§ 48-674. Short-time compensation program; participation; application; form; contents.

An employer wishing to participate in the short-time compensation program shall submit a signed written short-time compensation plan to the commissioner for approval. The commissioner shall develop an application form to request approval of a short-time compensation plan and an approval process. The application shall include: (1) The affected unit or units covered by the plan, including the number of full-time or part-time employees in such unit, the percentage of employees in the affected unit covered by the plan, identification of each individual employee in the affected unit by name, social security number, and the employer's unemployment tax account number, and any other information required by the commissioner to identify plan participants; (2) A description of how employees in the affected unit will be notified of the employer's participation in the short-time compensation plan if such application is approved, including how the employer will notify those employees in a collective-bargaining unit as well as any employees in the affected unit who are not in a collective-bargaining unit. If the employer will not provide advance notice to employees in the affected unit, the employer shall explain in a statement in the application why it is not feasible to provide such notice; (3) A requirement that the employer identify the usual weekly hours of work for employees in the affected unit and the specific percentage by which their hours will be reduced during all weeks covered by the plan. An application shall specify the percentage of reduction for which a short-time compensation plan application may be approved which shall be not less than ten percent and not more than sixty percent. If the plan includes any week for which the employer regularly provides no work due to a holiday or other plant closing, then such week shall be identified in the application; (4)(a) Certification by the employer that, if the employer provides health and retirement benefits to any employee whose usual weekly hours of work are reduced under the program, such benefits will continue to be provided to employees participating in the short-time compensation program under the same terms and conditions as though the usual weekly hours of work of such employee had not been reduced or to the same extent as other employees not participating in the short-time compensation program. (b) For defined benefit retirement plans, the hours that are reduced under the short-time compensation plan shall be credited for purposes of participation, vesting, and accrual of benefits as though the usual weekly hours of work had not been reduced. The dollar amount of employer contributions to a defined contribution plan that are based on a percentage of compensation may be less due to the reduction in the employee's compensation. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (4)(a) and (b) of this section, an application may contain the required certification when a reduction in health and retirement benefits scheduled to occur during the duration of the plan will be applicable equally to employees who are not participating in the short-time compensation program and to those employees who are participating; (5) Certification by the employer that the aggregate reduction in work hours is in lieu of layoffs, temporary or permanent layoffs, or both. The application shall include an estimate of the number of employees who would have been laid off in the absence of the short-time compensation plan; (6) Certification by the employer that the short-time compensation program shall not serve as a subsidy of seasonal employment during the off-season, nor as a subsidy of temporary part-time or intermittent employment; (7) Agreement by the employer to: Furnish reports to the commissioner relating to the proper conduct of the plan; allow the commissioner access to all records necessary to approve or disapprove the plan application and, after approval of a plan, to monitor and evaluate the plan; and follow any other directives the commissioner deems necessary for the agency to implement the plan and which are consistent with the requirements for short-time compensation plan applications; (8) Certification by the employer that participation in the short-time compensation plan and its implementation is consistent with the employer's obligations under applicable federal and state laws; (9) The effective date and duration of the plan that shall expire not later than the end of the twelfth full calendar month after the effective date; (10) Certification by the employer that it has obtained the written approval of any applicable collective-bargaining unit representative and has notified all affected employees who are not in a collective-bargaining unit of the proposed short-time compensation plan; (11) Certification by the employer that it will not hire additional part-time or full-time employees for the affected unit while the short-time compensation plan is in effect; and (12) Any other provision added to the application by the commissioner that the United States Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate for purposes of a short-time compensation program. History: Laws 2014, LB961, § 15.