2021 -- H 6011

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LC001374

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES

AND WORKPLACES ACT

     Introduced By: Representative Jose F. Batista

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2021

     Referred To: House Labor

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 28-57-3 and 28-57-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-57 entitled

"Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     28-57-3. Definitions.

     As used in the chapter, the following words and terms have the following meanings:

     (1) "Care recipient" means a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing

or arranging health- or safety-related care, including, but not limited to, helping the person obtain

diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment or ensuring the person is safe

following domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

     (2) "CCAP family childcare provider" means a childcare worker as defined in § 40-6.6-

2(2).

     (3) "Child" means a person as defined in § 28-41-34(1).

     (4) "Department" means the department of labor and training.

     (5) "Domestic partner" means a party to a civil union as defined in chapter 3.1 of title 15

or a person who meets the requirements in §§ 36-12-1(3)(i) through (3)(v) has the same meaning

as that term is defined in § 8-8.2-20.

     (6) "Domestic violence" means certain crimes when committed by one family or household

member against another as defined in § 12-29-2.

     (7) "Employee" means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer, except

for those not considered employees as defined in § 28-12-2. Independent contractors,

subcontractors, work study participants as described pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2753.23,

apprenticeships and interns as defined under FLSA section 3(g) shall not be considered to be

employees for the purpose of this act.

     (8) "Employer" means any individual or entity that includes any individual, partnership,

association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting directly or

indirectly in the interest of an employer, in relation to an employee as defined in § 28-12-2, but

does not include the federal government, and provided that in determining the number of employees

performing work for an employer as defined in 29 C.F.R. § 791.2 of the Federal Fair Labor

Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the total number of employees in that group shall be

counted.

     (9) "Family member" means a child, parent, spouse, mother-in-law, father-in-law,

grandparents, grandchildren, or domestic partner, sibling, care recipient, or member of the

employee's household.

     (10) "Healthcare professional" means any person licensed under federal or Rhode Island

law to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to: doctors, nurses, and

emergency room personnel.

     (11) "Paid sick leave time" or "paid sick and safe leave time" means time that is

compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including healthcare benefits, as

the employee normally earns during hours worked and is provided by an employer to an employee

for the purposes described in § 28-57-6, but in no case shall the hourly wage paid leave be less than

that provided under § 28-12-3. Except that "paid sick leave time" or "paid sick and safe leave time"

means time that is compensated at the wage hourly rate only for all employees in the construction

industry, as classified as code 23 under the North American Industry Classification System,

working and under a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement authorized pursuant to 29

U.S.C. § 158 (f) and (e) that contain collective bargaining agreement language providing for sick

wage benefits. These benefits shall be governed by these collective bargaining agreements that

contain provisions for sick time and safe leave benefits accumulated on an hourly or weekly basis

as determined by their collective bargaining agreement; provided that these agreements meet the

minimum standards of this act.

     (12) "Parent" means a person as defined in § 28-41-34(5) or a person as defined in § 28-

41-34(9).

     (13) "Seasonal employee" means a person as defined in 26 C.F.R. § 54.4980H-1(a)(38).

     (14) "Sexual assault" means a crime as defined in § 11-37-2, 11-37-4 or 11-37-6.

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     (15) "Sibling" means a brother or a sister, whether related through half blood, whole blood,

or adoption, a foster sibling, or a step-sibling.

     (16) "Spouse" means a person as defined in § 28-41-34(7).

     (17) "Stalking" means a crime as described in §§ 11-59-2 and 11-52-4.2.

     (18) "Temporary employee" means any person working for, or obtaining employment

pursuant to an agreement with any employment agency, placement service, or training school or

center.

     (19) "Unpaid sick time" is time that is used for the purposes described in § 28-57-6.

     (20) "Year" means a regular and consecutive twelve-month-period as determined by the

employer; except that for the purposes of § 28-57-7, "year" means a calendar year.

     28-57-5. Accrual of paid sick and safe leave time.

     (a) All employees employed by an employer of eighteen (18) or more employees in Rhode

Island and all employees in the construction industry, as classified as code 23 under the North

American Industry Classification System, working under a multi-employer collective bargaining

agreement authorized pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 158 (f) and (e) that contains language for such

benefits shall accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every thirty five

(35) hours worked up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours during the calendar year of 2018,

thirty-two (32) hours during calendar year 2019 and up to a maximum of forty (40) hours per year

thereafter, unless, pursuant to their collective bargaining agreement, employees receive the

employer chooses to provide a higher annual limit in both accrual and use. In determining the

number of employees who are employed by an employer for compensation, all employees defined

in § 28-57-3(7) shall be counted.

     (b) Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements under 29 U.S.C. §

213(a)(1) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., will be assumed to work

forty (40) hours in each work week for purposes of paid sick and safe leave time accrual unless

their normal work week is less than forty (40) hours, in which case paid sick and safe leave time

accrues based upon that normal work week.

     (c) Paid sick and safe leave time as provided in this chapter shall begin to accrue at the

commencement of employment or pursuant to the law's effective date [July 1, 2018], whichever is

later. An employer may provide all paid sick and safe leave time that an employee is expected to

accrue in a year at the beginning of the year.

     (d) An employer may require a waiting period for newly hired employees of up to ninety

(90) days. During this waiting period, an employee shall accrue earned sick time pursuant to this

section or the employer's policy, if exempt under § 28-57-4(b), but shall not be permitted to use the

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earned sick time until after he or she has completed the waiting period.

     (e) Paid sick and safe leave time shall be carried over to the following calendar year;

however, an employee's use of paid sick and safe leave time provided under this chapter in each

calendar year shall not exceed twenty-four (24) hours during calendar year 2018, and thirty-two

(32) hours during calendar year 2019, and forty (40) hours per year thereafter. Alternatively, in lieu

of carryover of unused earned paid sick and safe leave time from one year to the next, an employer

may pay an employee for unused earned paid sick and safe leave time at the end of a year and

provide the employee with an amount of paid sick and safe leave that meets or exceeds the

requirements of this chapter that is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of

the subsequent year.

     (f) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement

to an employee from an employer upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement, or other

separation from employment for accrued paid sick and safe leave time that has not been used.

     (g) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity, or location within the state,

but remains employed by the same employer as defined in 29 C.F.R. § 791.2 of the Federal Fair

Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the employee is entitled to all paid sick and safe leave

time accrued at the prior division, entity, or location and is entitled to use all paid sick and safe

leave time as provided in this act. When there is a separation from employment and the employee

is rehired within one hundred thirty-five (135) days of separation by the same employer, previously

accrued paid sick and safe leave time that had not been used shall be reinstated. Further, the

employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave time and accrue additional sick

and safe leave time at the re-commencement of employment.

     (h) When a different employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, all

employees of the original employer who remain employed by the successor employer within the

state are entitled to all earned paid sick and safe leave time they accrued when employed by the

original employer, and are entitled to use earned paid sick and safe leave time previously accrued.

     (i) At its discretion, an employer may loan sick and safe leave time to an employee in

advance of accrual by such employee.

     (j) Temporary employees shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave time

beginning on the one hundred eightieth (180) calendar day following commencement of their

employment, unless otherwise permitted by the employer. On and after the one hundred eightieth

(180) calendar day of employment, employees may use paid sick and safe leave time as it is

accrued. During this waiting period, an employee shall accrue earned sick time pursuant to this

chapter, but shall not be permitted to use the earned sick time until after he or she has completed

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the waiting period.

     (k) Seasonal employees shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave time

beginning on the one hundred fiftieth (150) calendar day following commencement of their

employment, unless otherwise permitted by the employer. On and after the one hundred fiftieth

(150) calendar day of employment, employees may use paid sick and safe leave time as it is

accrued. During this waiting period, an employee shall accrue earned sick time pursuant to this

chapter, but shall not be permitted to use the earned sick time until after he or she has completed

the waiting period.

     (l) Employers in the construction industry, as classified as code 23 under the North

American Industry Classification System, that are signatory to a multi-employer collective

bargaining agreement authorized pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 158 (f) and (e) may name a federal

Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefit trust fund to administer the paid sick leave and

safe leave wage time employee benefits required by this chapter. The collective bargaining

agreement language that allows the trust to administer and paid sick leave and safe leave non-wage

benefits by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act trust fund allowing the multi-employers

to participate through their local collective bargaining agreement in providing benefits to their

employees shall make these employers compliant with this chapter.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES

AND WORKPLACES ACT

***

     This act would amend the definition of paid sick leave time and paid sick and safe leave

time and allow 40 hours of accrual for construction industry employees, to be administered by

establishing a benefit trust fund.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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