Shared Work program 2025: Confusion about hours vs earnings deduction - full payout possible?

I was on Shared Work last year and your boss is completely wrong! ESD absolutely deducts your earnings from your benefit amount. The formula is pretty straightforward - they take 75% of what you earn and subtract it from your weekly benefit. So if your weekly benefit is $400 and you earn $200 that week, they'll deduct $150 (75% of $200) and you'll get $250 in benefits. The Shared Work program is different from regular unemployment because you can work more hours without losing ALL benefits, but it's definitely not a "work half hours, get full payment" situation.

ur boss is prob thinking of the old pandemic rules maybe?? things were diff back then with all those extra programs and stuff. i think theres a specific form for shared work that ur employer fills out, its not the same as regular UI

This is such a common misconception about Shared Work! I had to deal with this exact issue when working with several small businesses who were entering the program last year. Here's the real deal: 1. You MUST report ALL earnings including tips, not just hours worked 2. The deduction is 75% of your gross earnings from your weekly benefit amount 3. The benefit of Shared Work vs. regular UI is that you can work more hours while still keeping SOME benefits 4. Your employer must submit a special Shared Work claim each week showing your reduced hours Your boss is probably confused because Shared Work does allow you to work more hours than regular UI while still getting benefits, but it's absolutely not a "work half hours, get full payment" situation.

The confusion probably comes from the way Shared Work is advertised to employers. ESD tells businesses they can reduce employee hours by 10-50% and employees can receive partial unemployment benefits to replace a portion of their lost wages. But it's still subject to the same earnings deduction formula - report all earnings, they deduct 75% of gross from your benefit. And yes, you ABSOLUTELY must report tips! ESD considers tips as earned income. Not reporting them would be considered fraud and could result in overpayment notices, penalties, or even disqualification.

Has anyone actually been able to reach ESD to get clarification on these rules lately? I've been trying for THREE WEEKS to talk to someone about my Shared Work claim and can't get through. Phone system just hangs up on me every time saying "high call volume" or puts me on hold for 2+ hours then disconnects. It's beyond frustrating!

One more important thing about Shared Work - you MUST still do your job search activities every week unless your employer has specifically been approved for Standby status. A lot of people don't realize this and end up getting disqualified. The rules changed after the pandemic special programs ended.

job search requirements for shared work depend on if ur employer applied for standby or not!! ask ur HR person if the company has standby status for the shared work plan. if yes, ur good. if no, then yeah u need to do 3 job search activities every week. but most employers do get standby approved for shared work

To summarize and clear up any remaining confusion: 1. Shared Work benefits ARE reduced by your earnings (75% deduction formula) 2. You MUST report ALL earnings including tips 3. Job search requirements apply UNLESS your employer has standby status 4. Your employer must submit Shared Work claims showing your reduced hours 5. You still must file your weekly claim in addition to what your employer submits The main advantage of Shared Work over regular UI is that you can work more hours while still getting some benefits, and you maintain your connection to your employer. It's a great program when understood correctly!