2002 -- S 2331

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LC00968

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2002

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A N A C T

RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR WORLD WAR II FORCED LABOR

     Introduced By: Senator Kevin A. Breene

     Date Introduced: January 29, 2002

     Referred To: Joint Veterans' Affairs

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 9 of the General Laws entitled "Courts And Civil Procedure --

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Procedure Generally" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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     CHAPTER 1.1

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WORLD WAR II VETERANS' COMPENSATION FOR FORCED LABOR

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     9-1.1-1. Legislative intent and purpose. -- Thousands of victims of Nazi persecution,

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and the heirs of victims of Nazi persecution, are residents of the United States. These victims of

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Nazi persecution have been deprived of their entitlement to compensation for their labor and for

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injuries sustained while performing that labor as forced or slave laborers prior to and during the

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Second World War. The United States and the individual states, including the state of Rhode

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Island, have a moral and public policy interest in assuring that its residents and citizens are given

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a reasonable opportunity to claim their entitlement to compensation for forced or slave labor

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performed prior to and during the Second World War.

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     It is the intent of the general assembly, to compensate victims or families of victims of

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forced or slave labor by firms with proven patterns of slave labor which served as the basis of

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their ill-gotten wealth.

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     9-1.1-2. Definitions. – (a) “Second World War slave labor victim” means any person

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taken from a concentration camp or ghetto or diverted from transportation to a concentration

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camp or from a ghetto to perform labor without pay for any period of time between 1929 and

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1945, by the Nazi regime, its allies and sympathizers, or enterprises transacting business in any of

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the area occupied by or under control of the Nazi regime or its allies and sympathizers.

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     (b) “Second World War forced labor victim” means any person who was a member of

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the civilian population conquered by the Nazi regime, its allies or sympathizers, or prisoner-of-

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war of the Nazi regime, its allies or sympathizers, forced to perform labor without pay for any

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period of time between 1929 and 1945, by the Nazi regime, its allies and sympathizers, or

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enterprises transacting business in any of the areas occupied by or under control of the Nazi

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regime or its allies and sympathizers.

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     (c) “Compensation” means the present value of wages and benefits that individuals

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should have been paid and damages for injuries sustained in connection with the labor performed.

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Present value shall be calculated on the basis of the market value of the services at the time they

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were performed, plus interest from the time the services were performed, compounded annually

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to date of full payment without diminution for wartime or postwar currency devaluation.

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     9-1.1-3 Cause of action. -- Any Second World War slave labor victim, or heir of a

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Second World War slave labor victim, and any Second World War forced labor victim, or heir of

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a Second World War forced labor victim, may bring an action to recover damages for injuries

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sustained or compensation for labor performed as either a Second World War slave labor victim

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or a Second World War forced labor victim from any entity or successor in interest thereof, for

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whom that labor was performed, either directly or through a subsidiary or affiliate. Any action

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brought under this chapter shall be brought in the court of the county where the plaintiff resides

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or closest thereto which court shall have jurisdiction over that action until its completion or

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resolution.

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     9-1.1-4. Limitation of action. -- Any action brought under the provisions of this section

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9-1.1-3 shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with applicable statute of limitations, if the

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action is commenced on or before December 31, 2012.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00968

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR WORLD WAR II FORCED LABOR

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     This act would create a Cause of Action for World War II Veterans or heirs to recover

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compensation for labor performed as a Second World War slave labor victim against any entity or

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successor for whom that labor was performed.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC00968

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