2001 Minnesota Statutes

     268.135 Shared work plan. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  For purposes of this 
 section: 

    (1) "Affected employee" means an employee who was 
 continuously employed as a member of the affected group, for at 
 least six months, on a full-time basis, prior to submission of 
 the shared work plan. 

    (2) "Affected group" means five or more employees 
 designated by the employer to participate in a shared work plan. 

    (3) "Shared work plan" or "plan" means an employer's 
 written plan under which a group of employees whose normal 
 weekly hours of work are reduced, in order to prevent employees 
 from being laid off due to lack of work. 

    (4) "Normal weekly hours of work" means the number of hours 
 in a week that the employee normally would work for the shared 
 work employer or 40 hours, whichever is less. 

    Subd. 2.    Participation.  (a) An employer wishing to 
 participate in the shared work benefit program shall submit a 
 written shared work plan to the commissioner for approval.  The 
 commissioner may approve a shared work plan only if it: 

    (1) specifies the employees in the affected group; 

    (2) applies to only one affected group; 

    (3) includes a certified statement by the employer that 
 each employee specified in the affected group is an affected 
 employee; 

    (4) includes a certified statement by the employer that for 
 the duration of the plan the reduction in normal weekly hours of 
 work of the employees in the affected group is instead of 
 layoffs that otherwise would result in at least as large a 
 reduction in the total normal weekly hours of work; 

    (5) specifies an expiration date that is no more than one 
 year from the date the employer submits the plan for approval; 

    (6) specifies that fringe benefits, such as health and 
 retirement, available to the employees in the affected group are 
 not reduced beyond the percentage of reduction in hours of work; 
 and 

    (7) is approved in writing by the collective bargaining 
 agent for each collective bargaining agreement that covers any 
 employee in the affected group. 

    (b) The commissioner shall set the beginning and ending 
 dates of an approved shared work plan. 

    (c) The commissioner shall mail to the employer a written 
 determination approving or disapproving the plan within 15 
 calendar days of its receipt.  Determinations are final. 

    (d) Disapproval of a plan may be reconsidered at the 
 discretion of the commissioner.  Approval of a shared work plan 
 may be revoked if the approval was based, in whole or in part, 
 upon information that was false or misleading. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility.  (a) Regardless of any other 
 provision, an applicant is eligible to receive shared work 
 benefits with respect to any week if: 

    (1) during the week the applicant is employed as a member 
 of an affected group in a plan that was approved prior to the 
 week and is in effect for the week; and 

    (2) during the week the normal weekly hours of work were 
 reduced, in accordance with the plan, at least 20 percent but 
 not more than 40 percent, with a corresponding reduction in 
 wages. 

    (b) Shared work benefits shall not be paid to an applicant 
 beyond one benefit year. 

    (c) The total amount of regular unemployment benefits and 
 shared work benefits paid to an applicant in a benefit year 
 shall not exceed the maximum amount of regular unemployment 
 benefits available. 

    (d) An otherwise eligible applicant shall not be denied 
 shared work benefits because of the application of any provision 
 relating to availability for employment, active search for 
 employment, or refusal to apply for or accept suitable 
 employment from other than the applicant's shared work employer. 

    Subd. 4.    Weekly benefit amount.  (a) An applicant who 
 is eligible for shared work benefits shall be paid an amount 
 equal to the regular weekly unemployment benefit amount 
 multiplied by the nearest full percentage of reduction of the 
 applicant's regular weekly hours of work as set in the plan.  
 The benefit payment, if not a whole dollar shall be rounded to 
 the next lower dollar. 

    (b) The deductible earnings provisions of section 268.085, 
 subdivision 5, shall not apply to earnings from the shared work 
 employer of an applicant eligible for shared work benefits 
 unless the resulting amount would be less than the regular 
 weekly unemployment benefit amount the applicant would otherwise 
 be eligible for without regard to shared work benefits. 

    (c) An applicant shall not be eligible for shared work 
 benefits for any week that employment is performed for the 
 shared work employer in excess of the reduced hours set forth in 
 the plan. 

    HIST: 1994 c 503 s 4; 1996 c 417 s 16; 1997 c 66 s 79,80; 1998 
 c 265 s 45; 1999 c 107 s 52,66; 2000 c 343 s 4