Chapter 241
2013 -- H 5033 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/11/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY --
BENEFITS
Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Malik, Gallison, McLaughlin, and Shekarchi
Date Introduced: January 09, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 28-44 of the General Laws entitled
"Employment Security –
Benefits" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
28-44-71.
Back to Work
purpose. – The general assembly hereby finds as follows:
(1) As of January 1,
2013,
(2) Despite this high
unemployment, businesses report difficulties and frustration in
locating employment candidates with the requisite knowledge,
skills, and abilities they need;
(3) In an uncertain
economy, employers are hesitant to invest in training if there is a risk
the investment will not result in a qualified and skilled
employee;
(4) Despite the need
for skilled employees, job seekers face difficulties in getting their
"foot in the door"
to demonstrate their value to potential employers;
(5) Statistics
indicate that unemployment compensation claimants who participated in
employer-partnered, structured training programs return to work more
quickly than those who do
not, and that such programs have saved significant sums
of employment security funds;
(6) The purpose of
the "Back to Work
with planned, structured, and career-relevant job training
to gain new skills and abilities and help
increase their prospects for employment, and assist employers
in locating and obtaining skilled
and well qualified job candidates for open employment
positions.
(b) Definitions. –
For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(1)
"Claimant" means a person collecting unemployment security benefits
under the
provisions of chapters 28-42 through 28-44 of this title;
(2)
"Department" means the
(3)
"Director" means the director of the
(4)
"Participating employer" means an employer who has voluntarily agreed
to participate
in the "Back to Work
by this section and as determined by the director;
(5)
"Program" means the "Back to Work
section;
(6) "Skill
enhancement and job training" means a planned, structured learning
environment for the primary benefit of the trainee and from which
the participating employer
derives no immediate advantage and which is designed to
provide the skills and knowledge
necessary to meet the employer's specifications for an
occupation or trade.
(7)
"Unemployment benefits" means the money payable to a claimant for his
or her wage
losses due to unemployment, payable pursuant to chapters 42
through 44 of this title, and includes
any amounts payable pursuant to an agreement under
federal law providing for compensation,
assistance, or allowances with respect to unemployment.
(c) Program
established. – (1) The "Back to Work
established and shall be administered by the department of labor
and training.
(2) The program shall
be designed so as to permit a claimant to be matched with an
employer participating in the program and be placed in
department-approved skill enhancement
and job training made available by the employer.
Participation by both claimant and employer
shall be voluntary. The employer shall provide the claimant
with skill enhancement and job
training relevant to an open employment position for up to
twenty-four (24) hours per week for
up to six (6) weeks. Upon completion of the six (6) week
period, claimants must be considered
for employment by the employer. During the six (6) week
period, the employer shall not
compensate the claimant in any way other than the training that
the claimant receives through
participation in the program. Both the employer and the claimant
may terminate participation in
the program at any time.
(3) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this title to the contrary, no otherwise eligible
individual shall be denied unemployment benefits because of his
or her participation in the "Back
to Work
claimant may receive a reasonable stipend in an amount
determined by the director to cover any
additional costs associated with their participation in the
program, including, but not limited to,
transportation or childcare costs.
(4) The department
shall notify employers of the availability of the program and shall
provide employers with information and materials necessary to
participate upon request.
(5) The department
shall continuously monitor the program to ensure that participating
employers enter the program in good faith with the genuine
expectation of hiring for the open
position and with the intent and ability to provide relevant
skill enhancement and job training.
(6) The department
shall develop and conduct an orientation program for participating
claimants and employers informing them of the rules,
regulations, opportunities, and limitations
of the "Back to Work
(7) A claimant may
stay in the program if they exhaust benefits or lose program
eligibility prior to the end of the six (6) week period;
(8) Participation in
the program by a claimant shall be limited to six (6) weeks in any
benefit year. A claimant shall be encouraged to end a
training relationship that is not beneficial
and shall be encouraged to preserve the remainder of his
or her six (6) weeks of training for
another training opportunity.
(9) In order to
participate, a claimant must be seeking work and must be able to work,
available to work, and accept work during the training period.
(10) Interested
claimants shall be encouraged, but not required, to find employment
opportunities that align with their current job skills, knowledge
and experience. Employers shall
be encouraged to work with the department to locate
claimants with current job skills, knowledge,
and experience that align with the requirements of an
open employment opportunity;
(11) The claimant and
the employer must agree upon a formal training plan and schedule
which must be approved by the department and may include
on-site training, education, and the
application of skills or experiences;
(12) Participation in
the program may be limited based on program capacity as
determined by the department.
(13) The "Back
to Work
expire on December 31, 2014. New participants will not be
enrolled after November 18, 2014.
(d) Eligibility to be
a participating employer. – (1) An employer wishing to
participate in
the "Back to Work
in addition to any further criteria established by the
director:
(i)
The employer must conduct business in
be domestic to
(ii) The employer
must have a full-time position of employment available that the
employer is desirous of filling;
(iii) The employer
must be willing and able to provide a participating claimant with skills
enhancement and job training focused toward the position that is
available;
(iv)
The employer must certify that he, she, they, or it will not pay
any wages or provide
any payment in kind to the claimant during the course of
the claimant's participation in the
program;
(v) The employer must
certify that he, she, they, or it will, at completion of the training
period, consider the claimant for employment in the full
time position for which the claimant was
trained;
(vi)
The employer must agree to follow up a claimant's participation
in the program with
a performance evaluation of the claimant, regardless of
whether or not the claimant is hired for
employment;
(vii) The employer
must agree to provide information as requested by the department and
verify that employment of a participating claimant will not
displace nor have any impact on a
promotion due an existing employee;
(viii) The employer
must certify that the employment and training opportunity is not due
to a lockout, strike, or other labor dispute; and
(ix) For employers
with employees who are subject to collective bargaining, the written
approval by the collective bargaining representative for each
affected unit shall be required to be
included in the plan for any job training for a position which
would otherwise be covered by a
collective bargaining agreement.
(e) Eligibility to be
a participating claimant. – (1) An individual
receiving unemployment
benefits and wishing to participate in the "Back to Work
following qualifications:
(i)
The individual must be eligible to receive
benefits;
(ii) The individual
must continue to file weekly continued claims to receive benefits
unless otherwise exempted;
(iii) The individual
must continue to look for work and employment opportunities during
their participation in the program, unless otherwise
exempt;
(iv)
The individual must certify that he or she understands that
participation in the
program includes no guarantee of employment;
(v) The individual
must attend a mandatory orientation to be offered by the department;
(vi)
The individual must agree to provide relevant information as
requested by the
department and to cooperate with requests from the department
for the evaluation of aspects of
the "Back to Work Rhode Island Program;"
(2) Claimants with a
definite recall date within six (6) weeks and those who do not
register for employment services are not eligible for the
program.
(f) Workers'
compensation. – (1) The department will provide
workers compensation
coverage for participating claimants.
(2) A claimant's
participation in the program does not create an employment relationship
with the department for the purposes of Chapter 28-29.
(3) For the purposes
of computing an approved claimant's wage compensation and
benefit amount under Chapter 28-29, the average weekly wage
shall be the claimant's maximum
weekly unemployment compensation benefit rate for the
benefit year in effect at the time of
injury.
(g) Rules and
regulations. – The director shall promulgate such rules and regulations as
the director deems necessary to implement the provisions
of this section.
(h) Program
Performance monitoring. – The department shall develop and implement a
performance monitoring system which does the following:
(1) Collects critical
information on the "Back to Work
basis or more frequently as determined by the director,
including:
(i)
Increases in claimant skills.
(ii) Skill training
being provided by businesses.
(iii) Placement of
claimants after training.
(iv)
Challenges foreseen by businesses.
(v) Business training
best practices.
(vi)
Amount of weeks claimants received unemployment compensation
benefits after
completion of the training period.
(2) Defines the
benefits of the program and its training to businesses, claimants and the
Employment Security Fund.
(i)
Funding. – Creation of the "Back to Work
funding.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon
passage.
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LC00210/SUB A
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