AB 1392, as introduced, Committee on Insurance. Unemployment insurance: work sharing plans.
Under existing law, unemployment compensation benefits are payable from the Unemployment Fund to eligible unemployed individuals. Under existing law, an individual is unemployed under specified circumstances, including when he or she performs no services and receives no pay. Existing law deems an individual unemployed in any week that the individual works less than his or her normal weekly hours of work for the individual’s regular employer due to participating in a specified work sharing plan that has been approved by the Director of Employment Development and adopted by the employer to avoid a layoff, if the employee’s wages have been reduced by at least 10%.
This bill would provide that an individual is deemed unemployed for these purposes in any week that the individual works less than his or her normal weekly hours due to participating in a work sharing plan described above that is adopted by the employer and approved by the director, to avoid a layoff, if the employee’s wages have been reduced by at least 10% but not more than 60%.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1279.5 of the Unemployment Insurance
2Code is amended to read:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 1252 or 1252.2 or any
4other provision of this part, for the purposes of this section an
5individual is “unemployed” in any week if the individual works
6less than his or her normal weekly hours of work for the
7individual’s regular employer, and the director finds that the regular
8employer has reduced or restricted the individual’s normal hours
9of work, or has rehired an individual previously laid off and
10reduced that individual’s normal hours of work from those
11previously worked, as the result of a plan by the regular employer
12to, in lieu of layoff, reduce employment and stabilize the work
13force by a program of sharing the work remaining after a reduction
14in total hours of work and a corresponding reduction in wages of
15at least 10 percentbegin insert
but no more than 60 percentend insert. The application
16for approval of a plan shall require the employer to briefly describe
17the circumstances requiring the use of work sharing to avoid a
18layoff. Normal weekly hours of work means the number of hours
19in a week that the employee normally would work for the regular
20employer or 40 hours, whichever is less. The plan must involve
21the participation of at least two employees and include not less
22than 10 percent of the employer’s regular permanent work force
23involved in the affected work unit or units in each week, or in at
24least one week of a two-consecutive-week period. A plan approved
25by the director shall expire six months after the effective date of
26the plan.
27(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each individual
28eligible under this chapter who is “unemployed” in any week shall
29be paid with respect to that week a weekly shared work
30unemployment compensation
benefit amount equal to the
31percentage of reduction of the individual’s wages resulting from
32an approved plan, rounded to the nearest 5 percent, multiplied by
33the individual’s weekly benefit amount.
34(c) No individual who receives any benefits under this section
35during any benefit year shall receive any benefits pursuant to
36Section 1252 or 1252.2 as a partially unemployed individual with
37respect to any week during such benefit year while in employment
38status with the regular employer who initiated the program of
P3 1sharing work under this section. No benefits under this section
2shall be payable on any type of extended claim.
3(d) Any amount payable under this section shall be reduced by
4the amount of any and all compensation payable for personal
5services whether performed as an employee or an independent
6contractor or as a juror or as a witness, except compensation
7payable by the
regular employer under a shared work plan.
8For the purposes of this subdivision, “regular employer” may
9include, pursuant to an approved plan, a labor organization which
10periodically employs individuals in accordance with a collective
11bargaining agreement.
12(e) The benefit payment under this section, if not a multiple of
13one dollar ($1), shall be increased to the next higher multiple of
14one dollar ($1).
15(f) Sections 1253.5 and 1279 shall not apply to any individual
16eligible for any payment under this section.
17(g) For the purposes of this section, an individual shall not be
18disqualified under subdivision (c) of Section 1253 for any week
19if both of the following conditions exist:
20(1) The individual has not been
absent from work without the
21approval of the regular employer.
22(2) The individual accepted all work the regular employer made
23available to the individual during hours scheduled off due to the
24work-sharing plan.
25(h) Except as otherwise provided by or inconsistent with this
26section, all provisions of this division and authorized regulations
27apply to benefits under this section. Authorized regulations may,
28to the extent permitted by federal law, make such distinctions and
29requirements as may be necessary in the procedures and provisions
30applicable to unemployed individuals to carry out the purposes of
31this section, including regulations defining normal hours, days,
32workweek, and wages.
33(i) Employees shall not be eligible to receive any benefits under
34this section unless their employer agrees, in writing, and their
35
bargaining agent pursuant to any applicable collective bargaining
36agreement agrees, in writing, to voluntarily participate in the shared
37work unemployment insurance benefit program created by this
38section.
39(j) Notwithstanding Section 1327, the department shall not be
40required to notify an employer of additional claims which result
P4 1from an approved plan submitted by the employer under which
2benefits are not paid in each week.
3(k) The director may terminate a shared work plan for good
4cause if the plan is not being carried out according to its terms and
5intent.
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