H 7440

2026 -- H 7440
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 LC004168
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  AN ACT
  RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY --
  BENEFITS
  Introduced By: Representatives Furtado, Kislak, Bennett, Casimiro, Kazarian, Donovan,
  Alzate, O'Brien, Stewart, and Messier
  Date Introduced: January 30, 2026
  Referred To: House Labor
 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1SECTION 1. Section 28-44-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-44 entitled
2 "Employment Security — Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows:
328-44-16. Labor disputes.
4(a) An individual shall not be entitled to benefits if he or she became unemployed because
5 of a strike or other industrial controversy in the establishment in which he or she was employed.
6 This section shall not apply if it is shown to the satisfaction of the director that the claimant is not
7 a member of the organization or group responsible for the labor dispute and is not participating in
8 or financing or in any way directly interested in the labor dispute.
9(b) Lockouts. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an An individual shall be
10 entitled to benefits if his or her unemployment is the result of his or her employer’s withholding of
11 employment for the purpose of resisting collective bargaining demands or gaining collective
12 bargaining concessions, unless:.
13(1) The claimant’s employer is a member of a multi-employer collective bargaining group
14 and the lockout is in response to a strike at another member of that multi-employer collective
15 bargaining group; or
16(2) The claimant’s employer establishes to the satisfaction of the director that it has offered
17 to the labor organization representing the claimant an extension of then existing wages, hours, and
18 working conditions, including enforceable no strike and no lockout prohibitions, for up to three (3)
1 days and the lockout is in response to the labor organization’s refusal to execute the extension.
2(c) If the unemployment continues more than one week following the conclusion of a labor
3 dispute, an individual who is otherwise eligible under the terms of this chapter shall be entitled to
4 benefits.
5SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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  EXPLANATION
  BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
  OF
  AN ACT
   RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY --
  BENEFITS
  ***
1This act would allow unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked
2 out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute.
3This act would take effect upon passage.
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