BY JILL D’AMICO

With businesses inevitably feeling the brunt of the recession, times have dictated that business owners make concessions like having less stock on hand, keeping fewer hours and staff layoffs.

However, there is a way around reducing staff that allows employers to decrease their hours, saving money on payroll. A component of the New York State Department of Labor, Shared Work, is a voluntary program that lets employers cut hours for a group of employees instead of laying them off.

The employees whose hours are reduced can receive partial unemployment benefits to supplement their wages. The Shared Work benefit rate will be the employee’s regular weekly benefit rate reduced by the same percentage as the employee’s weekly hours and wages are reduced.

Employers benefit by reducing payroll costs but avoiding costly hiring and training costs if and when the positions reopen.

“Businesses will face tough decisions during this recession,” said Jeanette Nigro, vice president of workforce and training at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “The Brooklyn Chamber supports the Department of Labor in its effort to assist businesses with their employment issues. The Shared Work program can help mitigate layoffs and keep Brooklynites working, and businesses functioning.”

Interested employers can submit a Shared Work Plan Application and a Shared Work Plan Participant Listing to the Unemployment Insurance Division in Albany. The plan can cover the employer's total work force, a particular shift or shifts, or a work unit or units.

Generally, any New York State employer who has five or more full-time employees and who, with any predecessor, has been liable for unemployment insurance purposes for at least four completed calendar quarters may apply to participate in the Shared Work Program.

There are some basic requirements to the Shared Work program, which can be found here, along with an application. To access an application please contact the Liability and Determination Section at 518-457-2635.

For more information about this or any other layoff aversion program, employment or training program, please contact Jeanette Nigro at 718-875-1000 ext. 114, or jnigro@brooklynchamber.com.

An overview of the program can be downloaded here (link opens a PDF file).