WORKPLACE LAW - Job Sharing
Question:
My company is thinking about offering job sharing as a work option for some mid-level and high-level executives. What are the legal issues involved in job sharing? If we implement a job-sharing program, what are some of the things we should consider?
Answer:
Many employers are recognizing the value of work/life balance and flexible working opportunities. After compensation, flexible working opportunities are the most important contributors to work satisfaction, according to a “new career paradigm” study by the American Business Collaboration. Generally, employees that have work flexibility have greater effectiveness in productivity at work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2010 the United States will face a potential labor shortage of more than ten million skilled workers. Employers are looking at flexible work options as a way to retain and attract skilled workers and avoid labor shortages.
One type of flexible work arrangement is job-sharing. This arrangement normally involves two employees sharing one job. One of the legal issues that you should consider in implementing a job-sharing program is whether the employees who are job-sharing are exempt from wage and hour laws, or non-exempt. In other words, are the employees entitled to overtime pay or are they exempt administrators, professionals, or executives? If the employees who are sharing a job are exempt, each employee must be paid the minimum salary requirement to retain the exemption. The minimum salary is two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment, currently $31,200.
Another legal issue that you must consider is the effect of job-sharing on employee benefits. While some employers do not offer health insurance benefits to part-time employees, including job-sharing employees, others do. This may result in an increased cost to your company because you will be paying benefits to two workers who are sharing one job. However, your company may save money in the long run if job-sharing helps retain or attract valued workers. Also, many employers find that job-sharing employees have fewer absences and work more productively when they are in the office. Vacation time, paid sick leave, and 401K programs are traditionally based on the number of hours worked, and therefore in a job share situation the total cost is the same as if the company is employing one person.
Work flexibility issues are also being examined in the employment discrimination context. In April 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission met to consider whether to develop legal guidance on work/family balance in the context of federal antidiscrimination laws. The EEOC examined barriers to career advancement of women that sometimes arise when women have children or care for aging parents or other family members. The EEOC also discussed pregnancy discrimination, care-giving issues facing women of color, demographic data and research, and recent discrimination charges related to work/life balance issues.
In fashioning a job sharing policy, or considering guidelines for implementing a job sharing program, consider the following:
- Define the purpose the job sharing program.
- Define the scope of job sharing. What are the hours for each employee? Are other options available other than a 50/50 split? Is the job sharing program for a specific time frame, or indefinite? Will it be available in every department?
- Who is eligible to work a job-sharing schedule? Clarify that job sharing is not a benefit or entitlement, but may be implemented at the discretion of the employer.
- Design a procedure for requesting job sharing.
- Define scheduling options for job sharing employees.
- Describe compensation and benefits for job sharing employees.
- Consider how a job-sharing schedule will be terminated.
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