An employer seeking to participate in a shared work unemployment compensation program shall submit a signed written shared work plan to the Administrator for approval. As a condition of approval, a participating employer shall agree to furnish the Administrator with such reports relating to the operation of the shared work plan as the Administrator may request. The participating employer shall monitor and evaluate the operation of the established shared work plan as directed by the Administrator.

Section 31-250-10. Criteria for shared work plan

The Administrator may approve a shared work plan based upon compliance with the following conditions:

1. The shared work plan applies to and identifies a specific affected unit.

2. Those employees within the affected unit who have been designated as shared work plan participants are identified by name and social security number.

3. The shared work plan reduces the normal weekly hours of work for the participating employees in the affected unit by not less than twenty percent nor more than forty percent.

4. The shared work plan shall state that : (1) fringe benefits will continue to be provided to employees in affected units as though their normal weekly hours of work had not been reduced, and (2) service credits toward seniority shall accrue during the operation of the shared work plan at a rate at least commensurate with the amount of reduced hours actually worked.

5. The participating employer certifies that the implementation of a shared work plan and the resulting reduction in work hours are in lieu of temporary layoffs that would affect at least ten percent of all employees in the affected unit and would otherwise result in an equivalent reduction in work hours.

6. The participating employer has filed all reports required to be submitted pursuant to Sections 31-250-8 to 31-250-12, inclusive, and has paid all contributions due for all past and current contribution periods as required under sections 31-225 and 31-225a of the General Statutes.

7. The employer is a contributing employer, as defined in subsection (c) of Section 31-250-8.

8. If any of the participating employees under a shared work plan are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the shared work plan must be approved in writing by the participating employees’ collective bargaining representative. In the absence of any bargaining representative, the plan must contain a certification by the employer that he has made the proposed plan, or a summary thereof, available to each employee in the affected group for inspection and comment for a period of at least seven (7) days, and copies of the memorandum to the employees and any comments received must be attached.

9. The plan applies to only full-time permanent employees and is not implemented to subsidize seasonal employers during any off-season period, or to subsidize employers who have traditionally used part-time employees.

Section 31-250-11. Eligibility for shared work compensation

1. An individual is eligible to receive shared work benefits with respect to any week in which the Administrator finds that:

   1. The individual is a participating employee in an affected unit subject to a shared work plan that was approved before the week in question and is in effect for that week;

   2. The individual is able to work and is available for additional hours of work or full-time work with the participating employer; and

   3. The individual’s normal weekly hours of work have been reduced by at least twenty per cent but not more than forty per cent, with a corresponding reduction in wages.

2. An individual who is eligible for shared work benefits shall be exempt from the work search requirements contained in Sections 31-235(a) of the General Statutes and Sections 31-235-22 to 31-235-26, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. In addition, an individual eligible for shared work benefits shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 31-229 of the General Statutes relating to partial unemployment benefits. Wages from other than the shared work employer shall be disregarded in the calculation of the shared work benefit.

3. An individual who is eligible for shared work benefits shall not be eligible to receive a dependency allowance.

4. The Administrator shall not pay shared work benefits to an individual for any week in which the individual performs work for the participating employer in excess of the reduced hours established under the shared work plan, unless there is a corresponding modification to the plan pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 31-250-12.

5. No individual shall receive shared work benefits and regular unemployment compensation benefits in an amount that exceeds the maximum total benefits payable to the claimant in a benefit year in accordance with Section 31-231b of the General Statutes.

6. An individual who has received all of the shared work benefits and regular unemployment compensation benefits available to him in a benefit year is an exhaustee for purposes of Sections 31-232b to 31-232k, inclusive, of the General Statutes and is entitled to receive extended benefits under such sections, provided the claimant is otherwise eligible for such benefits.

7. If an individual who is eligible to receive shared work benefits has a prior overpayment which is still outstanding, the Administrator shall offset such overpayment from shared work benefits in accordance with Section 31-273 of the General Statutes.

8. If an individual who is eligible to receive shared work benefits has been identified as having outstanding child support obligations, the Administrator shall reduce the shared work benefits in accordance with Section 31-227(h) of the General Statutes.

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Section 31-250-12. Program administration

1. The Administrator will approve or deny a shared work plan, in writing, no later than thirty days after the date the shared work plan is received by the Administrator. If the Administrator denies a shared work plan, the Administrator will specify the reasons for the denial. The reasons for the rejection shall be final and not subject to appeal. If rejected, the employer may submit an amended plan for approval not earlier than seven days after the date of the rejection. A shared work plan shall be effective on the date it is approved by the Administrator and shall expire at the end of the twenty-sixth week after the effective date of the shared work plan. Such plan may be renewed for up to an additional twenty-six (26) weeks.

2. An approved shared work plan may be modified after it has become operational by the employer with the acquiescence of employee representatives if, in the opinion of the Administrator, the modification is not substantial and is consistent with the purpose of the original shared work plan. The Administrator shall approve or disapprove such modifications, without changing the expiration date of the original plan. The disapproval of a modification shall be final and not subject to appeal. Where a requested modification is substantial, the employer may request that the Administrator terminate the existing plan and consider the employer’s application for a new plan.

3. The Administrator may revoke approval of a plan for a good cause. The revocation order shall be in writing and shall specify the date the revocation is effective and the reasons therefore. Good cause shall include, but not be limited to, failure to comply with the assurances given in the plan, unreasonable revision of productivity standards for the affected unit, conduct or occurrences tending to defeat the intent and effective operation of the plan, and violation of any criteria upon which approval of the plan was based. Any revocation shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal.

4. The Administrator shall pay to an individual who is eligible for shared work benefits a weekly amount equal to the individual’s regular weekly benefit rate for a period of total unemployment as provided in Section 31-228 of the General Statutes, multiplied by the nearest full percentage of the reduction of the individual’s hours as set for in the employer’s shared work plan. If the shared benefit amount is not a multiple of one dollar, the Administrator shall reduce the amount to the next lowest multiple of one dollar. All shared work benefits shall be payable from the unemployment compensation fund established pursuant to Section 31-261 of the General Statutes.

5. An employer’s chargeability under a shared work plan will be subject to the provisions of Section 31-225a of the General Statutes.

6. An individual who does not work during a week for the shared work employer and who is otherwise eligible for benefits shall be paid regular unemployment benefits and the week shall not be counted as a week for which shared work benefits were received.

(Effective December 18, 1992)

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