Chapter 002
2009 -- S 0094
Enacted 01/28/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO
PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES - RETIREMENT SYSTEM - CONTRIBUTION AND BENEFITS
Introduced By: Senators C Levesque, DeVall, and Gallo
Date Introduced: January 27, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Legislative findings.
The
general assembly finds that an unacceptable backlog of unemployment security
claims has occurred during this period of unusually high
unemployment. As of January 20, the
department of labor and training had over ten thousand (10,000)
Internet filed claims to be
processed, one thousand two hundred (1, 200) individuals
waiting for return phone calls and one
thousand twenty-seven (1,027) emails to answer from
individuals inquiring on claims or
payments; and
That
the unemployment insurance service center is not adequately staffed to handle
the
volume of calls and Internet claims being filed on a daily
basis; and
That
all claimants cannot access the phone lines to certify for payments on Sundays.
Although approximately
twenty thousand (20,000) claimants are successful in authorizing
payments on Sundays, ten thousand (10,000) are not due to busy
signals and disconnects; and
That
the department receives over three thousand (3,000) paper payment certification
forms for customers that have filed initial claims and are
serving a waiting period, have pending
issues, or are behind in receiving payments; and
That customers cannot currently file for the extended
benefits programs on the Internet,
but rather must contact the unemployment insurance
service center by telephone or in person, and
that Internet claims for regular employment insurance
benefits requires manual processing; and
That
the federal government will provide over ninety-five (95%) percent of the
funding
for additional staffing during this period of high state
and national unemployment; and
As
a result of these findings, the general assembly hereby amends section 39-10-36
to
authorize the department to hire retirees with experience as
unemployment insurance claims
interviewers from the passage of this legislation through March 1,
without loss of current pension
benefits; and
Directs
the department to utilize federal funding to hire sufficient additional
employment
and training interviewers as necessary to eliminate
backlogs and provide payments to qualified
claimants as rapidly as allowable under state and federal laws
and regulation and to expand
business hours to allow more opportunities for claimants to
contact the unemployment insurance
service center; and
Directs
the department to increase the number of phone lines and upgrade current
Internet
applications to allow weekly certification by Internet and
telephone, increase use of the Internet
and decrease phone contacts, and eliminate to the maximum
extent possible manual mailing and
processing.
SECTION 2. Section 36-10-36 of the General Laws in Chapter
36-10 entitled
"Retirement
System-Contributions and Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows:
36-10-36.
Post retirement employment. -- (a) On and after July 7, 1994, no member
who has retired under the provisions of titles 16, 36, or
45 may be employed or reemployed by
any state agency or department unless any and all
retirement benefits to which he or she may be
entitled by virtue of the provisions of titles 16, 36 or 45
are suspended for the duration of any
employment or reemployment. No additional service credits shall
be granted for any post-
retirement employment or reemployment and no deductions shall be
taken from an individual's
salary for retirement contribution. Notice of any such
post-retirement employment or
reemployment shall be sent monthly to the retirement board by the
employing agency or
department and by the retired member.
(b) Any member who has
retired under the provisions of titles 16, 36, or 45 may be
employed or reemployed by any municipality within the state,
which municipality has accepted
the provisions of chapter 21 of title 45 and which
participates in the municipal employees'
retirement system for a period of not more than seventy-five
(75) working days or one hundred
fifty (150) half days with half day pay in any one calendar
year without any forfeiture of or
reduction of any retirement benefits and allowances the member
is receiving or may receive as a
retired member. Pension payments shall be suspended whenever
this period is exceeded. No
additional contributions shall be taken and no additional
service credits shall be granted for this
service. Notice of this employment or re-employment shall be
sent monthly to the retirement
board by the employer and by the retired member.
(c) Any member who has
retired under the provisions of title 16, 36, or 45 may be
employed or re-employed by any municipality within the state
which has not accepted the
provisions of chapter 21 of title 45 and which does not participate
in the municipal employees'
retirement system.
(d) Notwithstanding the
provisions of this section:
(1) Any retired member
of the system shall be permitted to serve as an elected mayor,
the town administrator, the city administrator, the town
manager, the city manager, the chief
administrative officer or the chief executive officer of any city or
town, city or town council
member, school committee member, or unpaid member of any
part-time state board or
commission or member of any part-time municipal board or
commission, and shall continue to be
eligible for and receive the retirement allowance for service
other than that as a mayor,
administrator, council member, school committee member, or member
of any state board or
commission or member of any part-time municipal board or
commission; provided, however, that
no additional service credits shall be granted for any
service under this subsection;
(2) Any retired member
who retired from service at any state college, university, state
school, or who retired from service as a teacher under the
provisions of title 16, or who retired
from service under title 36 or title 45, may be employed
or reemployed, on a part-time basis, by
any state college, university or state school for the
purpose of providing classroom instruction,
academic advising of students and/or coaching. Compensation
shall be provided at a level not to
exceed the salary provided to other faculty members employed
under a collective bargaining
agreement at the institution. In no event shall
"part-time" mean gross pay of more than fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000) in any one calendar year. Any
retired member who provides such
instruction or service shall do so without forfeiture or
reduction of any retirement benefit or
allowance; and provided, however, that no additional service
credits shall be granted for any
service under this subsection;
(3) Any retired member
who retired from service as a teacher under the provisions of
title 16, or as a state employee who while an active state
employee was certified to teach driver
education by the department of elementary and secondary
education or by the board of governors
for higher education, may be employed or reemployed, on a
part-time basis, by the department of
elementary and secondary education or by the board of governors
for higher education for the
purpose of providing classroom instruction in driver
education courses in accordance with section
31-10-19 and/or motorcycle driver
education courses in accordance with section 31-10.1-1.1. In
no event shall "part-time" mean gross pay of
more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) in any
one calendar year. Any retired teacher who provides that
instruction shall do so without forfeiture
or reduction of any retirement benefit or allowance the
retired teacher is receiving as a retired
teacher; provided, however, that no additional service
credits shall be granted for any service
under this subsection; and
(4) Any retired member
who retired from service as a registered nurse may be employed
or reemployed, on a per diem basis, for the purpose of
providing professional nursing care and/or
services at a state operated facility in
of more than twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) in any
one calendar year. Any retired nurse who
provides such care and/or services shall do so without
forfeiture or reduction of any retirement
benefit or allowance the retired nurse is receiving as a
retired nurse; provided, however, that no
additional service credits shall be granted for any service
under this subsection.
(5)(a) Any retired
member who retired from service with the department of labor and
training, is proficient in the processing of unemployment
insurance claims, as established by the
department, and has extensive experience working in the
administration of the unemployment
insurance program may be employed or reemployed by the
department for the purpose processing
unemployment insurance claims between January 27, 2009 and March
1, 2009 without any
forfeiture of or reduction of any retirement benefits and
allowances that he or she is receiving or
may receive. Compensation shall be provided at a level
not to exceed the salary provided to
others employed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Pension payments shall be suspended
whenever this period is exceeded. No additional contributions
shall be taken and no additional
service credits shall be granted for this service. Notice of
this employment or re-employment
shall be sent monthly to the retirement board by the
employer and by the retired member.
(b) The provisions of
subsection 36-10-36 (d) (5) (a) shall expire on March 2, 2009.
SECTION 3. Reporting date.
(a) One day after the effective date of this act, and each week thereafter for
the
remainder of the period during which claimants are eligible for
any extended benefit programs,
the department shall report to the chairperson of the
house finance committee and the chairperson
of the senate finance committee with copies to the house
and senate fiscal advisors for the day
prior to submission of the reports, which report shall
contain:
(1)
The number of individuals receiving unemployment compensation, by category of
benefits;
(2)
The number of individuals certified as eligible in the waiting period;
(3)
The number of Internet claims waiting to be processed;
(4)
The number of phone claims waiting for return phone calls;
(5)
The number of emails awaiting response;
(6)
The number of unemployment insurance claims interviewers by category of
full-time,
retired, and part time; and
(7)
Business hours.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00830
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