I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4179 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to keep Americans working 
by creating a refundable work-sharing tax credit that stimulates demand 
in the private sector labor market and provides employers with an alter-
native to layoffs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 2, 2009 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, 
and Mr. MASSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to keep Ameri-
cans working by creating a refundable work-sharing tax 
credit that stimulates demand in the private sector labor 
market and provides employers with an alternative to 
layoffs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shortening Hours and 
Retaining Employees Credit Act of 2009’’ or the ‘‘SHARE 
Credit Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to keep Americans working 
by encouraging employers to hold wages constant while de-
creasing employee work hours as a means of providing an 
alternative to layoffs and promoting labor demand in the 
private sector. 
SEC. 3. WORK SHARE CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36B. WORK SHARE CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a cred-
it against the tax imposed by this subtitle an amount equal 
the wages paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the tax-
able year to each qualified work share employee. 
‘‘(b) MAXIMUM CREDIT PER EMPLOYEE.—The credit 
allowed by this section with respect to each qualified work 
share employee shall not exceed the lesser of— 
‘‘(1) $3,000, or 
‘‘(2) 10 percent of the wages paid or incurred 
to the employee for periods (during the taxable year) 
during which the employee did not perform services 
for the employer by reason of a reduction described 
in subsection (d)(1)(A)(ii)(II). 
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‘‘(c) QUALIFIED WORK SHARE EMPLOYEE.—For 
purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified work 
share employee’ means any employee of the taxpayer 
for any period if— 
‘‘(A) substantially all of the services per-
formed during such period by such employee for 
such employer are performed in the United 
States in a trade or business of the employer, 
and 
‘‘(B) such employee is participating in a 
qualified work share program of the employer. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term shall not in-
clude any individual who is described in any sub-
paragraph of section 1396(d)(2). 
‘‘(d) QUALIFIED WORK SHARE PROGRAM.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified work 
share program’ means any written program of the 
employer— 
‘‘(A) under which employees who partici-
pate in the program— 
‘‘(i) perform the same functions they 
would have performed were they not par-
ticipants in the program, and 
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‘‘(ii) receive the same wages and bene-
fits that they would have received— 
‘‘(I) were they not participants in 
the program, and 
‘‘(II) without regard to any re-
duction in the hours of the employee’s 
service (including any reduction in the 
form of increased required paid leave 
or paid vacation) required by the em-
ployer as a condition of participating 
in the program, 
‘‘(B) which is determined by the Secretary 
to have adequate recordkeeping and reporting 
procedures to comply with the requirements 
under this section, 
‘‘(C) which meets the disclosure require-
ments of paragraph (2), and 
‘‘(D) which meets rules similar to the rules 
of paragraphs (2), (3), and (6) of section 
127(d). 
The application of this paragraph to individuals em-
ployed on an hourly basis shall be determined under 
regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 
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‘‘(2) EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE DISCLOSURE.—A 
program meets the disclosure requirements of the 
paragraph if— 
‘‘(A) in the case of an employer with a 
publicly accessible Internet website, the em-
ployer posts the hour reductions made for the 
purpose of qualifying for a credit under this 
section within 24 hours of such reductions 
being authorized by the employer, and 
‘‘(B) in the case of any other employer, the 
employer transfers information, including the 
amount of hour reductions made for the pur-
pose of qualifying for a credit under this sec-
tion, to the Secretary within 24 hours of such 
reductions being authorized by the employer. 
‘‘(e) WAGES.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘wages’ has the meaning given to such term by section 
51(c). 
‘‘(f) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—Rules similar to the 
rules of subsections (b) and (c) of section 1397 shall apply 
for purposes of this section.’’. 
(b) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Subsection (a) 
of section 280C of such Code is amended by inserting 
‘‘36B(a),’’ after ‘‘45P(a),’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘36B,’’ after 
‘‘36A,’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 36A the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36B. Work share credit.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to qualified work shares initiated 
after the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years 
ending after such date. 
(e) PAYMENTS TO GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER TAX- 
EXEMPT ENTITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any entity to 
which this subsection applies, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall pay (without interest) to such entity 
an amount equal to the credit which would be al-
lowed under section 36B of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (as added by this section) were such 
entity subject to the taxes imposed by chapter 1 of 
such Code. 
(2) ENTITIES ENTITLED TO PAYMENTS.—This 
subsection shall apply to— 
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(A) any State, political subdivision of a 
State, or agency or instrumentality of one or 
more States or political subdivisions, and 
(B) any organization exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) of such Code (other than 
an organization required to make a return of 
the tax imposed under subtitle A of such Code 
for the taxable year). 
(3) TIME
FOR
FILING
CLAIMS; PERIOD
COV-
ERED.—Not more than one claim may be filed under 
paragraph (1) by any entity with respect to wages 
paid or incurred during any calendar year, and no 
claim shall be allowed under this paragraph with re-
spect to any calendar year unless filed by such entity 
not later than 3 years after the close of such cal-
endar year. 
(f) USE OF PAYROLL TAX DATA FOR EMPLOYER 
COMPLIANCE PURPOSES.—No later than 60 days after the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
establish a system— 
(1) to verify employer compliance with section 
36B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 
added by this section) using payroll tax data, and 
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(2) to allow employers to comply with the re-
quirements in section 36B(d)(2) of such Code (as so 
added). 
Æ 
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