The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet more than $1.2 million for a Short-Time Compensation program.
The $1,253,728 will help prevent worker layoffs by "enabling states to pay partial unemployment benefits when an employer must reduce employee's work hours during economic downturns," according to a Nov. 18 news release.
"The Short-Time Compensation grant awarded to the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet helps give workers economic security while benefiting the business community," Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Brent Parton said in the news release. "Programs like these allows workers to keep their jobs and benefits intact if business slows and employers must cut their hours."
Short-Time Compensation benefits employers by letting them "retain existing employees and avoid the expense of finding, hiring and training new people to fill positions lost in a downturn," Parton added, according to the release.
The grant will help fund Kentucky’s efforts to educate its business community about the new Short-Time Compensation program and how it will benefit workers and employers, according to the news release. The news release referred to Short-Time Compensation as "a unique approach to prevent worker layoffs."
Funding for the grant comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020, which provides up to $100 million the states to implement a new Short-Time Compensation program or improve administration of an existing program.
