Wisconsin DWD program designed to help small businesses avoid layoffs

MADISON -- Wisconsin has a program designed to help small businesses avoid layoffs.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's "Work-Share" program allows business owners to reduce staff hours instead of laying people off. Employees can then apply for unemployment without jumping through the usual hoops.

The goal of the program is for businesses to keep their workers, and for workers to keep their jobs and benefits. Demand right now is through the roof.

"I think everybody is just nervous, they're anxious and they want to know what's going to be happening," said Emily Savard with the Wisconsin Unemployment Department. "There's so much information coming in minute by minute now that everybody is doing their best to work quickly, to figure out how best to serve everybody in any way that we can."

The program isn't a magic bullet; some businesses won't be able to avoid layoffs. For more information on the Work-Share program, CLICK HERE.