2024 -- S 2783

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LC005315

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY --

BENEFITS

     

     Introduced By: Senators Bissaillon, Burke, and Mack

     Date Introduced: March 08, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Labor

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 28-44-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-44 entitled

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"Employment Security — Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     28-44-16. Labor disputes.

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     (a) An individual shall not be entitled to benefits if he or she became unemployed because

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of a strike or other industrial controversy in the establishment in which he or she was employed.

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This section shall not apply if it is shown to the satisfaction of the director that the claimant is not

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a member of the organization or group responsible for the labor dispute and is not participating in

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or financing or in any way directly interested in the labor dispute.

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     (b) Lockouts. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an An individual shall be

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entitled to benefits if his or her unemployment is the result of his or her employer’s withholding of

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employment for the purpose of resisting collective bargaining demands or gaining collective

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bargaining concessions, unless:.

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     (1) The claimant’s employer is a member of a multi-employer collective bargaining group

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and the lockout is in response to a strike at another member of that multi-employer collective

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bargaining group; or

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     (2) The claimant’s employer establishes to the satisfaction of the director that it has offered

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to the labor organization representing the claimant an extension of then existing wages, hours, and

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working conditions, including enforceable no strike and no lockout prohibitions, for up to three (3)

 

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days and the lockout is in response to the labor organization’s refusal to execute the extension.

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     (c) If the unemployment continues more than one week following the conclusion of a labor

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dispute, an individual who is otherwise eligible under the terms of this chapter shall be entitled to

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benefits.

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     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 -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY --

BENEFITS

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     This act would allow unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked

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out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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