Virginia Enacts Work-Sharing Program

On April 22, 2020, the Virginia General Assembly adopted Governor Ralph Northam's proposed amendment to a bill that will re-establish a work-sharing program in Virginia.¹ The amended work-share bill received broad bi-partisan support in both chambers of the legislature. As a result, on January 1, 2021, Virginia will join a group of more than 20 states that offer work-sharing programs, which provide prorated unemployment benefits to workers whose employers reduce their hours in an effort to avoid layoffs.

What is a Work-Sharing Program?

In general, work-sharing programs allow employers that may be experiencing a slowdown in business to save jobs by reducing the number of hours their employees work instead of laying off a portion of those employees. In exchange, employees whose hours have been reduced can recover prorated unemployment benefits tied to the amount of their reduced hours. This is typically true even if the employees' income remains above the maximum