Identical to S 579 filed on 4/2/13.

Establishes the Workforce Displacement Benefit Program (Program) to provide uniform payments to workers displaced due to a mass layoff that the Governor has identified as a major distress event. The payments are to be made only after exhausting unemployment benefits. The Program is to be administered by the Governor's office and must include the following: (1) benefits that are triggered when the Governor designates a mass layoff (affecting at least 500 employees from a single facility or business entity within a locality within a 20 week period) as a major distress event; (2) a uniform payout amount that is set as the standard benefit for all displaced workers participating in the program; (3) a uniform period of eligibility for payments that is set for all displaced workers participating in the program; and (4) General Fund funding.