Chapter 101
2015 -- S 0759 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/19/2015

A N   A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY BENEFITS

Introduced By: Senators Lombardi, Jabour, Conley, Lombardo, and Archambault
Date Introduced: March 24, 2015

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Sections 28-42-8 and 28-42-62.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-42
entitled "Employment Security - General Provisions" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     28-42-8. Exemptions from "employment". -- "Employment" does not include:
      (1) Domestic service in a private home performed for a person who did not pay cash
remuneration of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more in any calendar quarter after December
31, 1977, in the current calendar year, or the preceding calendar year to individuals employed in
that domestic service in a private home;
      (2) Service performed by an individual in the employ of a sole proprietorship or LLC
single member filing as a sole proprietorship with the IRS for his or her son, daughter, or spouse,
and service performed by a child under the age of eighteen (18) in the employ of his or her father
or mother who is designated as a sole proprietorship or LLC single-member filing as a sole
proprietorship with the IRS, and service is performed by an individual under the age of eighteen
(18) in the employ of a partnership or LLC partnership consisting only of his or her parents or
domestic partners;
      (3) Service performed in the employ of any other state, or any of its political
subdivisions, the United States government, an instrumentality of any other state or states or their
political subdivisions, or of an instrumentality of the United States, except, that if the Congress of
the United States permits states to require any instrumentalities of the United States to make
payments into an unemployment fund under a state unemployment compensation act, then, to the
extent permitted by Congress, and from and after the date as of which permission becomes
effective, all of the provisions of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title shall be applicable to those
instrumentalities and to services performed for those instrumentalities, in the same manner, to the
same extent, and on the same terms, as to all other employers, employing units, individuals, and
services. If this state is not certified by the Secretary of Labor under 26 U.S.C. § 3304 for any
year, then the payments required of those instrumentalities with respect to that year shall be
deemed to have been erroneously collected within the meaning of § 28-43-12 and shall be
refunded by the director from the fund in accordance with § 28-43-12;
      (4) Service performed:
      (i) In the employ of:
      (A) A church or convention or association of churches, churches or
      (B) An organization that is operated primarily for religious purposes and that is operated,
supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention church, or
convention, or association of churches;
      (ii) By a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of
his or her ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by that
order;
      (iii) In a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for
individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury or
providing remunerative work for individuals who, because of their impaired physical or mental
capacity, cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market, by an individual receiving
that rehabilitation or remunerative work;
      (iv) As part of an unemployment work relief or work-training program assisted or
financed in whole, or in part, by any federal agency or an agency of a state or one of its political
subdivisions, by an individual receiving that work relief or work training;
      (v) In the employ of a hospital by a patient of the hospital; or
      (vi) By an inmate of a custodial or penal institution;
      (5) Service with respect to which unemployment compensation is payable under an
unemployment compensation system established by an act of Congress. The director is authorized
and directed to enter into agreements with the proper agencies under that act of Congress, which
agreements shall become effective ten (10) days after their publication as in the manner provided
in § 28-42-34, to provide reciprocal treatment to individuals who have, after acquiring potential
rights to benefits under chapters 42 -- 44 of this title, acquired rights to unemployment
compensation under that act of Congress, or who have, after acquiring potential rights to
unemployment compensation under that act of Congress, acquired rights to benefits under those
chapters;
      (6) Service covered by an election duly approved by the agency charged with the
administration of any other state or federal employment security law in accordance with an
arrangement pursuant to § 28-42-58 during the effective period of that election, except as
provided in § 28-42-3(15)(i) 28-42-3(16)(i);
      (7) Services performed by an individual, in any calendar quarter on or after January 1,
1972, in the employ of any organization exempt from income tax under 26 U.S.C. § 501(a)(other
than services performed for an organization defined in § 28-42-3(24) 28-42-3(25) or for any
organization described in 26 U.S.C. § 401(a) or under 26 U.S.C. § 521) if the remuneration for
that service is less than fifty dollars ($50.00);
      (8) Service that is occasional, incidental, and occurs irregularly, and is not in the course
of the employing unit's trade or business. Service for a corporation shall not be excluded;
      (9) Service as a golf caddy, except as to service performed solely for a club with respect
to which the club alone bears the expense. A golf caddy, except as in this specifically provided
subdivision, shall not be construed to be an "employee" as defined in § 28-42-3(14) 28-42-3(15);
      (10) Notwithstanding any provisions of titles 5 and 27, service performed by an
individual as a real estate salesperson if all the service performed by that individual is performed
for remuneration solely by way of commission;
      (11) Notwithstanding any provisions of titles 5 and 27, service performed by an
individual as an insurance broker, agent, or subagent if all the service performed by that
individual is performed for remuneration solely by way of commission. This exemption shall not
apply to service performed as industrial and debit insurance agents;
      (12) Service performed by an individual who is enrolled at a nonprofit or public
educational institution that normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has
a regular organized body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are
carried on, as a student in a full-time program, taken for credit at that institution that combines
academic instruction with work experience, if that service is an integral part of that program, and
that institution has so certified to the employer, except that this subdivision shall not apply to
service performed in a program established for, or on behalf of, an employer or group of
employers;
      (13) Service performed by an individual on a boat engaged in catching fish or other
forms of aquatic animal life under an arrangement with the owner or operator of that boat
pursuant to which:
      (i) That individual does not receive any cash remuneration other than a share of the
boat's catch of fish or other forms of aquatic animal life or a share of the proceeds from the sale
of that catch; and
      (ii) The operating crew of that boat is normally made up of fewer than ten (10)
individuals; and
      (14) Services performed by a member of an Americorps program. ; and
     (15) Services performed by a self-employed individual.
     28-42-62.1. Fraud and abuse. -- (a) (1) It shall be unlawful to do any of the following:
      (A) Make or cause to be made any knowingly false or fraudulent material statement or
material representation for the purpose of obtaining or denying any benefits;
      (B) Present or cause to be presented Present, or cause to be presented, any
knowingly false or fraudulent written or oral material statement in support of, or in opposition to,
any claim for benefits or petition regarding the continuation, termination termination, or
modification of benefits;
      (C) Knowingly assist, aid and abet, solicit, or conspire with any person who engages in
an unlawful act under this section;
      (D) Willfully misrepresent or fail to disclose any material fact in order to avoid or reduce
any contribution or other payment required of an employing unit under chapters 42 -- 44 of this
title;
      (E) Willfully fail to report or provide false or misleading information regarding
ownership changes as required by regulations promulgated by the department.
      (F) Willfully make or require any deduction from wages to pay all or any portion of all,
or any portion of, the contributions required from employers, or try to induce any individual to
waive any right under chapters 42-44 of this title.
      (2) For purposes of this section, "statement" includes, but is not limited to, the receipt of
unemployment benefits deposited to a direct deposit account or electronic payment card, any
endorsement of a benefit check, application for registration, oral or written statement or report,
proof of unemployment, or other documentation offered as proof of, or the absence of,
entitlement to benefits or the amount of benefits.
      (3) If it is determined that any person concealed or knowingly failed to disclose that
which is required by law to be revealed, revealed; knowingly gave or used perjured testimony or
false evidence, evidence; knowingly made a false statement of fact, fact; participated in the
creation or presentation of evidence which he knows to be false, false; or otherwise engaged in
conduct in violation of this section, that person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject in
criminal proceedings to a fine and/or penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by imprisonment up to one year in state
prison, or both.
      (4) Beginning October 1, 2013, whenever the director establishes that an erroneous
payment was made to an individual due to fraud committed by the individual, that individual will
be assessed a penalty equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the amount of the erroneous payment. All
penalties assessed and collected under this subsection shall be immediately deposited into the
employment security fund.
      (b) The director, in consultation with the attorney general, shall establish a form to give
notice that the endorsement of a benefit check sent or the receipt of unemployment benefits
deposited to a direct deposit account or electronic payment card pursuant to chapter 44 of this title
is the endorser's affirmation that he or she is qualified to receive benefits under the employment
security act. The notice shall be sent to all individuals who are presently receiving benefits and
given to those who file claims for benefits in the future.
     SECTION 2. Sections 28-44-12, 28-44-18 and 28-44-38 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-44 entitled "Employment Security - Benefits" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     28-44-12. Availability and registration for work. -- (a) An individual shall not be
eligible for benefits for any week of his or her partial or total unemployment unless during that
week he or she is physically able to work full-time and be available for full-time work. To prove
availability for work, every individual partially or totally unemployed shall register for work and
shall:
      (1) File a claim for benefits within any time limits, with any frequency, and in any
manner, in person or in writing, as the director may prescribe;
      (2) Respond whenever duly called for work through the employment office; and
      (3) Make an active, independent search for suitable full-time work.
      (b) If an unemployed individual has been determined to be likely to exhaust regular
benefits and to need reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system established by the
director, the individual shall be eligible to receive benefits with respect to any week only if the
individual participates in reemployment services, such as job search assistance services, unless
the director determines that:
      (1) The individual has completed those services; or
      (2) There is justifiable cause for the individual's failure to participate in those services.
     28-44-18. Discharge for misconduct. – (a) For benefit years beginning prior to July 1,
2012, an individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or her
work shall become ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which that
discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she
has, subsequent to that discharge, had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of that eight
(8) weeks has had earnings of at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly wage as defined in
chapter 12 of this title for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject
to chapters 42 -- 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2012, and prior to
July 6, 2014, an individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or
her work shall become ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which that
discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she
has, subsequent to that discharge, had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of that eight
(8) weeks has had earnings greater than, or equal to, his or her weekly benefit rate for performing
services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 -- 44 of this title. For
benefit years beginning on or after July 6, 2014, an individual who has been discharged for
proved misconduct connected with his or her work shall become ineligible for waiting-period
credit or benefits for the week in which that discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to
the satisfaction of the director that he or she has, subsequent to that discharge, had earnings
greater than, or equal to eight (8) times, his or her weekly benefit rate for performing services in
employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 -- 44 of this title. Any individual
who is required to leave his or her work pursuant to a plan, system, or program, public or private,
providing for retirement, and who is otherwise eligible, shall under no circumstances be deemed
to have been discharged for misconduct. If an individual is discharged and a complaint is issued
by the regional office of the National Labor Relations board or the state labor relations board that
an unfair labor practice has occurred in relation to the discharge, the individual shall be entitled to
benefits if otherwise eligible. For the purposes of this section, "misconduct" is defined as
deliberate conduct in willful disregard of the employer's interest, or a knowing violation of a
reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of the employer, provided that such violation is
not shown to be as a result of the employee's incompetence. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title, this section shall be construed in a manner that is fair and
reasonable to both the employer and the employed worker.
     (b) For the purposes of chapters 42 through 44 of this title, a suspension without pay from
work for proved misconduct shall be treated as a discharge for proved misconduct and subject to
the same conditions as a discharge for proved misconduct in accordance with subsection (a) of
this section.
     28-44-38. Filing of claims -- Procedures -- Printed copies -- Notices. -- (a) Claims for
waiting period credit and for benefits shall be filed in accordance with regulations adopted as
prescribed. Each employer shall post and maintain printed copies or statements of those
regulations in places readily accessible to individuals employed by him or her. The director shall
supply each employer with copies of those regulations or statements of the regulations without
cost to the employers.
      (b) The director shall prescribe the type of reports required from employers and the
manner in which the reports shall be presented.
      (c) Upon the filing of a claim, the director shall promptly mail a notice of the filing of
the claim to the claimant's notify the most recent employer and to all employers for whom the
claimant states he or she performed services and earned wages during his or her base period. The
employers shall promptly furnish the information required to determine the claimant's benefit
rights. If the claimant's employer or employers have any information which that might affect
either the validity of the claim or the right of the claimant to waiting period credit or benefits, he
or she shall return the notice with that information. If an employer fails without good cause as
established to the satisfaction of the director to return this notice within seven (7) ten (10)
working days of its mailing, the employer shall have no standing to contest any determination to
be made by the director with respect to the claim and any benefit charges pursuant to it, and the
employer shall be barred from being a party to any further proceedings relating to the claim.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title, any employer who
fails to return the notice within that time shall pay a penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for
each failure. The preceding penalty shall be paid into the employment security tardy account
fund, and if any employer fails to pay the penalty, when assessed, it shall be collected by civil
action as provided in § 28-43-18.
     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC001782/SUB A
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