Committee approves measure
to help workers keep their jobs
Work-sharing bill would help companies retain skilled
workers, avoid layoffs
HARRISBURG, March 18 – House Labor Relations Committee
Chairman Robert E. Belfanti Jr. said legislation he co-sponsored and that his
committee approved this week could help preserve thousands of jobs across
Pennsylvania by allowing employers to control costs while avoiding layoffs.
The legislation (H.B. 2160
),
which was approved by the committee and sent to the full House for
consideration, would institute a work-sharing program in Pennsylvania. The
program would allow businesses to reduce work hours for all or a portion of
their work force in lieu of laying off employees. In
turn, employees whose hours were reduced would be eligible to receive partial
unemployment benefits.
"In the current
economy, there are hundreds of employers across Pennsylvania who face an extremely difficult choice: either cuts jobs or
close up shop," Belfanti said. "Neither of those choices is good for
Pennsylvania's economy or its workers.
"Work
sharing offers a way for employers to continue operations while they cut costs,
and to do so without putting people out of work permanently. Under the
work-sharing program, workers keep their jobs and their benefits, businesses
keep skilled employees and a better work-force morale,
and communities don't suffer the impact of lost jobs and incomes."
Belfanti said
work sharing could also reduce the tremendous strain now being placed on
Pennsylvania's unemployment compensation fund.
"Under
this program, workers have their hours cut, but keep their jobs and collect
higher overall compensation than they would if they had to rely solely on
unemployment benefits," he said. "At the same time, unemployment
benefits are paid out, but at a rate that is significantly less than if benefit
recipients were out of work. This proposal not only saves jobs, it saves
businesses and the state money."
House Bill
2160 would allow employers in Pennsylvania to reduce the regularly scheduled
hours of work for all or a portion of their work force. Affected workers would
be eligible to offset the lost income with unemployment benefits in proportion
to the percentage of work hours lost. For example, workers at a factory who
lost 20 percent of their work hours would be eligible for 20 percent of the
unemployment compensation they would normally receive if unemployed.
Belfanti said
18 states currently offer a work-sharing program for employers and their
employees, including Pennsylvania border states
Maryland and New York. Considering the bill could help to preserve thousands of
jobs, Belfanti said he expects the bill to be considered by the full House
soon.
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