§ 51-173 — Employer participation in the shared work unemployment compensation program.

(a) Employer participation in the shared work unemployment compensation program shall be voluntary.

(b) An employer that wishes to participate in the shared work unemployment compensation program shall submit a signed application and proposed shared work plan to the Director for approval.

(c) The Director shall develop an application form consistent with the requirements of this section. The application and shared work plan shall require the employer to:

(1) Identify the affected unit (or units) to be covered by the shared work plan, including:

(A) The number of full-time or part-time employees in such unit;

(B) The percentage of employees in the affected unit covered by the plan;

(C) Identification of each individual employee in the affected unit by name and social security number;

(D) The employer's unemployment tax account number[;] and

(E) Any other information required by the Director to identify participating employees;

(2) Provide a description of how employees in the affected unit will be notified of the employer's participation in the shared work unemployment compensation program if such application is approved, including how the employer will notify those employees in a collective bargaining unit as well as any employees in the affected unit who are not in a collective bargaining unit. If the employer will not provide advance notice of the shared work plan to employees in the affected unit, the employer shall explain in a statement in the application why it is not feasible to provide such notice;

(3) Identify the usual weekly hours of work for employees in the affected unit and the specific percentage by which hours will be reduced during all weeks covered by the plan. A shared work plan may not reduce participating employees' usual weekly hours of work by less than 10% or more than 60%. If the plan includes any week for which the employer regularly provides no work (due to a holiday or other plant closing), then such week shall be identified in the application;

(4) If the employer provides health and retirement benefits to any participating employee whose usual weekly hours of work are reduced under the plan, certify that such benefits will continue to be provided to participating employees under the same terms and conditions as though the usual weekly hours of work of such participating employee had not been reduced or to the same extent as employees not participating in the shared work plan. For defined benefit retirement plans, the hours that are reduced under the shared work plan shall be credited for purposes of participation, vesting, and accrual of benefits as though the participating employee's usual weekly hours of work had not been reduced. The dollar amount of employer contributions to a defined contribution plan that are based on a percentage of compensation may be reduced due to the reduction in the participating employee's compensation. A reduction in health and retirement benefits scheduled to occur during the duration of a shared work plan that is equally applicable to employees who are not participating in the plan and to participating employees does not violate a certification made pursuant to this paragraph;

(5) Certify that the aggregate reduction in work hours under the shared work plan is in lieu of temporary or permanent layoffs, or both, and provide a good-faith estimate of the number of employees who would be laid off in the absence of the proposed shared work plan;

(6) Agree to:

(A) Furnish reports to the Director relating to the proper conduct of the shared work plan;

(B) Allow the Director or the Director's authorized representatives access to all records necessary to approve or disapprove the application for a shared work plan;

(C) Allow the Director to monitor and evaluate the shared work plan; and

(D) Follow any other directives the Director considers necessary for the agency to implement the shared work plan consistent with the requirements for shared work plan applications;

(7) Certify that participation in the shared work unemployment compensation program and implementation of the shared work plan will be consistent with the employer's obligations under applicable federal and District laws;

(8) State the duration of the proposed shared work plan, which shall not exceed 365 days from the effective date established pursuant to section 6;

(9) Provide any additional information or certifications that the Director determines to be appropriate for purposes of the shared work unemployment compensation program, consistent with requirements issued by the United States Secretary of Labor; and

(10) Provide written approval of the proposed shared work plan by the collective bargaining representative for any employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement who will participate in the plan.

Legislative History

Oct. 15, 2010, D.C. Law 18-238, § 4, 57 DCR 7181