Missouri Shared Work: An Alternative to Laying Off is an innovative program designed to help employers retain their workforce during times of economic hardship. This program allows employers to reduce the hours of their employees by 20-40% instead of laying them off completely. This helps to keep the employee’s income and benefits intact while allowing employers to adjust their workforce size to meet their current needs. The program also allows employers to access Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to offset the wages of employees whose hours were reduced. There are two types of Missouri Shared Work: An Alternative to Laying Off: the Full Program and the Intermittent Program. The Full Program allows employers to reduce the hours of their employees by 20-40% for up to 52 weeks, while the Intermittent Program allows employers to reduce hours on an intermittent basis for up to 124 weeks.