1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to unemployment insurance; providing for one year extensions of shared 
1.3 	work plans;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 268.135, subdivisions 
1.4 	1, 2.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 268.135, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. For purposes of this section:
1.8 	(1) "Affected employee" means an employee who was continuously employed 
1.9 	as a member of the affected group, for at least six months, on a full-time basis,  before 
1.10 	submission of the shared work plan, except as provided under subdivision 2, paragraph 
1.11 	(a), clause (5).
1.12 	(2) "Affected group" means five or more employees designated by the employer to 
1.13 	participate in a shared work plan.
1.14 	(3) "Shared work plan" or "plan" means an employer's plan, submitted in a manner 
1.15 	and format prescribed by the commissioner, under which a group of employees whose 
1.16 	normal weekly hours of work are reduced, in order to prevent employees from being 
1.17 	laid off  because of lack of work.
1.18 	(4) "Normal weekly hours of work" means the number of hours in a week that the 
1.19 	employee normally would work for the shared work employer or 40 hours, whichever is 
1.20 	less.

1.21 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for plans approved before February 
1.22 	27, 2009.

1.23 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 268.135, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.1 		Subd. 2.Participation. (a) An employer wishing to participate in the shared work 
2.2 	benefit program  must submit a shared work plan to the commissioner in a manner and 
2.3 	format prescribed for approval. The commissioner may approve a shared work plan 
2.4 	only if it:
2.5 	(1) specifies the employees in the affected group;
2.6 	(2) applies to only one affected group;
2.7 	(3) includes a certified statement by the employer that each employee specified in 
2.8 	the affected group is an affected employee;
2.9 	(4) includes a certified statement by the employer that for the duration of the plan 
2.10 	the reduction in normal weekly hours of work of the employees in the affected group is 
2.11 	instead of layoffs that otherwise would result in at least as large a reduction in the total 
2.12 	normal weekly hours of work;
2.13 	(5) specifies an expiration date that is no more than one year from the date the 
2.14 	employer submits the plan for approval. An approved plan may be extended for a 
2.15 	maximum of one additional year upon expiration, subject to approval by the commissioner. 
2.16 	Affected employee status for the purpose of the original approved plan continues under 
2.17 	an extended plan;
2.18 	(6) specifies that fringe benefits, such as health and retirement, available to the 
2.19 	employees in the affected group are not reduced beyond the percentage of reduction in 
2.20 	hours of work; and
2.21 	(7) is approved in writing by the collective bargaining agent for each collective 
2.22 	bargaining agreement that covers any employee in the affected group.
2.23 	(b) The commissioner shall set the beginning and ending dates of an approved 
2.24 	shared work plan.
2.25 	(c) The commissioner shall send to the employer a determination, by mail or 
2.26 	electronic transmission, approving or disapproving the plan within 15 calendar days of its 
2.27 	receipt. Determinations are final.
2.28 	(d) Disapproval of a plan may be reconsidered at the discretion of the commissioner. 
2.29 	Approval of a shared work plan may be revoked if the approval was based, in whole or in 
2.30 	part, upon information that was false or misleading.

2.31 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for plans approved before February 
2.32 	27, 2009.