Survey of Iowa Employers about the Voluntary Shared Work Program
[Survey will be administered online; CATI survey will be used for follow-up]
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to this collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Your obligation to reply to this survey is voluntary. The public burden for this survey is estimated to be 12 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the necessary data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments concerning this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Room XXXX, 200 Constitution Ave., Washington, DC.
Introduction
Who is conducting the survey?
This survey is being conducted by Westat on behalf of the Iowa Workforce Development agency and the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget approved this research (OMB Control No. XXX, expiration date of XXX).
What is the purpose of the survey?
The purpose of this survey is to gather information to provide a better understanding of Iowa employers’ familiarity with Iowa’s Voluntary Shared Work (VSW) program, their views about the program, and their experiences. The VSW program is an unemployment insurance program that provides employers and their workers with an alternative to layoffs by reducing employees’ hours and partially replacing lost earnings with Unemployment Insurance. You might also know of it as “work sharing” or “short-time compensation.”
Participation and privacy
Your participation in the study is important to provide an accurate estimate of how familiar Iowa employers are with the program and to reflect their views about the program. We estimate that the survey will take about 12 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and will not affect your firm’s current or future unemployment insurance tax rate or eligibility for any public-funded program. Survey responses will be analyzed together with state unemployment insurance administrative information to get a fuller understanding of employer’s experiences and perspectives. Your answers will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. You and your business will never be identified in any report based on the survey.
Who to call if you have questions about the survey
[Westat contact information here]
SECTION A—Awareness of VSW
1. Have you heard of Iowa’s Voluntary Shared Work program available through Iowa Workforce Development? This program is sometimes known as “shared work,” “work sharing” or “short-time compensation.”
Yes, have heard of it 1 GO TO QUESTION 2
No 2 GO TO EXIT
2. When did you first learn about the Voluntary Shared Work program? If you can’t remember exactly, your best estimate is acceptable.
The letter for this survey is the first I heard of it
After September 2015 but before the letter for the survey
Between September 2014 and September 2015
Before September 2014
3. How did you hear about the Voluntary Shared Work program? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)
From one or more of our employees 01
From organized labor 02
From another employer 03
Through a trade association 04
From advertisement or public service announcements 05
By email from Iowa Workforce Development 06
By mail from Iowa Workforce Development 07
On the Iowa Workforce Development website 08
From an Iowa Workforce Development business representative 09
From an Iowa Workforce Development Unemployment Insurance Services staff person 10
From an Iowa Workforce Development Rapid Response Team 11
From the U.S. Department of Labor . 12
Don’t remember 13
Other 14
Please specify
GO TO QUESTION 4
Exit for Employers not Aware of Voluntary Shared Work Program
THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY. PLEASE TELL US WHO YOU ARE:
Name of person completing the survey: __________________________________
Name of company: __________________________________________________
Voluntary Shared Work is a program in Iowa that offers employers an alternative to layoff during declines in regular business activity. Under Voluntary Share Work, work reductions are shared by reducing employees’ work hours, and Unemployment Insurance partially replaces lost earnings. By avoiding layoffs, employees stay connected to their jobs and employers maintain their skilled workforce for when business improves.
You can obtain more information about Voluntary Shared Work by visiting the Iowa Workforce Development website at www.iowaworkforce.org/vsw4
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO EXIT THE SURVEY.
SECTION B—Ever Contact Iowa Workforce Development about VSW
4. Did your business ever contact Iowa Workforce Development about establishing a Voluntary Shared Work Plan in Iowa?
Yes 1 GO TO QUESTION 5
No 2 GO TO SECTION D
5. In what year did your business first contact Iowa Workforce Development about establishing a Voluntary Shared Work Plan in Iowa?
__ __ __ __ (YYYY)
6. Did your business submit a Voluntary Shared Work application to Iowa Workforce Development?
Yes 1 GO TO QUESTION 7
No 2 GO TO QUESTION 9
7. How important were the following reasons to your business’ decision to apply to establish a Voluntary Shared Work plan? (CHECK IMPORTANCE FOR EACH STATED REASON)
Reason |
Very important |
Somewhat important |
Not important |
Business survival in temporary downturn |
|
|
|
Maintain employee morale |
|
|
|
Meet needs of employees |
|
|
|
Retain valued workers |
|
|
|
Retain skilled workers |
|
|
|
Lower UI tax burden compared to layoffs |
|
|
|
Other (please specify)___________________ _____________________________________
|
|
|
|
8. Was your firm’s interest in Voluntary Shared Work affected by the government program that provided temporary not charging of most VSW benefits to your firm’s UI tax account during the latter part of 2013 and early part of 2014?
Not aware of the program for the temporary not charging of benefits
Not available at time of our use of Voluntary Shared Work
Interest in VSW was not affected by not charging
Not charging was a factor, but not the main factor
Not charging was the main reason for interest
GO TO SECTION C
9. What were the reasons why your business did not apply to establish a Voluntary
Shared Work plan? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)
Have not had a need to reduce workforce levels 1
Needed to reduce hours by more than 50 percent 2
Paperwork requirements too burdensome 3
Requirement to maintain employee benefits 4
Potential impact on our UI tax rate 5
Requirement to obtain employees’ agreement 6
Requirement to obtain union(s) agreement 7
Delinquent on UI taxes 8
Did not have enough employees to qualify 9
Other 10
Please specify
GO TO SECTION D
SECTION C—VSW Plan Approval
10. Has your business ever had a Voluntary Shared Work Plan approved in Iowa?
Yes 1 GO TO QUESTION 12
No 2 GO TO QUESTION 11
11. Why was your Voluntary Shared Work Plan not approved in Iowa?
Owed UI taxes to Iowa 1
VSW not available for seasonal work reductions 2
Unable to certify reduction of hours was in lieu of layoffs 3
Could not provide estimate of number of layoffs that would occur without VSW 4
Affected employees’ collective bargaining representative did not provide written approval 5
Other 6
Please specify
GO TO SECTION D
12. When did your business first have a Voluntary Shared Work Plan approved?
__ __ __ __ __ __ (MMYYYY)
13. How many employees were included in your most recent Voluntary Shared Work Plan at the time when it was first approved?
__ __ , __ __ __ employees
14. Has your business used the approved Voluntary Shared Work Plan yet?
Yes 1 GO TO QUESTION 15
No 2 GO TO QUESTION 19
15. When did your business first reduce employees’ hours under your approved Voluntary Shared Work Plan?
__ __ __ __ __ __ (MMYYYY)
16. Would you say the Voluntary Shared Work program helped your business survive a business downturn?
Yes, very helpful 1
Yes, somewhat helpful 2
No, not at all helpful 3
17. Would you say the Voluntary Shared Work program helped your business retain skilled or valued workers?
Yes, very helpful 1
Yes, somewhat helpful 2
No, not at all helpful 3
18. What was the general attitude of your employees covered by your Voluntary Shared Work Plan about the program?
Most were positive about it 1
Most were indifferent 2
Most did not like it 3
GO TO QUESTION 20
19. What are your reasons for not yet having reduced employees’ hours under your approved Voluntary Shared Work Plan? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)
Have not had a need to reduce workforce levels 1
Concern about paperwork requirements 2
Concern about potential impact on our UI tax rate 3
Reduced demand turned out to be too severe to support shared work 4
Other 5
Please specify
20. Would you consider applying to establish a Voluntary Shared Work Plan again?
Yes 1
No 2
21. Would you recommend the Voluntary Shared Work program to other employers?
Yes 1
No 2
22. We would like to know the cost to your business of developing the Voluntary Share Work plan. What is your estimate of the number of staff hours it took to develop your Voluntary Shared Work Plan?
__ __ Hours to develop plan
23. What is the average hourly rate of pay (with benefits) for the staff member(s) who developed the plan? If you do not know exactly, your best estimate is acceptable.
$__ __.__ __/hour
IF QUESTION 14 = NO, THEN GO TO SECTION D
24. What is your estimate of the number of hours per week required for your business to report on employees’ hours to Iowa Workforce Development for the payment of Shared Work UI benefits?
__ __ Hours per week to report employees’ hours
25. What is the average hourly rate of pay (including benefits) for the staff member(s) who report(s) workers’ hours? If you do not know exactly, your best estimate is acceptable.
$__ __.__ __/hour
26. How many Shared Work employees voluntarily quit their jobs after the start of your firm’s most recent use of the Voluntary Shared Work program? (ENTER ZERO IF NO QUITS)
____ Number of Shared Work employees who voluntarily left the company after start of VSW program
27. How many Shared Work employees were laid off after the start of your firm’s most recent use of the Voluntary Shared Work program? (ENTER ZERO IF NO LAYOFFS)
____ Number of Shared Work employees laid-off after start of VSW program
GO TO SECTION D
SECTION D—Employer Background
28. Approximately how long has your business operated in the state of Iowa?
__ __ __ years
29. About how many Iowa employees were on your business’s payroll as of the most recent payroll period?
Less than 5 employees
5 to 19 employees
20 to 49 employees
50 to 99 employees
100 to 299 employees
300 to 499 employees
500 to 999 employees
1,000 or more employees
30. At any point during the past 24 months, did your business experience a need to reduce its workforce due to reduced demand for its products or services?
Yes 1 GO TO QUESTION 32
No 2 GO TO QUESTION 33
31. In the past 24 months, did your business ever lay off Iowa workers due to reduced demand for your products or services?
Yes 1
No 2
32. In 2015, for your Iowa employees, which of these employee benefits did you offer and cover at least a part of the cost? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)
Health insurance 1
Retirement plan including 401(k), Keogh, etc. 2
Profit sharing and/or stock options 3
Paid holidays, vacation, and/or sick leave 4
Tuition assistance and/or reimbursement 5
None of the above 6
33. What percentage of eligible Iowa employees participated in the health plan/plans offered by your business in 2015?
Our business did not offer any health plan 1
None 2
Less than 25% 3
25-49% 4
50-74% 5
75-100% 6
34. What percentage of eligible Iowa employees participated in the retirement plan/plans offered by your business in 2015?
Our business did not offer any retirement plan 1
None 2
Less than 25% 3
25-49% 4
50-74% 5
75-100% 6
THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY. PLEASE TELL US WHO YOU ARE:
Name of person completing the survey: __________________________________
Name of company: __________________________________________________
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO EXIT THE SURVEY.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-25 |