What's happening
This bill allows employees to petition their employer to join a shared work program to avoid layoffs or rehire former employees, and prohibits retaliation for doing so.
Why it matters
Empowers employees to take collective action. By allowing a majority of employees to formally petition their employer to join a shared work program, this bill gives workers a direct role in seeking alternatives to layoffs, rather than leaving such decisions solely to management.
Facilitates job preservation and re-hiring. The option to request participation in a shared work program can help keep more employees on the payroll during downturns and may provide a structured pathway for recently laid-off workers to be rehired, reducing both unemployment and disruption.
Mandates employer accountability and transparency. Employers are required to respond in writing within seven days to any such petition, including a clear explanation for their decision—ensuring that employee concerns are acknowledged and that management decisions are documented.
Strengthens worker protections. The bill explicitly prohibits any form of retaliation, discrimination, or adverse action against employees for seeking to utilize this process, safeguarding worker rights and encouraging open dialogue around workforce reductions.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Workers Request Shared Work
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to rules
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
9024
IN SENATE
October 5, 2020
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to authorizing employees to petition an employer to apply to participate in a shared work program for purposes of avoiding a layoff or for purposes of re-hiring
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 605-a to read as follows:
§ 605-a. Shared work program. 1. Any group of employees comprising a majority of all employees may, within ten days after any layoff or, if there is a good faith expectation of a layoff occurring within thirty days, prior to such expected layoff, petition in writing the employer of such group of employees to apply to participate in a shared work program for purposes of avoiding such layoff or for purposes of re-hiring any former employee or employees of the employer. Such employer shall, no later than seven days after such petition has been made, respond in writing to such group of employees. Such response shall state the decision of the employer to apply or not to apply to participate in a shared work program, and the reason for deciding to apply or not to apply to participate in a shared work program.
2. No employer or their agent, or person acting as or on behalf of a hiring entity, or the officer or agent of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company, shall discriminate, retaliate against, or take adverse action against any employee for exercising the rights afforded to them under this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16801-01-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to authorizing employees to petition an employer to apply to participate in a shared work program for purposes of avoiding a layoff or for purposes of re-hiring
Purpose or general idea of bill
To provide employees with a right to petition their employer to consider a shared work program in lieu of layoffs, or for purposes of re-hiring laid off employees.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 provides that a majority of the employees of an employer may petition an employer, in writing, within ten days after a layoff, or in advance of a layoff if there is a good faith expectation of a layoff, to implement a shared work program for purposes of avoiding such layoff or to enable re-hiring of laid off workers. The employer would have to respond in writing within seven days. In no event would an employer be permitted to discriminate, retaliate, or take other adverse action against any employee for exercising this petitioning right.
Section 2 provides the effective date.
Justification
Shared work programs allow employers to reduce employee hours across the board in order to avoid layoffs. The state then makes up the loss of wages resulting from those reduced working hours through unemployment insurance assistance. However, unlike other countries, particularly in Europe, where shared work has been implemented widely to avoid job loss- es, the United States, despite having shared work programs available, has not seen significant uptake.
This bill encourages broader use of shared work programs by granting employees a right to petition their employer to implement a shared work program in order to avoid layoffs, or to re-hire laid off workers, thus creating another avenue by which employers may be made aware of the option and encouraging its use. While the employer would have to respond in writing to such a petition, there would be no obligation to implement a shared work program. Furthermore, because the bill would bar any retaliatory action for petitioning, workers would be protected against retaliation when bringing the program to their employer's attention.
This bill is particularly salient in the time of state-imposed COVID-l9 restrictions, continued concerns about infection, and other consider- ations that limit the ability of many businesses to re-open at full strength. Rather than these businesses only re-hiring a portion of their workforce, shared work programs would allow a business to re-hire the entire slate of pre-closure workers (or a larger portion than they otherwise would) at reduced hours. This would result in more workers being re-employed and reduced unemployment insurance benefit costs, and businesses would have the benefit of maintaining existing relationships with more workers, so that when they eventually open back up at full
capacity, they can avoid the transaction costs of having to make and train new hires.
The United States Department of Labor recently issued guidance making clear that shared work programs can be used for purposes of re-opening the economy through the re-hiring of laid off workers, and suggests that such use would be beneficial to both businesses and workers.
This bill provides one more tool for workers to help themselves get back to work and to help their employers renew the integrity of pre-closure operations and avoid future layoffs.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.