will be deemed to have
worked the number of hours determined under section 1303(a)
(5).
(2) To the extent that a participating employee receives
remuneration for a week from the participating employer for
hours in excess of the number of hours determined under
section 1303(a)(5), the employee will be deemed to have
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worked more hours than the number of hours determined under
section 1303(a)(5) for that week.
Section 1307. 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
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 1308. 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) Periodic review.--The department shall have the
discretion to review shared work plans, on a periodic basis, to
ensure that employers are meeting program requirements and
guidelines.
(d) Termination by employer.--The employer may terminate a
shared-work plan by written notice to the department.
Section 1309. Department discretion.
The decision to approve or disapprove a shared-work plan, to
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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 1310. Publication of notice.
The department shall transmit to the Legislative Reference
Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin notice that
the provision 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
(49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 503(a)(5)).
Section 1311. Report.
An annual report shall be submitted by the department to the
Governor, the chairman and minority chairman of the Labor and
Industry Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority
chairman of the Labor and Industry Committee of the House of
Representatives regarding shared work plans under this article.
The report shall include the number of approved shared work
plans, the number of participating employers, the number of
participating employees, the amount of compensation paid to
participating employees and any other information that the
department determines is relevant to assess the impact of this
article on the Unemployment Compensation Fund. The first report
shall be submitted on the first day of March following the first
complete calendar year during which this article is in effect,
and subsequent reports shall be submitted on the first day of
March of each year thereafter.
Section 1312. Severability.
Notwithstanding any other section of this act, if any
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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 (26
U.S.C. 3304(a)(4)(E) and section 303(a)(5)) of the Social
Security Act, (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 when notice is
published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin under section 1310 of the
act, or July 1, 2011, whichever is later.
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