Rhode Island § 28-44-16 § 28-44-16. Labor disputes.

Rhode Island Statutes

§ 28-44-16 — § 28-44-16. Labor disputes.

Rhode Island § 28-44-16

Title 28Labor and Labor Relations

Ch. 28-44Employment Security â€” Benefits

This text of Rhode Island § 28-44-16 (§ 28-44-16. Labor disputes.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-44-16 (2026).

Text

§ 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

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§ 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.

Legislative History

P.L. 1936, ch. 2333, § 7; P.L. 1937, ch. 2556, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 284, § 7; P.L. 1949, ch. 2175, § 1; impl. am. P.L. 1953, ch. 3206, § 1; P.L. 1955, ch. 3620, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 28-44-16; P.L. 1984, ch. 142, art. 1, § 1; P.L. 1984 (s.s.), ch. 450, § 3; P.L. 1985, ch. 194, § 1.