Work Share

Work Share:  What You Need to Know

On May 27, 2020, the RSD Board of Education approved Reynolds School District’s application to the Work Share program through the Oregon Employment Department (OED). Due to the impact of the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, Oregon’s economy has taken a significant hit that will impact State School Funds in the coming school year or longer. To offset projected revenue reductions, the District has explored a number of options to minimize the impact on our students and staff. The Work Share Program and federal CARES Act provide a mechanism to minimize the impact to our classrooms, lessen the shortfall to our budget, and keep more of our employees working while providing them with some economic security during these difficult times. 

The Work Share Program has been in existence for many years in Oregon and has primarily been used by tax-paying entities, not governmental entities. Under this program, an employer may apply for Work Share and partially furlough their employees from 20-40 percent each week if agreed upon through the collective bargaining process, if applicable. Caveats to this program include the employer retaining the affected employees’ benefits including health care and retirement, while reducing or eliminating employee lay-offs or termination.   

Under the federally-funded CARES Act, employees can access Work Share through employer approval and receive an additional $600 each week they are taking partial furloughs equivalent of a minimum of 20 percent and a maximum of 40 percent of their work schedule under Work Share. 

Our agreements with bargaining groups include the following reductions/partial furloughs: 

• REA members:  40% reduction in work hours for the weeks of June 1 and June 8 (2 days per week).  
• OSEA members:  20% reduction in work hours beginning the week of June 1 through July 31 depending on your calendar work year.  
• RAA members (Administrator/Specialist/Confidential):  20% reduction in work hours for the weeks of June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22 (1 day per week).  
• Superintendent and Cabinet-level Members (not included in RAA):  20% reduction in work hours for the weeks of June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22 (1 day per week). 

All eligible RSD staff will participate in the Work Share program. 

Employees who reduce weekly hours by 20% - 40% and participate in the Work Share program, should see no net loss of income; in fact, most eligible employees will see an increase in compensation during eligible weeks. Reducing hours and compensation by 20% - 40% as soon as possible enables eligible employees to take advantage of the federal CARES Act funding (a flat $600/week) that will be added to any state unemployment compensation benefits for the reduction in hours.  

Employees who are ineligible will remain on their regular work hours and compensation and will not participate in the Work Share program. 

NEXT STEPS 

FAQs - Click HERE

Friday, May 29th:  

• All employees should assume they are eligible for the program unless otherwise notified by Human Capital Management.  Please continue to check your email for updates.  Ineligible employees will receive an email regarding ineligibility to participate in the Work Share plan on Friday, May 29th. 
• Begin planning for the new schedule now. Employees should work with their supervisors to determine their work schedule and expectations. 

Monday – Thursday, June 1-June 4: 

• For employees who are eligible, your first Work Share week will begin June 1st. 
• For employees who are ineligible, you will continue to work your regular hours. 
• Complete the Initial Claim Form for the Work Share program.  
  • Forms required for the Work Share program will be due Thursday, June 4, 2020 by 5:00pm. 
  • The Initial Claim Form can be found here: 
    • English 
    • Espanol  
  • INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
  • Initial Claim forms submitted will apply to the first week of the Work Share program for all eligible employees. 
  • The Initial Claim Form must be completed by all eligible employees and submitted to WorkShare_HCM@rsd7.net.
  • If you need assistance completing the form, please email Reynolds_HR@rsd7.net

ELIGIBILITY  

You may have questions about who is eligible or ineligible. State law for the Work Share program determines eligibility. Here are the most common reasons why an employee might be ineligible: 

• You have worked for the district less than 6 months full time and 12 months part time. 
• You are on a leave of absence (or an intermittent leave of absence and you take intermittent leave during a work share week). 
• You are a limited term (LT) employee. LT employees do not meet the eligibility requirements for Work Share. 

We ask for your patience as we implement this program in unique conditions. We are working every day with OED to roll out this program, and we are updating our information and guidance as new information becomes available. 

This plan is an important step for RSD to preserve resources now in order to offset significant budgetary impacts for the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 crisis. Every dollar we save in the 2019-2020 school year will allow us to protect as many staff positions and instructional days as possible in 2020-21 school year.  

If you have questions about the RSD Work Share plan, we invite you to visit our resource and FAQ page by clicking HERE.

Thank you for your continued dedication to the students we serve.