The Florida Senate

“Affected unit” means a specified plant, department, shift, or other definable unit of two or more employees designated by the employer to participate in a short-time compensation plan.

“Normal weekly hours of work” means the number of hours in a week that an individual would regularly work for the short-time compensation employer, not to exceed 40 hours, excluding overtime.

“Short-time compensation benefits” means benefits payable to individuals in an affected unit under an approved short-time compensation plan.

“Short-time compensation employer” means an employer with a short-time compensation plan in effect.

“Short-time compensation plan” or “plan” means an employer’s written plan for reducing unemployment under which an affected unit shares the work remaining after its normal weekly hours of work are reduced.

The plan applies to and identifies each specific affected unit;

The individuals in the affected unit are identified by name and social security number;

The normal weekly hours of work for individuals in the affected unit are reduced by at least 10 percent and by not more than 40 percent;

The plan includes a certified statement by the employer that the aggregate reduction in work hours is in lieu of temporary layoffs that would affect at least 10 percent of the employees in the affected unit and that would have resulted in an equivalent reduction in work hours;

The plan applies to at least 10 percent of the employees in the affected unit;

The plan is approved in writing by the collective bargaining agent for each collective bargaining agreement covering any individual in the affected unit;

The plan does not serve as a subsidy to seasonal employers during the off-season or as a subsidy to employers who traditionally use part-time employees; and

The plan certifies the manner in which the employer will treat fringe benefits of the individuals in the affected unit if the hours of the individuals are reduced to less than their normal weekly hours of work. As used in this paragraph, the term “fringe benefits” includes, but is not limited to, health insurance, retirement benefits under defined benefit pension plans as defined in subsection 35 of s. 1002 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C., paid vacation and holidays, and sick leave.

Except as provided in this subsection, an individual is eligible to receive short-time compensation benefits for any week only if she or he complies with this chapter and the Agency for Workforce Innovation finds that:

The Agency for Workforce Innovation may not deny short-time compensation benefits to an individual who is otherwise eligible for these benefits for any week by reason of the application of any provision of this chapter relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to apply for or accept work from other than the short-time compensation employer of that individual.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an individual is deemed unemployed in any week for which compensation is payable to her or him, as an employee in an affected unit, for less than her or his normal weekly hours of work in accordance with an approved short-time compensation plan in effect for the week.

The short-time compensation benefits paid to an individual shall be deducted from the total benefit amount established for that individual in s. 443.111(5).

An individual who receives all of the short-time compensation or combined unemployment compensation and short-time compensation available in a benefit year is considered an exhaustee for purposes of the extended benefits program in s. 443.1115 and, if otherwise eligible under those provisions, is eligible to receive extended benefits.

An otherwise eligible individual may not be disqualified from benefits for leaving employment instead of accepting a reduction in hours under an approved plan.