Chapter 033
2012 -- H 7562
Enacted 04/13/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - TEMPORARY DISABILITY
INSURANCE
Introduced
By: Representatives Cimini,
Date Introduced: February 15, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 28-39-2 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-39 entitled “Temporary
Disability Insurance –
General Provisions” is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-39-2.
Definitions. – The following words and phrases, as
used in chapters 39 – 41 of
this title, have the following meanings unless the context
clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Average weekly
wage" means the amount determined by dividing the individual's
total wages earned for services performed in employment
within his or her base period by the
number of that individual's credit weeks within the base
period;
(2) "Base
period" with respect to an individual's benefit year when the benefit year
begins
on or after October 7, 1990, means the first four (4) of
the most recently completed five (5)
calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an
individual's benefit year; provided,
that for any individual's benefit year when the benefit
year begins on or after October 4, 1992,
and for any individual deemed monetarily ineligible for
benefits under the "base period" as
defined in this subdivision, the department shall make a
re-determination of entitlement based
upon an alternate base period which consists of the last
four (4) completed calendar quarters
immediately preceding the first day of the claimant's benefit
year. Notwithstanding anything
contained to the contrary in this subdivision, the base period
shall not include any calendar
quarter previously used to establish a valid claim for
benefits; provided, however, that the "base
period" with respect to members of the
Guard, or a
combat operation during their military service, who file a
claim for benefits following their
release from their state or federal active military service
and who are deemed to be monetarily
ineligible for benefits under this section, shall mean the first
four (4) of the most recently
completed five (5) calendar quarters immediately preceding the
first day the individual was called
into that state or federal active military service;
provided, that for any individual deemed
monetarily ineligible for benefits under the "base
period" as defined in this section, the
department shall make a re-determination of entitlement based
upon an alternative base period
which consists of the last four (4) completed calendar
quarters immediately preceding the first
day the claimant was called into that state or federal
active military service. Notwithstanding any
provision of this section of the general or public laws to the
contrary, the base period shall not
include any calendar quarter previously used to establish a
valid claim for benefits;
(3) "Benefit"
means the money payable, as provided in chapters 39 – 41 of this title, to an
individual as compensation for his or her unemployment caused by
sickness;
(4) "Benefit
credits" means the total amount of money payable to an individual as
benefits, as provided in section 28-41-7;
(5) "Benefit
rate" means the money payable to an individual as compensation, as
provided in chapters 39 – 41 of this title, for his or her
wage losses with respect to any week
during which his or her unemployment is caused by sickness;
(6) "Benefit
year" with respect to any individual who does not already have a benefit
year
in effect, and who files a valid claim for benefits as
of November 16, 1958 or any later date,
means fifty-two (52) consecutive calendar weeks, the first
of which shall be the week containing
the day as of which he or she first files that valid
claim in accordance with regulations adopted as
subsequently prescribed; provided, that for any benefit year
beginning on or after October 7,
1990, the benefit year shall be fifty-three (53)
consecutive calendar weeks if the subsequent filing
of a new valid claim immediately following the end of a
previous benefit year would result in the
overlapping of any quarter of the base period of the prior new claim.
In no event shall a new
benefit year begin prior to the Sunday next following the end
of the old benefit year;
(i)
For benefit years that begin on or after July 1, 2012, an individual’s benefit
year will
begin on the Sunday of the calendar week in which an
individual first became unemployed due to
sickness and for which the individual has filed a valid claim
for benefits;
(7) "Board"
means the board of review as created under chapter 19 of title 42;
(8) "Calendar
quarter" has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of this title;
(9) "Credit
week" means any week within an individual's base period in which that
individual earns wages amounting to 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 39 – 41 of this title;
(10)
"Director" means the director of the department of labor and
training;
(11)
"Employee" means any person who is or has been employed by an
employer subject
to chapters 39 – 41 of this title and in employment
subject to those chapters;
(12)
"Employer" means any employing unit that is an employer under
chapters 42 – 44 of
this title;
(13) "Employing
unit" has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of this title and
includes any governmental entity that elects to become subject
to the provisions of chapters 39 –
41 of this title, in accordance with the provisions of
sections 28-39-3.1 and 28-39-3.2;
(14)
"Employment" has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of
this title;
(15) "Employment
office" has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of this title;
(16) "Fund"
means the
this chapter;
(17) "Partial
unemployment due to sickness" For weeks beginning on or after January 1,
2006 an individual shall be deemed partially
unemployed due to sickness in any week of less than
full-time work if he or she fails to earn in wages for services
for that week an amount equal to the
weekly benefit rate for total unemployment due to sickness
to which he or she would be entitled
if totally unemployed due to sickness and eligible.
(i)
For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision (22) of this section,
"Wages"
includes only that part of remuneration for any work, which is
in excess of one-fifth (1/5) of the
weekly benefit rate for total unemployment, rounded to the
next lower multiple of one dollar
($1.00), to which the individual would be entitled if
totally unemployed and eligible in any one
week, and "services" includes only that part of
any work for which remuneration in excess of
one-fifth (1/5) of the weekly benefit rate for total
unemployment, rounded to the next lower
multiple of one dollar ($1.00), to which the individual would
be entitled if totally unemployed
and eligible in any one week is payable; provided, that
nothing contained in this paragraph shall
permit any individual to whom remuneration is payable for
any work performed in any week in
an amount equal to, or greater than, his or her weekly
benefit rate to receive benefits under this
subdivision for that week.
(18) "Reserve
fund" means the temporary disability insurance reserve fund established by
section 28-39-7;
(19)
"Services" means all endeavors undertaken by an individual that are
paid for by
another or with respect to which the individual performing
the services expects to receive wages
or profits;
(20)
"Sickness". An individual shall be deemed to be sick in any week in
which, because
of his or her physical or mental condition, including
pregnancy, he or she is unemployed and
unable to perform his or her regular or customary work or
services;
(21) "Taxes"
means the money payments required by chapters 39 – 41 of this title, to be
made to the temporary disability insurance fund or to the
temporary disability insurance reserve
fund.
(ii) Wherever and
whenever in chapters 39 – 41 of this title, the words "contribution"
and/or "contributions" appear, those words
shall be construed to mean the "taxes," as defined in
this subdivision, which are the money payments required by
those chapters to be made to the
temporary disability insurance fund or to the temporary
disability insurance reserve fund;
(22) "Wages"
has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of this title; provided,
that no individual shall be denied benefits under chapters
39 – 41 of this title because his or her
employer continues to pay to that individual his or her
regular wages, or parts of them, while he
or she is unemployed due to sickness and unable to
perform his or her regular or customary work
or services. The amount of any payments, whether or not
under a plan or system, made to or on
behalf of an employee by his or her employer after the
expiration of six (6) calendar months
following the last calendar month in which the employee
performed actual bona fide personal
services for his or her employer, shall not be deemed to be
wages either for the purpose of paying
contributions thereon under chapter 40 of this title, or for the
purpose of being used as a basis for
paying benefits under chapter 41 of this title; and
(23) "Week"
has the same definition as contained in chapter 42 of this title.
SECTION 2. Sections 28-41-9 and 28-41-11 of the General Laws
in Chapter 28-41
entitled “Temporary Disability Insurance –Benefits” are hereby
amended to read as follows:
28-41-9.
Lag day benefits. – (a) An
individual who, having been unemployed due to
sickness, has served a waiting period, and who is in receipt of benefits under this
chapter, returns
to work prior to the end of the immediately succeeding
week, shall be entitled to one-fifth ( 1/5)
of his or her benefit rate for each day of unemployment
due to sickness in which work is
ordinarily performed in the occupation in which he or she is
employed during the week in which
he or she returns to work, figured to the highest
dollar, including any holiday when the
performance of services is waived by his or her employer;
provided, that in no case shall any
individual be entitled to more than four-fifths (4/5) of his
benefit rate, figured to the highest
dollar, for that week.
(b) An individual who,
having been unemployed due to sickness, served a waiting period
and, at a later
date during his or her benefit year, again becomes unemployed due to sickness,
and
refiles his or her claim for benefits, shall, if his or her
first day of unemployment begins on a day
subsequent to the first day of any week, be entitled to
one-fifth ( 1/5) of his or her benefit rate for
each day in that week in which work is ordinarily
performed in the occupation in which he or she
was last employed, including any holiday when the
performance of services is waived by his or
her employer, figured to the highest dollar, if his or
her unemployment continues for seven (7)
consecutive calendar days, including the first day of
unemployment due to sickness for which he
or she has refiled his or her
claim. In no case shall any individual be entitled to more than four-
fifths ( 4/5) of his or her benefit rate, figured to the
highest dollar, for the week in which his or
her unemployment begins on a day subsequent to the first
day of that week.
28-41-11.
Eligibility. – (a) For
benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 1981 and prior
to October 7, 1990, an individual shall be deemed
eligible for benefits for any given week of his
or her unemployment due to sickness only if he or she
has, within the base period immediately
preceding the benefit year in which that week of unemployment
occurs, earned wages amounting
to at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly wage as
defined in chapter 12 of this title, in
each of at least twenty (20) weeks or, in the alternative,
in an amount equal to three (3) times the
total minimum amount required in this chapter.
(b) In order to be
deemed eligible for benefits, an individual whose benefit year begins on
or after October 7, 1990: must have been paid wages in:
(1) Any one calendar
quarter of the base period which are at least two hundred (200)
times the minimum hourly wage, as defined in chapter 12 of
this title, and must have been paid
wages in the base period amounting to at least one and
one-half (1 1/2) times the wages paid to
the individual in that calendar quarter of the base
period in which the individual's wages were
highest; provided, that the minimum amount of total base
period wages paid to the individual
must be at least four hundred (400) times the minimum
hourly wage, as defined in chapter 12 of
this title. The base period wages must have been paid to
the individual for performing services in
employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 39 – 41
of this title; or, in the
alternative,
(2) The base period for
performing services in employment for one or more employers
subject to chapters 39 – 41 of this title amounting to at
least three (3) times the total minimum
amount required in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(c) In addition to
the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, for benefit years that
begin on or after July 1, 2012, an individual must have
been unemployed due to sickness for at
least seven (7) consecutive days in order to be eligible
for benefits.
SECTION 3. Section 28-41-12 of the General Laws in
Chapter 28-41 entitled
“Temporary Disability
Insurance –Benefits” is hereby repealed.
28-41-12 Waiting period. – (a) For
benefit years beginning on or after July 6, 2008 the
waiting period of any individual shall be either:
(1) Seven (7)
consecutive days commencing with the Sunday of the week in which the
claimant filed a claim for benefits, during which that
individual is unemployed due to sickness
and during which the individual earned remuneration in an
amount less than his or her weekly
benefit rate for work performed during that week prior to his
or her unemployment due to
sickness; or
(2) Seven (7)
consecutive days, commencing with the Sunday of the week following the
week in which the individual filed a claim for benefits,
during which the individual is
unemployed due to sickness and the individual earned
remuneration in an amount greater than or
equal to his or her weekly benefit rate for work performed
during that week prior to filing a claim
for benefits.
(b) No waiting period
shall be credited to any individual unless he or she has filed a valid
claim in accordance with regulations adopted as prescribed
in this title.
(c) Benefits shall be
payable to an eligible individual only for those weeks of his or her
unemployment due to sickness within a benefit year which occur subsequent
to one waiting
period, which shall be served at any time during the benefit
year. If the first week of an
individual's unemployment due to sickness which occurs within his
or her new benefit year is
immediately preceded by a week for which he or she is in receipt
of benefits (including lag day
payments as provided in section 28-41-9) for total or partial
unemployment due to sickness under
chapters 39 – 41 of this title, or under similar federal
provisions, he or she shall not be required to
serve a waiting period for that new benefit year.
(d) Except as
provided in subsection (c), no period of unemployment due to sickness
shall be counted towards an individual's required waiting
period if with respect to any portion of
that period of unemployment due to sickness, benefits have
been paid under the employment
security or temporary disability insurance acts of any other
state or of any similar acts of the
United States or of any foreign government.
(e) If an individual
is unemployed due to sickness for the seven (7) consecutive days, as
provided for in subsection (a), and his or her sickness
continues for at least an additional twenty-
one (21) consecutive days, he or she shall be eligible to
receive benefits for the waiting period of
seven (7) consecutive days.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on July 1,
2012.
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LC01419
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