§ 28-42-3 - Definitions.
SECTION 28-42-3
§ 28-42-3 Definitions. – The following words and phrases, as used in chapters 42 – 44 of thistitle, have the following meanings unless the context clearly requiresotherwise:
(1) "Administration account" means the employment securityadministration account established by this chapter;
(2) "Average weekly wage" means the amount determined bydividing the individual's total wages earned for service performed inemployment within his or her base period by the number of that individual'scredit weeks within his or her base period;
(3) "Base period", with respect to an individual's benefityear means the first four (4) of the most recently completed five (5) calendarquarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year.For any individual's benefit year and for any individual deemed monetarilyineligible for benefits for the "base period" as defined in this subdivision,the department shall make a re-determination of entitlement based upon thealternate base period which consists of the last four (4) completed calendarquarters immediately preceding the first day of the claimant's benefit year.Notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in this subdivision, thebase period shall not include any calendar quarter previously used to establisha valid claim for benefits; provided, that notwithstanding any provision ofchapters 42 – 44 of this title to the contrary, for the benefit yearsbeginning on or after October 4, 1992, whenever an individual who has receivedworkers' compensation benefits is entitled to reinstatement under §28-33-47, but the position to which reinstatement is sought does not exist oris not available, the individual's base period shall be determined as if theindividual filed for benefits on the date of the injury;
(4) "Benefit" means the money payable to an individual ascompensation for his or her wage losses due to unemployment as provided inthese chapters;
(5) "Benefit credits" means the total amount of money payableto an individual as benefits, as determined by § 28-44-9;
(6) "Benefit rate" means the money payable to an individualas compensation, as provided in chapters 42 – 44 of this title, for his orher wage losses with respect to any week of total unemployment;
(7) "Benefit year", with respect to any individual who doesnot already have a benefit year in effect, and who files a valid claim forbenefits means fifty-two (52) consecutive calendar weeks, the first of whichshall be the week containing the day as of which he or she first files a validclaim in accordance with regulations adopted as hereinafter prescribed;provided, that the benefit year shall be fifty-three (53) weeks if the filingof a new valid claim would result in overlapping any quarter of the base periodof a prior new claim previously filed by the individual. In no event shall anew benefit year begin prior to the Sunday next following the end of the oldbenefit year;
(8) "Calendar quarter" means the period of three (3)consecutive calendar months ending March 31, June 30, September 30, andDecember 31; or the equivalent thereof in accordance with regulations assubsequently prescribed;
(9) "Contributions" means the money payments to the stateemployment security fund required by those chapters;
(10) "Credit week" means any week within an individual's baseperiod in which that individual earned wages amounting to at least twenty (20)times the minimum hourly wage as defined in chapter 12 of this title forperforming services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters42 – 44 of this title;
(11) "Crew leader", for the purpose of subdivision (18) ofthis section, means an individual who:
(i) Furnishes individuals to perform service in agriculturallabor for any other person;
(ii) Pays (either on his or her own behalf or on behalf ofthat other person) the individuals so furnished by him or her for the servicein agricultural labor performed by them; and
(iii) Has not entered into a written agreement with thatother person (farm operator) under which that individual (crew leader) isdesignated as an employee of that other person (farm operator).
(12) "Director" means the head of the department of labor andtraining or his or her authorized representative;
(13) "Domestic service employment". "Employment" includesdomestic service in a private home performed for a person who paid cashremuneration of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more in any calendar quarterin the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year to individualsemployed in that domestic service;
(14) "Employee" means any person who is or has been employedby an employer subject to those chapters and in employment subject to thosechapters;
(15) "Employer" means:
(i) Any employing unit that was an employer as of December31, 1955;
(ii) Any employing unit which for some portion of a day onand after January 1, 1956, has or had in employment within any calendar yearone or more individuals; except, however, for "domestic service employment", asdefined in subdivision (13) of this section;
(iii) For the effective period of its election pursuant to§ 28-42-12, any other employing unit which has elected to become subjectto chapters 42 – 44 of this title;
(iv) Any employing unit not an employer by reason of anyother paragraph of this subdivision for which, within either the current orpreceding calendar year, service is or was performed with respect to which thatemploying unit is liable for any federal tax against which credit may be takenfor contributions required to be paid into this state's employment securityfund; or which, as a condition for approval of chapters 42 – 44 of thistitle for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the Federal UnemploymentTax Act, 26 U.S.C. § 3301 et seq., is required, pursuant to that act, tobe an "employer" under chapters 42 – 44 of this title;
(16) "Employing unit" means any person, partnership,association, trust, estate, or corporation whether domestic or foreign, or itslegal representative, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, or trustee, or the legalrepresentative of a deceased person, which has, or had in his or her employ oneor more individuals. For the purposes of subdivision (13) of this section aprivate home shall be considered an employing unit only if the person for whomthe domestic service was performed paid cash remuneration of one thousanddollars ($1,000) or more in any calendar quarter in the current calendar yearor the preceding calendar year to individuals employed in that domestic servicein that private home;
(17) "Employment", subject to §§ 28-42-4 –28-42-10, means service, including service in interstate commerce, performedfor wages or under any contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied;provided, that service performed shall also be deemed to constitute employmentfor all the purposes of chapters 42 – 44 of this title, if performed by anindividual in the employ of a nonprofit organization as described insubdivision (24) of this section except as provided in § 28-42-8(7).
(ii) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,"Employment" also means service with respect to which a tax is required to bepaid under any federal law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken forcontributions required to be paid into this state's employment security fund orwhich as a condition for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the FederalUnemployment Tax Act is required to be covered under chapters 42 – 44 ofthis title;
(18) "Employment – Crew leader". For the purposes ofsubdivision (14) of this section:
(i) Any individual who is a member of a crew furnished by acrew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person shallbe treated as an employee of that crew leader if:
(A) That crew leader holds a valid certificate ofregistration under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act,29 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq., or substantially all members of that crewoperate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting, or crop-dusting equipment,or any other mechanized equipment, which is provided by that crew leader; and
(ii) That individual is not an employee of that other personwithin the meaning of subdivision (14) of this section; and
(iii) In the case of any individual who is furnished by acrew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person andwho is not treated as an employee of that crew leader:
(A) That other person and not the crew leader shall betreated as the employer of that individual; and
(B) That other person shall be treated as having paid cashremuneration to that individual in an amount equal to the amount of cashremuneration paid to that individual by the crew leader (either on his or herown behalf or on behalf of that other person) for the service in agriculturallabor performed for that other person;
(19) "Employment office" means a free public employmentoffice, or its branch, operated by the director or by this state as part of asystem of free public employment offices, or any other agency that the directormay designate with the approval of the Social Security Administration;
(20) "Fund" means the employment security fund established bythis chapter;
(21) "Governmental entity" means state and local governmentsin this state and includes the following:
(i) The state of Rhode Island or any of itsinstrumentalities, or any political subdivision of the state or any of itsinstrumentalities;
(ii) Any instrumentality of more than one of these entities;or
(iii) Any instrumentality of any of these entities and one ormore other states or political subdivisions;
(22) "Hospital" means an institution that has been licensed,certified, or approved by the department of health as a hospital;
(23) "Institution of higher education" means an educationalinstitution in this state which:
(A) Admits as regular students only individuals having acertificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized equivalent ofsuch certificate;
(B) Is legally authorized within this state to provide aprogram of education beyond high school;
(C) Provides:
(I) An educational program for which it awards a bachelor'sor higher degree, or a program that is acceptable for full credit toward such adegree;
(II) A program of post-graduate or post-doctoral studies; or
(III) A program of training to prepare students for gainfulemployment in a recognized occupation; and
(D) Is a public or other non-profit institution.
(ii) Notwithstanding any of the preceding provisions of thissubdivision, all colleges and universities in this state are institutions ofhigher education for purposes of this section;
(24) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization or groupof organizations as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) which is exempt fromincome tax under 26 U.S.C. § 501(a);
(25) "Partial unemployment". An employee shall be deemedpartially unemployed in any week of less than full-time work if he or she failsto earn in wages for that week an amount equal to the weekly benefit rate fortotal unemployment to which he or she would be entitled if totally unemployedand eligible.
(ii) For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision(27) of this section, "Wages" includes only that part of remuneration for anywork, which is in excess of one-fifth ( 1/5) of the weekly benefit rate fortotal unemployment, rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar ($1.00),to which the individual would be entitled if totally unemployed and eligible inany one week, and "services" includes only that part of any work for whichremuneration in excess of one-fifth ( 1/5) of the weekly benefit rate for totalunemployment, rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar ($1.00), towhich the individual would be entitled if totally unemployed and eligible inany one week is payable; provided, that nothing contained in this paragraphshall permit any individual to whom remuneration is payable for any workperformed in any week in an amount equal to or greater than his or her weeklybenefit rate to receive benefits under this subdivision for that week.
(iii) Notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary inthis subdivision, "Services", as used in this subdivision and in subdivision(27) of this section, does not include services rendered by an individual underthe exclusive supervision of any agency of this state, or any of its politicalsubdivisions, by which the services are required solely for the purpose ofaffording relief, support, or assistance to needy individuals performing thoseservices, or services performed by members of the national guard and organizedreserves in carrying out their duties in weekly drills as members of thoseorganizations. "Wages", as used in this subdivision and in subdivision (27) ofthis section, does not include either remuneration received by needyindividuals for rendering the aforementioned services when that remuneration ispaid exclusively from funds made available for that purpose out of taxescollected by this state or any of its political subdivisions, or remunerationreceived from the federal government by members of the national guard andorganized reserves, as drill pay, including longevity pay and allowances;
(26) "Payroll" means the total amount of all wages paid bythe employer to his or her employees for employment;
(27) "Total unemployment." An individual shall be deemedtotally unemployed in any week in which he or she performs no services (as usedin subdivision (25) of this section) and for which he or she earns no wages (asused in subdivision (25) of this section), and in which he or she cannotreasonably return to any self-employment in which he or she has customarilybeen engaged;
(28) "Wages" means all remuneration paid for personalservices on or after January 1, 1940, including commissions and bonuses and thecash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash, and allother remuneration which is subject to a tax under a federal law imposing a taxagainst which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into astate unemployment fund. Gratuities customarily received by an individual inthe course of his or her employment from persons other than his or heremploying unit shall be treated as wages paid by his or her employing unit. Thereasonable cash value of remuneration paid in any medium other than cash, andthe reasonable amount of gratuities, shall be estimated and determined inaccordance with rules prescribed by the director; except that for the purposeof this subdivision and of §§ 28-43-1 – 28-43-14, this term doesnot include:
(i) That part of remuneration which is paid by an employer toan individual with respect to employment during any calendar year, afterremuneration equal to the amount of the taxable wage base as determined inaccordance with § 28-43-7 has been paid during that calendar year by theemployer or his or her predecessor to that individual; provided, that if thedefinition of "Wages" as contained in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act isamended to include remuneration in excess of the taxable wage base for thatemployment, then, for the purposes of §§ 28-43-1 – 28-43-14,"Wages" includes the remuneration as previously set forth up to an amount equalto the dollar limitation specified in the federal act. For the purposes of thissubdivision, "Employment" includes services constituting employment under anyemployment security law of another state or of the federal government;
(ii) The amount of any payment made to, or on behalf of, anemployee under a plan or system established by an employer which makesprovision for his or her employees generally or for a class or classes of hisor her employees (including any amount paid by an employer or an employee forinsurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment), onaccount of:
(A) Retirement;
(B) Sickness or accident disability;
(C) Medical and hospitalization expenses in connection withsickness or accident disability; or
(D) Death; provided, that the employee has not the:
(I) Option to receive, instead of provision for that deathbenefit, any part of that payment or, if that death benefit is insured, anypart of the premiums (or contributions to premiums) paid by his or heremployer; and
(II) Right, under the provisions of the plan or system orpolicy of insurance providing for that death benefit, to assign that benefit,or to receive a cash consideration in lieu of that benefit either upon his orher withdrawal from the plan or system providing for that benefit or upontermination of the plan or system or policy of insurance, or of his or heremployment with that employer.
(E) The payment by an employer (without deduction from theremuneration of the employee) of:
(I) The tax imposed upon an employee under 26 U.S.C. §3101; or
(II) Any payment required from an employee under chapters 42– 44 of this title.
(iii) Any amount paid by an employee or an amount paid by anemployer under a benefit plan organized under Section 125 of the InternalRevenue Code [26 U.S.C. § 125].
(29) "Week" means the seven (7) day calendar week beginningon Sunday at 12:01 A.M. and ending on Saturday at 12:00 A.M. midnight.