Bill Text: MI SB0697 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Employment security; benefits; work-sharing program; create. Amends 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.1 - 421.75) by adding secs. 28b, 28c, 28d, 28e, 28f, 28g, 28h, 28i, 28j, 28k, 28l & 28m & repeals secs. 28b - 28m of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.28b - 421.28m).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-09-27 - Referred To Committee On Economic Development [SB0697 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-SB0697-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 697
September 27, 2011, Introduced by Senators GREGORY, BIEDA, ANDERSON, HOOD, JOHNSON, GLEASON and HOPGOOD and referred to the Committee on Economic Development.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
(MCL 421.1 to 421.75) by adding sections 28b, 28c, 28d, 28e, 28f,
28g, 28h, 28i, 28j, 28k, 28l, and 28m; and to repeal acts and parts
of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 28b. As used in this section and sections 28c to 28m:
(a) "Affected unit" means a department, shift, or other
organizational unit of 2 or more employees that is designated by an
employer to participate in a shared-work plan.
(b) "Approved shared-work plan" means an employer's shared-
work plan that meets the requirements of section 28d and that the
unemployment agency approves in writing.
(c) "Fringe benefit" means health insurance, a retirement
benefit received under a pension plan, a paid vacation day, a paid
holiday, sick leave, or any other similar employee benefit provided
by an employer.
(d) "Normal weekly hours of work" means the established
standard work times and number of hours in the workweek for the
position, or if no standard work time and number of hours have been
established for the position, the work times and average number of
hours per week actually worked by the employee in that position
over the most recent 3 months before application for designation as
a participating employer.
(e) "Participating employee" means an employee in the affected
unit whose hours of work are reduced by the reduction percentage
under the shared-work plan.
(f) "Participating employer" means an employer that has a
shared-work plan in effect.
(g) "Reduction percentage" means the percentage by which each
participating employee's normal weekly hours of work are reduced
under a shared-work plan in accordance with section 28d(2).
(h) "Shared-work plan" means a plan for reducing unemployment
under which participating employees of an affected unit share the
work remaining after reduction in their normal weekly hours of
work.
Sec. 28c. (1) An employer that meets all of the following
requirements may apply to the unemployment agency for approval of a
shared-work plan:
(a) The employer has filed all quarterly reports and other
reports required under this act and has paid all contribution,
reimbursements in lieu of contributions, interest, and penalties
due through the date of the employer's application.
(b) If the employer is a contributing employer, the employer's
reserve in the employer's experience account as of the most recent
computation date preceding the date of the employer's application
is a positive number.
(c) The employer has paid wages for the 12 consecutive
calendar quarters preceding the date of the employer's application.
(2) An application under this section shall be made in the
manner prescribed by the unemployment agency and contain all
information required by the unemployment agency, including the
following:
(a) The employer's assurance that it will provide reports to
the unemployment agency relating to the operation of its shared-
work plan at the times and in the manner prescribed by the
unemployment agency and containing all information required by the
unemployment agency.
(b) The employer's assurance that it will not hire new
employees in, or transfer employees to, the affected unit during
the effective period of the shared-work plan.
(c) The employer's assurance that it will not lay off
participating employees during the effective period of the shared-
work plan, or reduce participating employees' hours of work by more
than the reduction percentage during the effective period of the
shared-work plan, except in cases of holidays, designated vacation
periods, equipment maintenance, or similar circumstances.
(d) A list of the week or weeks within the requested effective
period of the plan during which participating employees are
anticipated to work fewer hours than the number of hours determined
under section 28d(1)(e) due to circumstances included in
subdivision (c).
(e) The employer's certification that the implementation of a
shared-work plan is in lieu of temporary layoffs that would affect
at least 10% of the employees in the affected unit and would result
in an equivalent reduction in work hours.
(f) The employer's assurance that it will abide by all terms
and conditions of sections 28b to 28m.
(3) An employer may apply to the unemployment agency for
approval of more than 1 shared-work plan.
Sec. 28d. (1) The unemployment agency may approve a shared-
work plan only if the plan meets all of the following requirements:
(a) The shared-work plan applies to 1 affected unit.
(b) All employees in the affected unit are participating
employees, except that the following employees shall not be
participating employees:
(i) An employee who has been employed in the affected unit for
less than 3 months before the date the employer applies for
approval of the shared-work plan.
(ii) An employee whose hours of work per week determined under
subdivision (e) are 40 or more hours.
(c) There are no fewer than 2 participating employees,
determined without regard to corporate officers.
(d) The participating employees are identified by name and
social security number.
(e) The number of hours a participating employee will work
each week during the effective period of the plan is the number of
the employee's normal weekly hours of work reduced by the reduction
percentage.
(f) As a result of a decrease in the number of hours worked by
each participating employee, there is a corresponding reduction in
wages.
(g) If any participating employee is covered by a collective
bargaining agreement, the plan is approved in writing by the
collective bargaining representative.
(h) The plan does not affect the fringe benefits of any
participating employee not covered by a collective bargaining
agreement.
(i) The effective period of the plan is not more than 52
consecutive weeks.
(j) The effective period of the plan combined with effective
periods of the participating employer's prior plans does not equal
more than 104 weeks out of a 156-week period.
(k) The reduction percentage satisfies the requirements of
subsection (2).
(2) The reduction percentage under an approved shared-work
plan shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) The reduction percentage shall be no less than 20% and no
more than 40%.
(b) The reduction percentage shall be the same for all
participating employees.
(c) The reduction percentage shall not change during the
period of the shared-work plan unless the plan is modified in
accordance with section 28i.
Sec. 28e. The unemployment agency shall approve or disapprove
a shared-work plan no later than 15 days after the date the
unemployment agency receives an employer's shared-work plan
application that meets the requirements of sections 28c and 28d.
The unemployment agency's decision shall be expressed in writing
and, if the shared-work plan is disapproved, shall include the
reasons for the disapproval.
Sec. 28f. (1) A shared-work plan is effective for the number
of consecutive weeks indicated in the employer's application, or a
lesser number of weeks as approved by the unemployment agency,
unless sooner terminated in accordance with section 28j.
(2) The effective period of the shared-work plan shall begin
with the first calendar week following the date on which the
unemployment agency approves the plan.
Sec. 28g. (1) Compensation shall be payable to a participating
employee for a week within the effective period of an approved
shared-work plan during which the employee works the number of
hours determined under section 28d(1)(e) for the participating
employer on the same terms, in the same amount, and subject to the
same conditions that would apply to the participating employee
without regard to sections 28b to 28m, except as follows:
(a) A participating employee shall not be required to be
unemployed within the meaning of section 48 or file claims for
compensation under section 32.
(b) The benefit rate otherwise payable as prescribed in
section 27 shall be modified so that a participating employee shall
be paid compensation in an amount equal to the product of his or
her weekly benefit rate and the reduction percentage, rounded to
the next lower whole dollar amount.
(c) The unemployment agency shall not deny compensation to a
participating employee for any week during the effective period of
the shared-work plan by applying any provision of this act relating
to active search for work or refusal to apply for or accept work
other than work offered by the participating employer.
(d) A participating employee satisfies the eligibility
requirements of section 28 if the employee is able to work and is
available for the employee's normal weekly hours of work with the
participating employer.
(2) For purposes of subsection (1), if a participating
employee works fewer hours than the number of hours determined
under section 28d(1)(e) for the participating employer during a
week within the effective period of the approved shared-work plan,
but receives remuneration as if the employee had worked the number
of hours determined under section 28d(1)(e), the employee will be
deemed to have worked the number of hours determined under section
28d(1)(e) during that week.
(3) A participating employee's eligibility for compensation
for a week within the effective period of an approved shared-work
plan shall be determined without regard to sections 28b to 28m
under any of the following circumstances:
(a) The employee receives remuneration for the week from the
participating employer that is less than the amount due for the
number of hours determined under section 28d(1)(e).
(b) The employee receives remuneration for the week from the
participating employer in excess of the amount due for the number
of hours determined under section 28d(1)(e).
Sec. 28h. (1) The unemployment agency shall establish a
schedule of consecutive 2-week periods within the effective period
of the shared-work plan. The unemployment agency may, as necessary,
include 1-week periods in the schedule and revise the schedule. At
the end of each scheduled period, the participating employer shall
file claims for compensation for the week or weeks within the
period on behalf of the participating employees. The claims shall
be filed no later than the last day of the week immediately
following the period, unless an extension of time is granted by the
unemployment agency for good cause. The claims shall be filed in
the manner prescribed by the unemployment agency and shall contain
all information required by the unemployment agency to determine
the eligibility of the participating employees for compensation.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act,
compensation paid to participating employees for weeks within the
effective period of an approved shared-work plan shall be charged
to the participating employer.
Sec. 28i. An employer may apply to the unemployment agency for
approval to modify a shared-work plan to meet changed conditions.
The unemployment agency shall reevaluate the plan and may approve
the modified plan if it meets the requirements for approval under
section 28e. If the modifications cause the shared-work plan to
fail to meet the requirements for approval, the unemployment agency
shall disapprove the proposed modifications.
Sec. 28j. (1) The unemployment agency may terminate a shared-
work plan for good cause.
(2) For purposes of subsection (1), good cause includes any of
the following:
(a) The plan is not being executed according to its approved
terms and conditions.
(b) The participating employer fails to comply with the
assurances given in the plan.
(c) The participating employer or a participating employee
violates any criteria on which approval of the plan was based.
(3) The employer may terminate a shared-work plan by written
notice to the unemployment agency.
Sec. 28k. The decision to approve or disapprove a shared-work
plan, to approve or disapprove a modification of a shared-work
plan, or to terminate a shared-work plan is at the unemployment
agency's discretion. Those decisions are not subject to the appeal
provisions of this act.
Sec. 28l. In addition to other reports required by law, the
unemployment agency shall submit an annual report to the governor,
the secretary of the senate, and the clerk of the house of
representatives for referral to the chair and minority vice chair
of the appropriate committees regarding shared-work plans under
sections 28b to 28m. The report shall include the number of
approved shared-work plans, the number of participating employers,
the number of participating employees, the amount of compensation
paid to participating employees, and any other information that the
unemployment agency determines is relevant to assess the impact of
shared-work plans on the unemployment compensation fund. The first
report shall be submitted on or before the first day of March
following the first complete calendar year during which sections
28b to 28m are in effect, and subsequent reports shall be submitted
on or before the first day of March of each subsequent year.
Sec. 28m. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act,
if any provision or provisions of this section or sections 28b to
28l cause the United States department of labor to withhold approval
of this section or sections 28b to 28l as required under section
3304(a)(4)(E) of the federal unemployment tax act, 26 USC 3304, and
section 303(a)(5) of the social security act, 42 USC 503, the
provisions in this section or sections 28b to 28l do not apply.
(2) When the provisions of this section or sections 28b to 28l
are approved or disapproved by the United States department of
labor, the unemployment agency shall transmit to the secretary of
the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives notice of
the approval or disapproval.
Enacting section 1. Sections 28b to 28m of the Michigan
employment security act, 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, MCL 421.28b to
421.28m, are repealed 5 years after the effective date of this
amendatory act.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act takes effect July 1,
2011.
