Can I use WorkShare while having unused vacation time at my job?

I think u have to use ur vacation time first before workshare kicks in. that's what happened at my last job when they cut hours

The person above is incorrect. WorkShare and regular unemployment are different. With WorkShare, you do NOT need to use your vacation time before receiving benefits. The program is specifically designed to help employers reduce hours while allowing employees to receive partial unemployment for those reduced hours. Your vacation time remains separate and you can use it whenever your employer allows. However, if you CHOOSE to use vacation pay to make up for reduced hours in a specific week, then you would need to report that as income for that week, and it would reduce your WorkShare benefit for that week only.

Yes, you can keep your vacation time for December. Your WorkShare benefits compensate for your current reduced hours (the 20% reduction). The vacation time is separate and can be used whenever your employer approves it. Just remember that when you do take vacation days, you'll need to report any vacation pay you receive for days you'd normally be working reduced hours. For example, if you take a week off in December, you'd report that vacation pay for that week, which would likely make you ineligible for WorkShare benefits just for that specific week.

Adding to the correct info above: The key difference is that WorkShare is an employer-initiated program, not regular unemployment. With regular UI, you typically need to use vacation pay first. But WorkShare operates under different rules specifically to help businesses retain employees during temporary reductions. Your employer actually files the initial WorkShare plan with ESD, and they'll submit your weekly claims for you. They should have received training from ESD on how to properly report various types of paid leave. One thing to clarify with your HR: if you take vacation during this period, will they be paying you for your normal full-time hours or just for the reduced hours? This affects how it's reported to ESD.

Has anyone actually been able to REACH someone at ESD to ask these kinds of specific questions?? I've been trying for THREE WEEKS to get someone on the phone about my WorkShare claim and it's IMPOSSIBLE. Either busy signals or the automated system just hangs up after saying 'high call volume.' This system is BROKEN!

Just wanted to add that my company did WorkShare in 2023 and it was actually pretty smooth once it got going. Biggest confusion was the first couple weeks. Make sure your employer is reporting everything correctly - they submit the claims FOR you, which is different from regular unemployment. Also, don't be surprised if the first payment takes 3-4 weeks to arrive. After that it was like clockwork every week for us.

In our case, WorkShare paid about 62% of our lost wages (we had a 25% hour reduction). So if someone normally made $1000/week and was reduced to $750, the $250 loss would get about $155 from WorkShare. Not perfect but WAY better than nothing, and we kept our health insurance. The exact percentage depends on your regular wages since there are minimum and maximum benefit amounts.

Just went through this exact situation 6 months ago! My employer reduced hours by 30% and put us on WorkShare. I had 4 weeks of vacation saved up and was worried I'd lose it all. Good news - you absolutely do NOT need to burn through your vacation time first with WorkShare. That's only a requirement for regular unemployment benefits. One tip though: when you do use vacation time later, make sure your payroll department understands how to report it properly to ESD. My company initially reported my vacation pay wrong during a week I took off in July, which caused a temporary hold on my benefits. Had to get HR and ESD on a three-way call to sort it out. But once they understood the process, everything went smoothly. The WorkShare program is honestly pretty great compared to regular UI - you keep your job, benefits, and can plan your time off normally. Just document everything and keep good records of your hours worked vs. paid vacation days.