The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Shared Work Program allows a company to reduce employee’s hours as opposed to laying off employees. The employees’ hours must be reduced not less than 10% and nor more than 40%, and a company can have different reductions for different employees or departments, although the plan must apply to at least 10% of the employees in the particular unit that is affected by the plan. Because the shared work plan is an alternative to laying off employees, a company must provide the TWC with an estimate of the number of employees who would be laid off, if the company had not adopted the program. The company must continue to provide the same employee benefits to employees as it was providing before the reduction in hours (although it’s not clear what happens if the reduction in hours causes the employees to fall below the “full time” requirement of a group health insurance policy). Many insurers are waiving that requirement in the current crisis.
The Shared Work Program User Guide is available here.
