Kasich signs SharedWork Ohio, trades work hour cuts for unemployment benefits

By MICHAEL O’BRIEN

COLUMBUS – After passing the Ohio House and Senate with broad bipartisan support, House Bill 27 was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Kasich.

The SharedWork Ohio Program allows employers to reduce employee work hours in lieu of lay-offs while making employees eligible to unemployment compensation payments to offset lost wages. The bill was declared to be an emergency measure and went into effect immediately after it was signed into law.

According to a summary of the bill published by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the Department of Job and Family Services could implement the SharedWork Ohio Program as soon as the U.S. Department of Labor certified that the program complies with the federal law.

The federal Layoff Prevention Act of 2012 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.

Under continuing law, partial unemployment benefits are payable to an employee who satisfies all of the programs requirements including:

(1) Have worked in covered employment for at least 20 qualifying weeks within the individual's base period

(2) Have had an average weekly wage of 27½% of the statewide average weekly wage within the base period currently, a minimum of $230

(3) Have become unemployed for a reason that is not a disqualifying reason

(4) Be able to, available for, and actively seeking work

(5) Be a United States citizen or legal alien

The Senate version, SB 25 was cosponsored by State Sen. Bob Peterson whose 17^th District includes the western of Vinton County.

“Creating a shared work program in Ohio will give companies such as the Kenworth Trucking Company in Chillicothe an additional tool to retain skilled workers instead of losing them through layoffs, and then having to find and retrain new employees,” Peterson said. “In addition, my proposal is designed to be budget neutral, as any employer who chooses not to participate will retain their option for layoffs.”

The story will be updated with comments from State Sen. Lou Gentile and Rep. Debbie Phillips as soon as they are available.

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Phillips: budget prioritizes millionaires, leaves middle- class families behind

State Rep. Debbie Phillips

COLUMBUS- Assistant House Minority Leader Debbie Phillips (D-Albany) slammed Thursday’s vote in the Ohio House of Representatives approving the state’s two year operating budget bill, Sub. House Bill 59.

Phillips represents the 94th Ohio House District, which includes Athens, Meigs, and parts of Vinton and Washington counties.

According to Phillips, the budget puts millionaires first, while raising taxes on the middle class and continuing to hurt our school and communities. The final budget fails to address Medicaid expansion for hundreds of thousands of working poor throughout Ohio

“This budget sets the wrong priorities for Ohio and demonstrates a profound failure of leadership by both Gov. Kasich and the legislative majority, favoring millionaires at the expense of the middle class,” Phillips said. “It forces government into the most private and difficult decisions a woman can face and provides more funding to the failed charter school and school voucher experiment at the expense of good public schools and innocent children across Ohio.”

Phillips said the budget takes funding cut from local communities two years ago and uses it to pay for a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Ohioans and fails abjectly in a simple, humane and business-backed effort to improve healthcare access.

“Medicaid provides for well-baby check-ups and for basic healthcare for children. It provides care in nursing homes, and in the homes of our seniors and disabled Ohioans through waiver programs,” Phillips said.

Calling on Kasich to help get the Republican signatures, House Democrats pulled a discharge petition before the session in an effort to move Medicaid expansion House Bill 176, directly to the floor for a vote.

Phillips said the expansion would cover 275,000 Ohioans, including 26,000 veterans and control costs by moving healthcare out of emergency rooms and into primary care doctor’s offices.

“Expanding Medicare would help small businesses control their costs and hire more people. The Governor says he wants the expansion and Democrats brought a discharge petition to force a vote on Medicaid. If Gov. Kasich really wants to get this done he should order us into session, and get it done. We should take the vote, not a vacation,” Phillips said.

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