{"id":2533,"date":"2014-12-13T18:10:51","date_gmt":"2014-12-13T18:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/?p=2533"},"modified":"2014-12-13T18:10:51","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T18:10:51","slug":"new-nj-shared-workprogram-offers-siestas-instead-of-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/2014\/12\/13\/new-nj-shared-workprogram-offers-siestas-instead-of-layoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"New NJ Program Offers Siestas instead of Layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alternative to Slow-Period Layoffs:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>NJ Program Helps Maintain Your Workforce<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Businesses that are thinking about laying off employees because of a slowdown in activity\u2014but fear losing talented labor or getting socked with an increased Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax rate\u2014may have an alternative, thanks to an innovative state program. Under the \u201cshared-work\u201d legislation a company that has to slice payroll expense by significantly cutting employees\u2019 work hours may be able to have the NJ Department of Labor partially offset workers\u2019 reduced pay by giving them \u201cshort-time\u201d unemployment benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Employers may find that their UI tax rate is lower under the \u201cshort-time\u201d approach, compared to having laid-off employees collect full unemployment. In addition to getting at least some of their pay, employees will be able to keep their health insurance and other benefits while they work fewer hours.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the fine print<\/b><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

For each company, the state may approve the program for a period no longer than one year and may, upon employer request, renew the approval of the program for additional periods.\u00a0 Of course, there are certain filing and other requirements. For one thing, the business needs to complete a formal Shared-Work Plan Application and submit it to the New Jersey Department of Labor, Shared-Work Approval Unit (the application is available at NJ Department of Labor, Shared-Work Application<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The business must have at least 10 employees; and the \u201caffected unit\u201d of the company\u2014a specified plant or other facility, department, shift or other definable unit, must be composed of two or more employees.\u00a0 Among other requirements, the reduction in weekly work hours of the affected employees must be not less than 10% and not more than 60% of the \u201cusual weekly hours of work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Not everyone\u2019s eligible<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Some kinds of employment\u2014like subsidized seasonal employment during off-season, and employment that is temporary or intermittent on an ongoing basis\u2014are not eligible for this program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our recommendation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This program could cut payroll expenses for some businesses while enabling them to retain valued employees during a time of economic disruption. Still, disclosure, documentation, UI costs and other issues should be considered. Please contact one of our CPAs to see if this program is suitable for you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NJ is offering a new Program, Shared Work Plan, which pays partial unemployment while employees are still employed and work less hours. This enables NJ employers to maintain their workforce during a slow-down in activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,36,14,15],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-2533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-small-business-forum","7":"category-management","8":"category-medical-practices","9":"category-nj-assistance","10":"tag-nj-unemployment-rate","11":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ua-cpas.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}