To amend section 4141.09 and to enact sections 4141.50 to 4141.56 of the Revised Code to create the SharedWork Ohio Program and to declare an emergency.

Section 1. That section 4141.09 be amended and sections 4141.50, 4141.51, 4141.52, 4141.53, 4141.54, 4141.55, and 4141.56 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4141.09.  (A) There is hereby created an unemployment compensation fund to be administered by the state without liability on the part of the state beyond the amounts paid into the fund and earned by the fund. The unemployment compensation fund shall consist of all contributions, payments in lieu of contributions described in sections 4141.241 and 4141.242 of the Revised Code, reimbursements of the federal share of extended benefits described in section 4141.301 of the Revised Code, collected under sections 4141.01 to 4141.46 4141.56 of the Revised Code, together with all interest earned upon any moneys deposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund established and maintained pursuant to section 904 of the "Social Security Act," any property or securities acquired through the use of moneys belonging to the fund, and all earnings of such property or securities. The unemployment compensation fund shall be used to pay benefits, shared work compensation as defined in section 4141.50 of the Revised Code, and refunds as provided by such sections and for no other purpose.

(B) The treasurer of state shall be the custodian of the unemployment compensation fund and shall administer such fund in accordance with the directions of the director of job and family services. All disbursements therefrom shall be paid by the treasurer of state on warrants drawn by the director. Such warrants may bear the facsimile signature of the director printed thereon and that of a deputy or other employee of the director charged with the duty of keeping the account of the unemployment compensation fund and with the preparation of warrants for the payment of benefits to the persons entitled thereto. Moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts shall not be commingled with other state funds, except as provided in division (C) of this section, but shall be maintained in separate accounts on the books of the depositary bank. Such money shall be secured by the depositary bank to the same extent and in the same manner as required by sections 135.01 to 135.21 of the Revised Code; and collateral pledged for this purpose shall be kept separate and distinct from any collateral pledged to secure other funds of this state. All sums recovered for losses sustained by the unemployment compensation fund shall be deposited therein. The treasurer of state shall be liable on the treasurer's official bond for the faithful performance of the treasurer's duties in connection with the unemployment compensation fund, such liability to exist in addition to any liability upon any separate bond.

(C) The treasurer of state shall maintain within the unemployment compensation fund three separate accounts which shall be a clearing account, a trust fund account, and a benefit account. All moneys payable to the unemployment compensation fund, upon receipt by the director, shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state, who shall immediately deposit them in the clearing account. Refunds of contributions, or payments in lieu of contributions, payable pursuant to division (E) of this section may be paid from the clearing account upon warrants signed by a deputy or other employee of the director charged with the duty of keeping the record of the clearing account and with the preparation of warrants for the payment of refunds to persons entitled thereto. After clearance thereof, all moneys in the clearing account shall be deposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund established and maintained pursuant to section 904 of the "Social Security Act," in accordance with requirements of the "Federal Unemployment Tax Act," 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301, 3304(a)(3), any law in this state relating to the deposit, administration, release, or disbursement of moneys in the possession or custody of this state to the contrary notwithstanding. The benefit account shall consist of all moneys requisitioned from this state's account in the unemployment trust fund. Federal funds may be deposited, at the director's discretion, into the benefit account. Any funds deposited into the benefit account shall be disbursed solely for payment of benefits under a federal program administered by this state and for no other purpose. Moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts may be deposited by the treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, in any bank or public depositary in which general funds of the state may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or premium shall be paid out of the fund.

(D) Moneys shall be requisitioned from this state's account in the unemployment trust fund solely for the payment of benefits and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the director. The director shall requisition from the unemployment trust fund such amounts, not exceeding the amount standing to this state's account therein, as are deemed necessary for the payment of benefits for a reasonable future period. Upon receipt thereof, the treasurer of state shall deposit such moneys in the benefit account. Expenditures of such money in the benefit account and refunds from the clearing account shall not require specific appropriations or other formal release by state officers of money in their custody. Any balance of moneys requisitioned from the unemployment trust fund which remains unclaimed or unpaid in the benefit account after the expiration of the period for which such sums were requisitioned shall either be deducted from estimates for and may be utilized for the payment of benefits during succeeding periods, or, in the discretion of the director, shall be redeposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of this state's account in the unemployment trust fund, as provided in division (C) of this section. Unclaimed or unpaid federal funds redeposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States shall be credited to the appropriate federal account.

(E) No claim for an adjustment or a refund on contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture alleged to have been erroneously or illegally assessed or collected, or alleged to have been collected without authority, and no claim for an adjustment or a refund of any sum alleged to have been excessive or in any manner wrongfully collected shall be allowed unless an application, in writing, therefor is made within four years from the date on which such payment was made. If the director determines that such contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture, or any portion thereof, was erroneously collected, the director shall allow such employer to make an adjustment thereof without interest in connection with subsequent contribution payments, or payments in lieu of contributions, by the employer, or the director may refund said amount, without interest, from the clearing account of the unemployment compensation fund, except as provided in division (B) of section 4141.11 of the Revised Code. For like cause and within the same period, adjustment or refund may be so made on the director's own initiative. An overpayment of contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture for which an employer has not made application for refund prior to the date of sale of the employer's business shall accrue to the employer's successor in interest.

An application for an adjustment or a refund, or any portion thereof, that is rejected is binding upon the employer unless, within thirty days after the mailing of a written notice of rejection to the employer's last known address, or, in the absence of mailing of such notice, within thirty days after the delivery of such notice, the employer files an application for a review and redetermination setting forth the reasons therefor. The director shall promptly examine the application for review and redetermination, and if a review is granted, the employer shall be promptly notified thereof, and shall be granted an opportunity for a prompt hearing.

(F) If the director finds that contributions have been paid to the director in error, and that such contributions should have been paid to a department of another state or of the United States charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law, the director may upon request by such department or upon the director's own initiative transfer to such department the amount of such contributions, less any benefits paid to claimants whose wages were the basis for such contributions. The director may request and receive from such department any contributions or adjusted contributions paid in error to such department which should have been paid to the director.

(G) In accordance with section 303(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, and section 3304(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 for continuing certification of Ohio unemployment compensation laws for administrative grants and for tax credits, any interest required to be paid on advances under Title XII of the Social Security Act shall be paid in a timely manner and shall not be paid, directly or indirectly, by an equivalent reduction in the Ohio unemployment taxes or otherwise, by the state from amounts in the unemployment compensation fund.

(H) The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director and in accordance with the "Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 1061, 31 U.S.C.A. 335, 6503, shall deposit amounts of interest earned by the state on funds in the benefit account established pursuant to division (C) of this section into the department of job and family services banking fees fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury for the purpose of paying related banking costs incurred by the state for the period for which the interest is calculated, except that if the deposited interest exceeds the banking costs incurred by the state for the period for which the interest is calculated, the treasurer of state shall deposit the excess interest into the unemployment trust fund.

(I) The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, shall deposit federal funds received by the director for training and administration and for payment of benefits, job search, relocation, transportation, and subsistence allowances pursuant to the "Trade Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 1978, 19 U.S.C.A. 2101, as amended; the "North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act," 107 Stat. 2057 (1993), 19 U.S.C.A. 3301, as amended; and the "Trade Act of 2002," 116 Stat. 993, 19 U.S.C.A. 3801, as amended, into the Trade Act training and administration account, which is hereby created for the purpose of making payments specified under those acts. The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, may transfer funds from the Trade Act training and administration account to the benefit account for the purpose of making any payments directly to claimants for benefits, job search, relocation, transportation, and subsistence allowances, as specified by those acts.

Sec. 4141.50.  (A) As used in this section and in sections 4141.51 to 4141.56 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Affected unit" means a department, shift, or other organizational unit of two or more employees that is designated by a participating employer in a shared work plan.

(2) "Approved shared work plan" means an employer's shared work plan, submitted pursuant to section 4141.51 of the Revised Code, that satisfies all of the requirements for approval under that section and that the director of job and family services has approved in writing.

(3) "Intermittent basis" means employment that is not continuous but may consist of periodic intervals of weekly work and intervals of no weekly work.

(4) "Normal weekly hours of work" means the normal hours of work each week for an employee in an affected unit when that unit is operating on a full-time basis, not to exceed forty hours and not including any overtime worked.

(5) "Participating employee" means an employee whose normal weekly hours of work are reduced by the reduction percentage under an approved shared work plan.

(6) "Participating employer" means an employer who has an approved shared work plan in effect.

(7) "Reduction percentage" means the percentage by which each participating employee's normal weekly hours of work are reduced under an approved shared work plan.

(8) "Seasonal basis" has the same meaning as "seasonal employment" as defined in division (A) of section 4141.33 of the Revised Code.

(9) "Shared work compensation" means the pro rata share of unemployment compensation benefits payable to a participating employee under an approved shared work plan. "Shared work compensation" does not include unemployment compensation benefits otherwise payable to an eligible claimant who is totally or partially unemployed.

(10) "Temporary basis" means employment where an employee is expected to remain in a position for only a limited period of time or is hired by a temporary agency to fill a gap in the employer's workforce.

(B) There is hereby created the "SharedWork Ohio" program, under which an employer who participates in the program reduces the number of hours worked by the employees of the employer in lieu of layoffs.

The director may adopt rules as the director determines necessary to implement any guidance issued by the United States secretary of labor with respect to the SharedWork Ohio program.

Sec. 4141.51.  (A) An employer who wishes to participate in the SharedWork Ohio program shall submit a plan to the director of job and family services in which the employer does all of the following:

(1) Identifies the participating employees by name, social security number, affected unit, and normal weekly hours of work;

(2) Describes the manner in which the employer will implement the requirements of the SharedWork Ohio program, including the proposed reduction percentage, which shall be between ten per cent and fifty per cent, and any temporary closure of the participating employer's business for equipment maintenance or other similar circumstances that the employer knows may occur during the effective period of an approved plan;

(3) Includes a plan for giving advance notice, if feasible, to an employee whose normal weekly hours of work are to be reduced and, if advance notice is not feasible, an explanation of why that notice is not feasible;

(4) Includes a certification by the employer that the aggregate reduction in the number of hours worked by the employees of the employer is in lieu of layoffs and includes an estimate of the number of layoffs that would have occurred absent the ability to participate in the SharedWork Ohio program;

(5) Includes a certification by the employer that if the employer provides health benefits and retirement benefits under a defined benefit plan, as defined in 26 U.S.C. 414(j), as amended, or contributions under a defined contribution plan as defined in 26 U.S.C. 414(i), as amended, to any employee whose normal weekly hours of work are reduced under the program that such benefits will continue to be provided to an employee participating in the SharedWork Ohio program under the same terms and conditions as though the normal weekly hours of work of the employee had not been reduced or to the same extent as other employees not participating in the program;

(6) Permits eligible employees to participate, as appropriate, in training to enhance job skills approved by the director, including employer-sponsored training or worker training funded under the federal "Workforce Investment Act of 1998," 112 Stat. 936, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq., as amended;

(7) Includes any other information as required by the United States secretary of labor or the director under the rules the director adopts under section 4141.50 of the Revised Code;

(8) Includes an attestation by the employer that the terms of the written plan submitted by the employer and implementation of that plan are consistent with obligations of the employer under the applicable federal and state laws;

(9) Includes a certification by the employer that the employer will promptly notify the director of any change in the business that includes the sale or transfer of all or part of the business, and that the employer will notify any successor in interest to the employer's business prior to the transfer of all or part of the business, of the existence of any approved shared work plan;

(10) Includes a certification by the employer that, as of the date the employer submits the plan, the employer is current on all reports and has paid all contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties due under this chapter;

(11) Includes an assurance from the employer that the employer will remain current on all employer reporting and payments of contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties as required by this chapter;

(12) Includes a certification by the employer that none of the participating employees are employed on a seasonal, temporary, or intermittent basis;

(13) Includes an assurance from the employer that the employer will not reduce a participating employee's normal weekly hours of work by more than the reduction percentage, except in the event of a temporary closure of the employer's business for equipment maintenance, or when the employee receives remuneration from the employer equal to the remuneration the employee would have received if the employee had worked the number of hours assigned under the plan.

(B) The director shall approve a shared work plan if an employer includes in the plan all of the information, certifications, and assurances required under division (A) of this section.

(C) The director shall approve or deny a shared work plan and shall send a written notice to the employer stating whether the director approved or denied the plan not later than thirty days after the director receives the plan. If the director denies approval of a shared work plan, the director shall state the reasons for denying approval in the written notice sent to the employer.

(D) The director shall enforce the requirements of the SharedWork Ohio program in the same manner as the director enforces the requirements of this chapter, including under section 4141.40 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4141.52.  (A) A shared work plan approved under section 4141.51 of the Revised Code takes effect with respect to the week following the date the director of job and family services approves the plan. An approved shared work plan expires at the end of the fifty-second calendar week after approval of the plan.

(B) A participating employer who wishes to modify an existing approved shared work plan shall submit the modified plan to the director. The director shall evaluate the modified plan and may approve the plan if the plan meets the requirements for approval under section 4141.51 of the Revised Code. If approved, a modified plan supersedes the previously approved shared work plan, effective beginning with the week following the date the director approves the modified plan. The director shall not approve a modified plan that fails to satisfy the requirements for approval under section 4141.51 of the Revised Code.

(C) The director may terminate an approved shared work plan for good cause. For purposes of this section, good cause includes any of the following circumstances:

(1) The approved shared work plan is not being executed according to the terms and conditions stated in the plan.

(2) The participating employer fails to comply with any assurances given in the participating employer's approved shared work plan.

(3) The participating employer, or a participating employee of the participating employer, violates any criteria on which approval of the shared work plan was based.

(D) A participating employer may elect to terminate an approved shared work plan by providing written notice to the director. The director shall terminate the plan upon receipt of the notice and shall inform the employer and each participating employee of the employer in writing of the week with respect to which the termination is effective.

(E) A decision by the director to approve or disapprove a proposed shared work plan, to approve or disapprove a proposed modified shared work plan, or to terminate an approved shared work plan, may not be appealed pursuant to this chapter.

(F) Nothing in division (E) of this section shall be construed to prevent an employer who has submitted a shared work plan that was disapproved from submitting another shared work plan in accordance with section 4141.51 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4141.53. (A) An individual is eligible to receive shared work compensation for a week in which the individual satisfies all of the following:

(1) The individual is employed by a participating employer and is subject to a shared work plan that was approved before that week and is in effect for that week.

(2) The individual is available for work and is actively seeking work by being available for the individual's normal weekly hours of work.

(3) The individual's normal weekly hours of work with the participating employer have been reduced by at least ten per cent but not more than fifty per cent.

(4) The individual has been employed by an employer or employers subject to this chapter in at least twenty qualifying weeks within the individual's base period and has earned or been paid remuneration at an average weekly wage of not less than twenty-seven and one-half per cent of the statewide average weekly wage for those weeks.

(5) The individual has been subject to a shared work plan for at least one week prior to the week for which the compensation is to be paid, or otherwise satisfies the waiting period requirement of division (B) of section 4141.29 of the Revised Code for the individual's benefit year.

(6) The individual otherwise satisfies the requirements of this chapter and is not otherwise disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits.

(B) For purposes of division (A)(2) of this section, an individual is available for the individual's normal weekly hours of work with the participating employer if the individual does any of the following:

(1) Works the number of weekly hours assigned to the individual under an approved shared work plan;

(2) Works fewer hours than the number of weekly hours assigned to the individual under an approved shared work plan and receives remuneration from the participating employer equal to the remuneration the individual would have received if the individual had worked the number of hours assigned under the plan;

(3) Works fewer hours than the number of weekly hours assigned to the individual under an approved shared work plan and receives less remuneration than the individual would have received if the individual had worked the number of hours assigned under the plan if the reduction in hours was not the fault of the individual and was not more than fifty per cent of the employee's normal weekly hours of work.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, the director shall pay a participating employee who is eligible for weekly shared work compensation in an amount equal to the participating employee's weekly benefit amount as described in division (B) of section 4141.30 of the Revised Code for a period of total unemployment, multiplied by the reduction percentage specified in the approved shared work plan applicable to the participating employee.

(2) The director shall pay a participating employee who is eligible for weekly shared work compensation in an amount equal to the participating employee's weekly benefit amount as described in division (B) of section 4141.30 of the Revised Code for a period of total unemployment, multiplied by the percentage by which the participating employee's normal weekly hours of work were actually reduced during the workweek, if all of the following apply:

(a) The participating employee worked fewer hours in a week than the number of hours assigned to the employee in an approved shared work plan.

(b) The participating employee did not receive remuneration equal to the remuneration the employee would have received if the employee had worked the number of hours assigned to the employee in the approved shared work plan.

(c) The reduction in the participating employee's hours was not greater than fifty per cent of the employee's normal weekly hours of work.

(d) The reduction in the participating employee's hours below the number of hours assigned to the employee in the approved shared work plan was not the fault of the employee.

(3) The director shall determine fault for purposes of divisions (B)(3) and (C)(2) of this section in the same manner that the director makes determinations for benefit rights and determines claims for unemployment compensation benefits under sections 4141.28 and 4141.281 of the Revised Code.

(4) The director shall round the amount of a shared work compensation payment that is not a multiple of one dollar to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

(5) No shared work compensation shall be payable during the one-week period described in division (A)(5) of this section.

(D) A participating employee is not entitled to receive shared work compensation and unemployment compensation benefits that, when combined, exceed the maximum total benefits payable to the participating employee in a benefit year under section 4141.30 of the Revised Code. No participating employee shall be paid shared work compensation during the employee's benefit year in an amount that exceeds twenty-six times the amount of the employee's weekly benefit amount for a period of total unemployment under section 4141.30 of the Revised Code.

(E) An individual who has received all of the shared work compensation and unemployment compensation benefits available in a benefit year is an individual who has exhausted regular benefits under section 4141.30 of the Revised Code and is entitled to receive extended benefits under section 4141.301 of the Revised Code if the individual is otherwise eligible to receive benefits under that section.

(F) The director shall not pay shared work compensation to an individual for a week during which the individual performs paid work for the individual's participating employer that exceeds the reduced hours established under an approved shared work plan that covers the individual.

(G)(1) Except as provided in divisions (G)(3) and (4) of this section, a participating employee is not eligible to receive benefits for being partially unemployed for any week during which the individual works as a participating employee.

(2) If in any week a participating employee performs services for a participating employer and an employer other than the participating employer, the weekly shared work compensation amount payable to that employee shall be reduced by the amount by which the remuneration received from the other employer exceeds twenty per cent of the participating employee's weekly benefit amount, as calculated under division (B) of section 4141.30 of the Revised Code, for a period of total unemployment.

(3) A participating employee who performs no services during a week for the participating employer and who is otherwise eligible may be paid benefits for being totally or partially unemployed for that week.

(4) A participating employee whose normal weekly hours of work are reduced by more than fifty per cent and who is otherwise eligible may be paid benefits for partial unemployment for that week.

(H) Any payment of total or partial unemployment compensation benefits under this section is not a payment of shared work compensation under an approved plan but shall be calculated against the maximum total benefits payable to the participating employee in a benefit year under section 4141.30 of the Revised Code.

(I) If in any week a participating employee reports the receipt of any type of payment listed in division (A) of section 4141.31 of the Revised Code, the weekly shared work compensation amount payable to that employee shall be reduced by the amount of those payments received for that week.

(J) For purposes of this section and unless another benefit year applies to the individual, notwithstanding division (R)(1) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, a participating employee's "benefit year" is the fifty-two week period beginning with the first day of that week with respect to which the employee's participating employer first files a claim on behalf of the participating employee pursuant to division (B) of section 4141.54 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4141.54. (A) Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, a participating employee who satisfies the availability requirement of division (A)(2) of section 4141.53 of the Revised Code shall not be required to be totally or partially unemployed within the meaning of division (M) or (N) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, shall not be required to file a claim for unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to section 4141.28 of the Revised Code, and shall not be required to meet ability to work, availability for work, and work search requirements that would otherwise be applicable to the participating employee, to receive shared work compensation under the SharedWork Ohio program.

(B) The director of job and family services shall establish a schedule of consecutive two-week periods within the effective period of each approved shared work plan for the filing of shared work compensation claims. At the end of each scheduled period, the participating employer shall file claims on behalf of the participating employer's participating employees. A participating employee shall attest to the hours reported and provide additional information as is requested by the director. A participating employer shall file claims and a participating employee shall attest to hours worked according to the procedures prescribed in rules adopted by the director.

Sec. 4141.55.  (A) If the state is eligible for and receives reimbursement for shared work compensation paid under the SharedWork Ohio program from the federal government pursuant to the federal "Layoff Prevention Act of 2012," Pub. L. No. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156, notwithstanding section 4141.24 of the Revised Code and if permitted under that act, during the time period in which the state is reimbursed the account of an employer shall not be charged for any shared work compensation paid to a participating employer's participating employees. Beginning with the week for which the federal government no longer provides reimbursement, or if the state does not receive reimbursement or the federal government requires an employer's account to be charged, a participating employer's account shall be charged for shared work compensation in accordance with division (B) of this section.

(B) Except as provided in division (A) of this section, any shared work compensation paid to an individual under section 4141.53 of the Revised Code shall be charged in accordance with division (D) of section 4141.24 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4141.56.  Beginning one year after the effective date of this section, and every year thereafter, the director of job and family services shall prepare and submit a report to the unemployment compensation advisory council that discusses the utilization of the SharedWork Ohio program created under section 4141.50 of the Revised Code. The director shall include in that report the number of employers and employees participating in the program, the amount of shared work compensation paid under the program during the immediately preceding year, and any other information the director considers to be relevant.

Section 2.  That existing section 4141.09 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. The Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council shall prepare and submit a report evaluating the utilization and effectiveness of the SharedWork Ohio Program created under section 4141.50 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, and the impact of the Program on the Unemployment Compensation Fund created in section 4141.09 of the Revised Code. The Council shall base the report upon the information the Council receives from the Director of Job and Family Services under section 4141.56 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act. The Council shall submit the report to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives not later than three years after the effective date of this act.

Section 4.  The federal "Layoff Prevention Act of 2012," Pub. L. No. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156, permits a state to receive federal funding to create a program under which an employer reduces the hours worked by the employer's employees in lieu of laying off those employees. This act creates the "SharedWork Ohio" program, a program that permits an employer to reduce hours worked by the employer's employees in lieu of laying off those employees and permits those employees to receive a proportionate share of unemployment compensation benefits. The Director of Job and Family Services shall implement "SharedWork Ohio" in accordance with sections 4141.50 to 4141.56 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act. The Department may implement the program as soon as the United States Department of Labor has certified that the "SharedWork Ohio" program complies with the federal law.

Section 5. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is so that employers can continue to employ Ohioans who would otherwise be victims of total job displacement. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.