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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0587 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001926 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- |
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| 16 | 16 | | BENEFITS |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senators Bissaillon, Ciccone, Dimitri, Appollonio, Britto, McKenney, |
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| 18 | 18 | | and Burke |
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| 19 | 19 | | Date Introduced: February 26, 2025 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Referred To: Senate Labor & Gaming |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | |
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| 23 | 23 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. Section 28-44-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-44 entitled 1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | "Employment Security — Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 28-44-16. Labor disputes. 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) An individual shall not be entitled to benefits if he or she became unemployed because 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | of a strike or other industrial controversy in the establishment in which he or she was employed. 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | This section shall not apply if it is shown to the satisfaction of the director that the claimant is not 6 |
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| 30 | 30 | | a member of the organization or group responsible for the labor dispute and is not participating in 7 |
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| 31 | 31 | | or financing or in any way directly interested in the labor dispute. 8 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b) Lockouts. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an An individual shall be 9 |
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| 33 | 33 | | entitled to benefits if his or her unemployment is the result of his or her employer’s withholding of 10 |
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| 34 | 34 | | employment for the purpose of resisting collective bargaining demands or gaining collective 11 |
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| 35 | 35 | | bargaining concessions, unless:. 12 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) The claimant’s employer is a member of a multi-employer collective bargaining group 13 |
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| 37 | 37 | | and the lockout is in response to a strike at another member of that multi-employer collective 14 |
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| 38 | 38 | | bargaining group; or 15 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) The claimant’s employer establishes to the satisfaction of the director that it has offered 16 |
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| 40 | 40 | | to the labor organization representing the claimant an extension of then existing wages, hours, and 17 |
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| 41 | 41 | | working conditions, including enforceable no strike and no lockout prohibitions, for up to three (3) 18 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC001926 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 45 | 45 | | days and the lockout is in response to the labor organization’s refusal to execute the extension. 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (c) If the unemployment continues more than one week following the conclusion of a labor 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | dispute, an individual who is otherwise eligible under the terms of this chapter shall be entitled to 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | benefits. 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | ======== |
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| 51 | 51 | | LC001926 |
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| 52 | 52 | | ======== |
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| 53 | 53 | | |
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| 54 | 54 | | |
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| 55 | 55 | | LC001926 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 57 | 57 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 58 | 58 | | OF |
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| 59 | 59 | | A N A C T |
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| 60 | 60 | | RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- |
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| 61 | 61 | | BENEFITS |
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| 62 | 62 | | *** |
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| 63 | 63 | | This act would allow unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked 1 |
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| 64 | 64 | | out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute. 2 |
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| 65 | 65 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ======== |
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| 67 | 67 | | LC001926 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ======== |
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| 69 | 69 | | |
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