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Short Work Week
By Kathy Kruger

Fellow union employees have experienced frequent TLO's these past couple of months. Fortunately, the UAW negotiated a Short Work Week Benefit that helps subsidize a forty-hour workweek, when our members fall short due to temporary layoffs. This benefit only applies during a week when employees actively work some portion of any given week. This benefit does not apply to whole week temporary layoffs where an employee does not work any portion of a week at all. During whole week TLO's, our S.U.B. pay benefit kicks in to supplement your unemployment.

Codes associated with Short Work Week Benefit include: B,H,Q,S,W, or K. This means any TLO'd employee should see one of these codes on your time sheet that is posted in your home department.

The Short Work Week Benefit is very confusing, and must be interpreted case by case. There are some general rules that apply in order to be eligible:

When overtime is properly offered prior to a TLO, and an employee refuses, he/she is ineligible for a portion of this benefit hour for hour:

For example:

On Monday, the employee refused a twelve-hour offer for overtime. Since the employee refused, he/she loses hour for hour the difference between the usual benefit and the hours refused; (Tues. 4 hrs.+Wed. 4 hrs.= 8 hrs. usual benefit; subtract the 4hr refusal, and your net benefit would be 4 hours short work week benefit) 

If overtime has not been properly offered prior to being sent home and then after the fact overtime is properly offered and accepted, only two hours of your benefit can be held against you. Regardless of how many hours are properly offered and accepted.

For example:

Your benefit would be 6 hours because you worked 8 hours of overtime on Saturday, thus, your usual 8-hour benefit for Monday and Wednesday is reduced by 2 hours and the final net benefit would be 6 hours.

When overtime is properly offered after the TLO and an employee refuses this opportunity, your benefit is reduced by two hours against the usual benefit because you refused.

For example;

Monday and Tuesday were regular eight hour days, and of course, Wed. you were sent home. Overtime was then offered Thursday and Friday ten hours each day. You refused the offer. Since the offer was made, two hours can be held against you for your refusal, which means your benefit is two hours. (Usual benefit = 4 - 2 hours refusal = 2 hours short work week benefit.)

The following examples addresses Short Work Week and Sundays. If you work the Sunday prior to a scheduled whole week TLO, you will receive short workweek for the week following that Sunday you worked. If you work the Sunday following a whole week TLO, you will have to draw unemployment, and sub pay for the prior TLO week. That Sunday pay will be on the next scheduled pay period check.

For example:

Since you worked the Sunday prior to a layoff, you will receive Short Work Week for the entire week that you are TLO'd. Keep in mind, that your benefit will be reduced by eight hours for the Sunday hour for hour overtime accepted during a TLO week.

For example:

Since the Sunday after a scheduled whole week TLO has no affect on the Short Work Week Benefit, you would draw unemployment and SUB pay.

Hopefully these examples will give everyone better insight regarding our Short Work Week Benefit. This benefit is so difficult to apply straight across the board because so many variables exist. For exact clarification, of course your union representatives are always available to help.

In Solidarity,
Kathy Kruger