ARTICLE 4
RELATING TO
SECURITY--UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
SECTION 1. Section 28-43-7 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-43 entitled
“Employment Security –
Contributions” is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-43-7.
Taxable wage base. -- (a)The
taxable wage base under this chapter for the tax
year beginning January 1, 1999, and all subsequent tax
years ending with the tax year 2011 shall
be:
(1) Twelve thousand
dollars ($12,000) if the amount of the employment security fund,
not including any federal disbursements made to the
states pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1103, is more
than two hundred twenty-five million dollars
($225,000,000);
(2) Fourteen thousand
dollars ($14,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is
more than one hundred seventy-five million dollars
($175,000,000) but less than or equal to two
hundred twenty-five million dollars ($225,000,000);
(3) Sixteen thousand
dollars ($16,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is
more than one hundred twenty-five million dollars
($125,000,000) but less than or equal to one
hundred seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000);
(4) Eighteen thousand
dollars ($18,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is
less or equal to than one hundred twenty-five million
dollars ($125,000,000) but more than
seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000); or
(5) Nineteen thousand
dollars ($19,000) if the amount of the employment security is less
than or equal to seventy-five million ($75,000,000).
(b) The taxable wage
base shall be determined by the amount of the employment security
fund on September 30th of each calendar year and that
taxable wage base shall be effective for
the tax year immediately following the determination
date. The taxable wage base under
this
chapter for the tax year beginning January 1, 2012, and all
subsequent tax years, shall be equal to
forty-six and one-half percent (46.5%) of the average annual
wage in covered employment during
the calendar year immediately preceding the computation
date for the effective tax year; the
computed figure shall be rounded upward to the next higher
even multiple of two hundred dollars
($200). That taxable wage base shall be computed as follows:
On September 30, 2011, and each
September 30 thereafter, the total annual wages paid
to individuals in covered employment for
the preceding calendar year by all employers who are
required to pay contributions under the
provisions of chapters 42 – 44 of this title, shall be divided
by the monthly average number of
individuals in covered employment during the preceding calendar
year, and the quotient shall be
multiplied by four hundred sixty-five thousandths (.465). If the
result thus obtained is not an even
multiple of two hundred dollars ($200), it shall be rounded
upward to the next higher even
multiple of two hundred dollars ($200). That taxable wage base
shall be effective for the tax year
immediately following the computation date.
(c) Notwithstanding
the above, the taxable wage base for employers with reserve account
percentages of negative twenty-four (-24.00) or less for the tax
years beginning January 1, 2012,
and thereafter, shall be one thousand five hundred
dollars ($1,500) above the taxable wage base
computed for all other employers under subsection (b) of this
section.
SECTION 2. Sections 28-44-6, 28-44-9, 28-44-17, 28-44-18,
28-44-20 and 28-44-59 of
the General Laws in Chapter 28-44 entitled “Employment
Security – Benefits” are hereby
amended to read as follows:
28-44-6. Weekly
benefits for total unemployment -- Year established -- Dependents'
allowance. [Effective January 1, 2011.] -- (a) (1) The benefit rate
payable under this chapter to
any eligible individual with respect to any week of his
or her total unemployment, when that
week occurs within a benefit year, shall be, for benefit
years beginning on or after October 1,
1989 and prior to July 1, 2012, four and
sixty-two hundredths percent (4.62%) of the wages paid
to the individual in that calendar quarter of the base
period in which the individual's wages were
highest;
(2) The benefit rate
payable under this chapter to any eligible individual with respect to
any week of his or her total unemployment, when that week
occurs within a benefit year, shall be,
for benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2012 and
prior to July 1, 2013, four and thirty-eight
hundredths percent (4.38%) of the average quarterly wage paid to
the individual in the two (2)
calendar quarters of the base period in which the individual's
wages were highest;
(3) The benefit rate
payable under this chapter to any eligible individual with respect to
any week of his or her total unemployment, when that week
occurs within a benefit year, shall be,
for benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2013 and
prior to July 1, 2014, four and fifteen
hundredths percent (4.15%) of the average quarterly wage paid to
the individual in the two
calendar quarters of the base period in which the individual's
wages were highest;
(4) The benefit rate
payable under this chapter to any eligible individual with respect to
any week of his or her total unemployment, when that week
occurs within a benefit year, shall be,
for benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2014,
three and eighty-five hundredths percent
(3.85%) of the average quarterly wage paid to the
individual in the two calendar quarters of the
base period in which the individual's wages were highest;
(2)(5)
Provided, that the benefit rate prior to July 1, 2012 shall not be more
than sixty-
seven percent (67%) of the average weekly wage paid to
individuals in employment covered by
the Employment Security Act for the preceding calendar
year ending December 31. Provided,
further that the benefit rate on or after July 1, 2012 shall
not be more than fifty-seven and one-
half percent (57.5%) of the average weekly wage paid to
individuals in employment covered by
the Employment Security Act for the preceding calendar
year ending December 31 or the
maximum weekly benefit rate that was in effect as of July 1,
2011, whichever is the highest. If
the
maximum weekly benefit rate is not an exact multiple of one
dollar ($1.00), then the rate shall be
rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar ($1.00).
(3)(6)
The average weekly wage of individuals in covered employment shall be
computed as follows: On or before May 31 of each year, the
total annual wages paid to
individuals in covered employment for the preceding calendar year
by all employers shall be
divided by the monthly average number of individuals in
covered employment during that
preceding calendar year, and the quotient shall be divided by
fifty-two (52). That weekly benefit
rates shall be effective throughout benefit years beginning
on or after July 1 of that year and prior
to July 1, of the succeeding calendar year.
(4)(7)
The benefit rate of any individual, if not an exact multiple of one dollar
($1.00),
shall be rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar
($1.00).
(b) (1) An individual to whom benefits for total or partial
unemployment are payable
under this chapter with respect to any week shall, in
addition to those benefits, be paid with
respect to each week a dependents' allowance of fifteen
dollars ($15.00) or five percent (5%) of
the individual's benefit rate whichever is greater for
each of that individual's children, including
adopted and stepchildren, or that individual's court
appointed wards who, at the beginning of the
individual's benefit year, is under eighteen (18) years of age,
and who is at that time in fact
dependent on that individual, including individuals who have
been appointed the legal guardian
of such child by the appropriate court. The total
dependents' allowance paid to any individual
shall not exceed the greater of fifty dollars ($50) or
twenty-five percent (25%) of the individual's
benefit rate. Notwithstanding the above, the total amount of
the dependents' allowance paid to
individuals receiving partial unemployment benefits for any week
shall be based on the
percentage that their partial weekly benefit rate is compared to
their full weekly benefit rate.
(2) The dependent's
allowance shall also be paid to the individual for any child,
including an adopted child or a stepchild, eighteen (18) years
of age or over, incapable of earning
any wages because of mental or physical incapacity, and
who is dependent on that individual in
fact at the beginning of the individual's benefit year.
(3) In no instance
shall the number of dependents for which an individual may receive
dependents' allowances exceed five (5) in total.
(4) The weekly total of
dependents' allowances payable to any individual, if not an exact
multiple of one dollar ($1.00), shall be rounded to the next
lower multiple of one dollar ($1.00).
(5) The number of an
individual's dependents, and the fact of their dependency, shall be
determined as of the beginning of that individual's benefit
year. Only one individual shall be
entitled to a dependent's allowance for the same dependent
with respect to any week. As to two
(2) or more parties making
claim for an allowance for the same dependent for the same week, the
benefit shall be provided to the party who has actual custody
of the dependent or in the case of
joint custody, to the party who has physical possession of
the dependent.
(6) Each individual who
claims a dependent's allowance shall establish his or her claim
to it to the satisfaction of the director under
procedures established by the director.
(7) This subsection
shall be effective for all benefit years beginning on or after January
1, 2011.
28-44-9.
Duration of benefits. -- (a) The
maximum total amount of benefits payable
during a benefit year to any eligible individual whose
benefit year begins on or after November
16, 1958, and prior to October 1, 1989, shall be
determined in the following manner:
(i)
The total number of weeks of employment in his or her base period shall be
multiplied
by three-fifths ( 3/5), and the result, if not a whole
number of weeks, shall be adjusted to the next
higher whole number of weeks, and
(ii) The number of
weeks so obtained shall be multiplied by the individual's weekly
benefit rate for total unemployment; and the result shall be
the total amount of benefit credits to
which that individual is entitled during his or her benefit
year. However, no individual shall be
paid total benefits in any benefit year which exceed
twenty-six (26) times his or her weekly
benefit rate. Dependents' allowances to which he or she might
be entitled under § 28-44-6 shall be
in addition to those total benefits.
(2) Each week of
employment within an individual's base period shall be counted as one
week for the purpose of this section, regardless of the
number of employers for whom an
individual performed services in employment during that week.
For the purpose of this section, a
week of employment shall be any calendar week within which
an individual has performed
services in employment for one or more employers subject to
chapters 42 – 44 of this title.
(b) The total
amount of benefits payable during a benefit year to any eligible individual
whose benefit year begins on or after October 1, 1989, but
prior to July 1, 2012, shall be an
amount equal to thirty-six percent (36%) of the individual's
total wages for employment by
employers subject to chapters 42 – 44 of this title during his
or her base period; provided, that the
total amount of benefits payable during a benefit year to
any eligible individual whose benefit
year begins on or after July 1, 2012 shall be an amount
equal to thirty-three percent (33%) of the
individual's total wages for employment by employers subject to
chapters 42 – 44 of this title
during his or her base period; provided, that no individual shall be paid total
benefits in any
benefit year which exceed twenty-six (26) times his or her
weekly benefit rate. Dependents'
allowances to which he or she might be entitled under § 28-44-6
shall be in addition to the total
benefits. If the total amount of benefits is not an exact
multiple of one dollar ($1.00), then it shall
be rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar
($1.00).
28-44-17. Voluntary leaving without good cause. [Effective
January 1, 2011.]. -- (a)
For benefit years beginning prior to July 1, 2012, an individual who leaves work voluntarily
without good cause shall be ineligible for waiting period
credit or benefits for the week in which
the voluntary quit occurred and until he or she
establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he
or she has subsequent to that leaving had at least eight
(8) weeks of work, and in each of those
eight (8) weeks has had earnings of at least twenty (20)
times the minimum hourly wage as
defined in chapter 12 of this title for performing services
in employment for one or more
employers subject to chapters 42 – 44 of this title. For
benefit years beginning on or after July 1,
2012, an individual who leaves work voluntarily
without good cause shall be ineligible for
waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which the
voluntary quit occurred and until he or
she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that
he or she has subsequent to that leaving had
at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of those
eight (8) weeks has had earnings greater
than or equal to his or her weekly benefit rate for performing
services in employment for one or
more employers subject to chapters 42 – 44 of this title. For the purposes of this section,
"voluntarily leaving
work with good cause" shall include:
(1) sexual
harassment against members of either sex;
(2) voluntarily
leaving work with an employer to accompany, join or follow his or her
spouse to a place, due to a change in location of the
spouse's employment, from which it is
impractical for such individual to commute; and
(3) the
need to take care for a member of the individual's immediate family due to
illness
or disability as defined by the Secretary of Labor;
provided that the individual shall not be
eligible for waiting period credit or benefits until he or she
is able to work and is available for
work. For the purposes of this provision, the following
terms apply:
(i)
"immediate family member" means a spouse,
parents, mother-in-law, father-in-law
and children under the age of eighteen (18);
(ii) "illness" means a verified illness which necessitates
the care of the ill person for a
period of time longer than the employer is willing to grant
leave, paid or otherwise; and
(iii) "disability" means all types of verified disabilities,
including mental and physical
disabilities, permanent and temporary disabilities, and partial
and total disabilities.
(b) For the purposes of
this section, "voluntarily leaving work without good cause" shall
include voluntarily leaving work with an employer to
accompany, join or follow his or her spouse
in a new locality in connection with the retirement of
his or her spouse, or failure by a temporary
employee to contact the temporary help agency upon completion
of the most recent work
assignment to seek additional work unless good cause is shown
for that failure; provided, that the
temporary help agency gave written notice to the individual
that the individual is required to
contact the temporary help agency at the completion of the
most recent work assignment to seek
additional work.
28-44-18.
Discharge for misconduct. – For benefit years
beginning prior to July 1,
2012, an
individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or
her
work shall become ineligible for waiting period credit or
benefits for the week in which that
discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the
satisfaction of the director that he or she
has, subsequent to that discharge, had at least eight (8)
weeks of work, and in each of that eight
(8) weeks has had earnings of
at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly wage as defined in
chapter 12 of this title for performing services in
employment for one or more employers subject
to chapters 42 – 44 of this title. For benefit years
beginning on or after July 1, 2012, an individual
who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected
with his or her work shall become
ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in
which that discharge occurred and
until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the
director that he or she has, subsequent to that
discharge, had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of
that eight (8) weeks has had
earnings greater than or equal to his or her weekly benefit
rate for performing services in
employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 – 44
of this title. Any individual
who is required to leave his or her work pursuant to a
plan, system, or program, public or private,
providing for retirement, and who is otherwise eligible, shall
under no circumstances be deemed
to have been discharged for misconduct. If an individual
is discharged and a complaint is issued
by the regional office of the National Labor Relations
board or the state labor relations board that
an unfair labor practice has occurred in relation to the
discharge, the individual shall be entitled to
benefits if otherwise eligible. For the purposes of this
section, "misconduct" is defined as
deliberate conduct in willful disregard of the employer's
interest, or a knowing violation of a
reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of the
employer, provided that such violation is
not shown to be as a result of the employee's
incompetence. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of chapters 42 – 44 of this title, this section shall be
construed in a manner that is fair and
reasonable to both the employer and the employed worker.
28-44-20.
Refusal of suitable work. -- (a) For benefit years beginning prior to July 1,
2012, if an otherwise
eligible individual fails, without good cause, either to apply for suitable
work when notified by the employment office, or to accept
suitable work when offered to him or
her, he or she shall become ineligible for waiting period
credit or benefits for the week in which
that failure occurred and until he or she establishes to
the satisfaction of the director that he or she
has, subsequent to that failure, had at least eight (8)
weeks of work and in each of those eight (8)
weeks has had earnings of at least twenty (20) times the
minimum hourly wage, as defined in
chapter 12 for performing services in employment for one or
more employers subject to chapters
42 – 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning
on or after July 1, 2012, if an otherwise eligible
individual fails, without good cause, either to apply for
suitable work when notified by the
employment office, or to accept suitable work when offered to
him or her, he or she shall become
ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in
which that failure occurred and
until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the
director that he or she has, subsequent to that
failure, had at least eight (8) weeks of work and in each of
those eight (8) weeks has had earnings
greater than or equal to his or her weekly benefit rate for
performing services in employment for
one or more employers subject to chapters 42 – 44 of this
title.
(b) "Suitable
work" means any work for which the individual in question is reasonably
fitted, which is located within a reasonable distance of his
or her residence or last place of work
and which is not detrimental to his or her health,
safety, or morals. No work shall be deemed
suitable, and benefits shall not be denied under chapters 42 –
44 of this title to any otherwise
eligible individual for refusing to accept new work, under any
of the following conditions:
(1) If the position
offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
(2) If the wages, hours,
or other conditions of the work are substantially less favorable to
the employee than those prevailing for similar work in
the locality;
(3) If, as a condition
of being employed, the individual would be required to join a
company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any
bona fide labor organization.
28-44-59.
Severance or dismissal pay allocation. – For
benefit years beginning prior
July 1, 2012, for the purpose of determining an individual's benefit eligibility for any
week of
unemployment, any remuneration received by an employee from his or
her employer in the nature
of severance or dismissal pay, whether or not the
employer is legally required to pay that
remuneration, shall be deemed to be wages paid on the last day of
employment for services
performed prior to that date. For benefit years beginning on
or after July 1, 2012, for the purpose
of determining an individual's benefit eligibility for
any week of unemployment, any
remuneration received by an employee from his or her employer in
the nature of severance or
dismissal pay, whether or not the employer is legally required
to pay that remuneration, shall be
allocated on a weekly basis from the individual’s last day of
work for a period not to exceed
twenty-six (26) weeks, and the individual will not be
entitled to receive benefits for any such
week for which it has been determined that the individual
received severance or dismissal pay.
Such severance or dismissal pay, if the employer does
not specify a set number of weeks, such be
allocated using the individual’s weekly benefit rate.
SECTION 3. This Article shall take effect upon passage.