LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS, the official text

S2170 2026 -- S 2170 ======== LC003843 ======== STATE OF RHODE ISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ A N A C T RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS Introduced By: Senators Bissaillon, LaMountain, Appollonio, McKenney, Bell, Burke, and Famiglietti Date Introduced: January 16, 2026 Referred To: Senate Labor & Gaming It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: 1 SECTION 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: 3 28-44-16. 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. 5 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. ======== LC003843 ======== LC003843 - Page 2 of 3 EXPLANATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF A N A C T RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS *** 1 This 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. 3 This act would take effect upon passage. ======== LC003843 ======== LC003843 - Page 3 of 3