Rhode Island § 28-44-16 - Employment Security — Benefits

§ 28-44-16. Labor disputes.

(a) An individual shall not be entitled to benefits if he or she became unemployed because of a strike or other industrial controversy in the establishment in which he or she was employed. This section shall not apply if it is shown to the satisfaction of the director that the claimant is not a member of the organization or group responsible for the labor dispute and is not participating in or financing or in any way directly interested in the labor dispute.

(b) Lockouts.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an individual shall be entitled to benefits if his or her unemployment is the result of his or her employer’s withholding of employment for the purpose of resisting collective bargaining demands or gaining collective bargaining concessions, unless:

(1) The claimant’s employer is a member of a multi-employer collective bargaining group and the lockout is in response to a strike at another member of that multi-employer collective bargaining group; or

(2) The claimant’s employer establishes to the satisfaction of the director that it has offered to the labor organization representing the claimant an extension of then existing wages, hours, and working conditions, including enforceable no strike and no lockout prohibitions, for up to three (3) days and the lockout is in response to the labor organization’s refusal to execute the extension.

(c) If the unemployment continues more than one week following the conclusion of a labor dispute, an individual who is otherwise eligible under the terms of this chapter shall be entitled to benefits.