Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 871 - Workforce Development Department › Chapter 24 - Claims and Benefits › Rule 871-24.58 - Voluntary Shared Work

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
The voluntary shared work program provides that employers
				facing a temporary shortfall may reduce the work hours of employees in an
				affected unit and those employees will receive a portion of their regular
				unemployment insurance benefits. The program is designed to reduce unemployment
				and stabilize the workforce by allowing certain employees to collect
				unemployment insurance benefits if the employees share the work remaining after
				a reduction in the total number of hours of work and a corresponding reduction
				in wages. The reduction in work hours for employees is based on a work week
				comprised of 40 or fewer hours, and not a work week exceeding 40 hours.
				Additional information may be obtained by contacting the voluntary shared work
				coordinator. The employer may apply to participate in the program by completing
				a shared work plan application, which must be approved by the department. The
				employer shall submit the plan to the department 30 days prior to the proposed
				implementation date. The employer will administer the program in cooperation
				with the department. Participating employees will complete the employee
				information form and claim for benefits and return them to the employer, who
				will submit them to the department. Administrative penalties in force during
				the duration of the plan will make an employee ineligible for the program.
				Child support obligations will be deducted and unemployment insurance
				overpayments will be offset as they are for regular unemployment insurance
				benefits.
(1) A shared work plan shall
			 be no shorter than 4 weeks and no longer than 52 weeks in duration. Any
			 requests for subsequent plans will be reviewed by the department.
(2) Employment is considered seasonal if the
			 production or service provided by the employment is curtailed by at least 45
			 percent or ceases for a four-month or longer period on an annual basis due to
			 climatic conditions.
(3) A plan
			 which has been approved may be modified at the discretion of the department. An
			 employer seeking modification of an approved plan must demonstrate good cause
			 as to why the modification is necessary and must demonstrate that the factors
			 necessitating the modification were not foreseeable at the time the plan was
			 submitted.
(4) Approval of a plan
			 may be denied or revoked at the discretion of the department if the plan and
			 its actual operation do not meet all the requirements stated in Iowa Code
			 section 96.40. Reasons for denial or revocation of a plan include, but are not
			 limited to:
a. The provision of false or
			 misleading information to the department;
b. Unequal treatment of any employee in the
			 affected unit;
c. A reduction in
			 fringe benefits resulting from participation in the program;
d. An employer, while participating in the
			 shared work unemployment compensation program, laying off any employee, whether
			 the employee is employed within an affected unit or not; or
e. Failure by the employer to monitor and
			 administer the program.