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Work Sharing Information for Employers FAQs

For complete information on Work Sharing, visit Work Sharing Program.

The employee must meet the following requirements for Work Sharing:

  • The employee must be regularly employed by an employer whose Work Sharing Plan Application has been approved by the EDD.
  • The employee must be a part of the employer’s permanent regular workforce and not a leased, intermittent, temporary, or seasonal employee.
  • The employee must have qualifying wages in the base quarters used to establish a regular California unemployment insurance claim.
  • The reduction in each participating employee's hours and wages must be at least 10 percent and no more than 60 percent.
  • New employees must work a normal schedule for one week without a reduction in hours before they can participate in Work Sharing.
  • New: Furloughed and laid-off employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic do not have to work one normal work week to participate in Work Sharing.

No. You can only have one Work Sharing plan per California employer account number. However, units at the same or different locations can be included in the Work Sharing plan.

Yes. If you are an employer and need to add an additional location, employees, or work units to an existing Work Sharing plan, complete the Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance Plan Application (DE 8686) online or by mail and select the Expanded Coverage option on the application.

You will need the following information:

  • Business name.
  • Business address.
  • California Employer Account Number.
  • Effective date of your current plan.
  • Effective date of requested expanded coverage.
  • Names of the additional units or locations.
  • Total number of employees in the units.
  • Number of additional employees who will be participating.
  • Employee names and Social Security numbers.
  • Normal and reduced work hours of employees.

Employers are charged for Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance benefits in the same way that they are charged for regular unemployment benefits.

If you no longer need a Work Sharing plan, stop providing the Work Sharing forms to your participating employees until the plan expires. Refer to the notice of Work Sharing plan approval for the expiration date of the approved plan.

You can also request to cancel the plan by submitting a written notice that lists the reasons for cancellation and the requested cancellation date to the Work Sharing Office.

If your plan has expired, complete a new Work Sharing Unemployment Plan Application (DE 8686) online or by mail.

If your plan has not expired, you can restart by submitting Work Sharing forms to your employees online or by mail. 

Subsequent Work Sharing plans will be approved if you continue to meet the requirements of the program. The plan is effective for 12 months and subsequent plans may be approved until your company no longer needs the program.

No, unless employees worked the holiday last year and in the same position, before your company was approved for the Work Sharing program.

A holiday schedule cannot be changed unless the employer provides documentation that the Work Sharing participants worked, or did not work, during the 12-month period before the employer began participating in the Work Sharing Program or there must be at least a one-week break between Work Sharing plans.

Yes, like regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) customers, Work Sharing employees must serve a one-week unpaid waiting period. The waiting period is usually the first eligible week claimed after the UI claim is filed.