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CALL TO ACTION – Time to Call/Email Your State Representative
Last week, the House Committee on Environment & Natural Resources voted to recommend passage of H.5445 SubA, the 2021 Act on Climate. (the change was not substantive) The bill is on the House floor for a vote Tuesday. Go to this link to send an email directly to your State Representative – please do it today! https://p2a.co/dzkbnYe These bills speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emission targets currently in law, but they do much more. Under current law, Rhode Island set a goal of 10% reduction over 1990 levels by 2020, a 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2035, and 80% over 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing plans to meet those targets. The state has met the 2020 target. H.5445 SubA changes the targets to 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2030, 80% reduction over 1990 levels by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. The more challenging change is in the enforcement of the reduction targets. H.5445 SubA allows the EC4 to require agencies to promulgate rules necessary to reach the targets. There is no language in the bill to provide guidelines for what can or cannot be adopted as part of a rule. At this time, the only known technological path to meet the 2040 goal is to require every business and every residence to switch heating systems to a geothermal heat pump or to an electric heat pump for heating purposes, and to require all Rhode Islanders to switch to electric vehicles. In addition, all electricity generation in the state would have to switch to renewable fuel – wind, solar, etc. If the emission target is not reached, any person has the right to file a lawsuit and force government action regardless of the cost. 89% of the state’s electricity is currently generated by natural gas. The body responsible for ensuring reliability of New England’s electrical grid (ISO New England) will not complete its study on feasibility until the end of this year. Rhode Island also has the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. How does the state transition to 100% renewable electricity and at what cost? If, as H.5445 SubA would indirectly require, all businesses and residents must switch to electric heat and electric vehicles by 2030 or 2040, how will the additional electricity demand be met and at what cost? According to the State’s consultant, a “deep residential energy retrofit” would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit. No cost analysis was provided for a commercial or industrial facility. Massachusetts has similar language in law to that proposed by H.5445 SubA. Last month legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to raise $10 billion to pay for necessary actions to try to meet the mandated greenhouse gas emission targets in their state law. Part of the $10 billion, includes $500 million generated from a carbon tax on electricity, transportation, heating and industry. The money would go to construct more renewable energy capacity, local aid for climate-related projects, clean energy workforce training and direct payments to lower-income households. Now is the time to call your State Representative! Ask them to vote against passage of H.5445 SubA. This Week at the State House New Mandate Proposed for Businesses With 500+ Employees On Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., the Senate Labor Committee will consider S.433, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Establishing the “Commuter Transportation Benefits Act”. This bill requires employers with 500+ employees to offer employees a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit program that provides commuter transit benefits consistent with section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. State and municipal governments are exempt, as are employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in effect on January 1, 2022. Those covered by a CBA are included after the agreement expires. If an employer fails to comply, a civil penalty of $100 to $250 will be assessed for the first violation, and the employer will be given 90 days to come into compliance. Each additional 30-day period of non-compliance will result in an additional $250 fine. If passed, the requirement would go into effect January 1, 2022. The bill can be viewed at: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0433.pdf Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: [email protected] *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Employer Assessment Fee Hearing On Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Committee will take testimony on S.386, An Act Relating to Health and Safety – Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund. S.386 creates a new government program to assist families of children fighting an illness, the medical expenses of which are not covered by a state or federal program or health insurance program; and the expense exceeds 10% of the first $100,000 of annual income of the family plus 15% of the excess income over $100,000. The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund will be financed through an annual charge on employers of $1.50 per employee. The fee only applies to employers subject to the unemployment insurance tax. The bill can be viewed at: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0386.pdf Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: [email protected] *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Governor McKee’s Supplemental Budget – PPP Loan Forgiveness Taxation H.6121 is the Governor’s Supplemental Budget for the current fiscal year. Article 2 of the FY2021 Supplemental Budget includes a provision that decouples the Rhode Island income tax from the federal income as it relates to the treatment of PPP Loan Forgiveness. In December of 2020, the federal government reversed its treatment of PPP Loan Forgiveness so that it is considered nontaxable for federal tax purposes. Because Rhode Island is a “piggy-back” state, this tax treatment flows to the state tax treatment as well. It has been reported that Rhode Island would lose $133 million in tax revenue if the status quo remains. H.6121 proposes to decouple so that PPP Loan Forgiveness amounts over $150,000 would be taxable in the state of Rhode Island. Early reports indicate the State would recapture about half of the $133 million by making this change – that calculation could change as time moves forward. The language of the Article also appears to give the Tax Administrator specific authority to forgo taxing PPP Loan forgiveness over $150,000 if the State receives federal funds earmarked for state revenue replacement. Governor McKee’s FY2022 Budget – What’s In It? Article 6 – Relating to Fees Article 6 proposes to change the following fees:
Article 6 also gives the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) the authority to increase administrative penalties assessed. Existing law allows for a penalty up to $2500 for each violation and additional penalties up to $500 per day up to a maximum of $10,000. This Article increases the penalties to $10,000 for each violation and an additional penalty of up to $1000 per day up to $50,000. Article 9 – Economic Development The first five pages of Article 9 relates to education requirements and listing of Engineers in Rhode Island. The language can be found at: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText21/HouseText21/Article-009.pdf Rebuild RI Tax Credit – the budget provides an additional $30 million to the program going from $210 million to $240 million The following programs were scheduled to sunset this year, but are extended in the budget for another 18 months:
Article 9 proposes some changes to the Small Business Development Loan Fund. This program was created in 2019 for companies that have less than 250 employees and not more than $15 million in net income. When a small business investor makes a capital investment in the fund, that person or entity is eligible for a tax credit. These credits can be assigned, transferred, or sold on the open market. The budget makes clear that only the owner or holder of the credit can transfer, assign or sell the credits. The Article also gives the state the ability to recapture tax credits by requiring the original applicant to pay back the state if the applicant fails to complete the program. This avoids loss to the state as it is difficult to recover loss from a transferee, assignee or purchaser who did so in an arms-length transaction. The loan program itself will also change. Under the proposal, Commerce RI would issue the first public solicitation for applicants by November 1, 2021. The application fee of $5,000 would change to a fee set by regulation. After the close of the public solicitation period, Commerce RI would make determinations and those determinations are final. The Article eliminates and applicant’s ability to appeal and submit further information if their application is incomplete. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6142 (Attorney General) Lima, Phillips, Carson, Caldwell, Serpa, Fellela, Fenton-Fung, Casey, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Penalty of $10,000 for violating Deceptive Trade Practices Act.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6142.pdf Senate Bill No. 629 Ruggerio, Euer, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Pearson, Miller, Gallo, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS-RENEWABLE ENERGY (Increases the percentage of retail electricity sales from renewable energy sources.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0629.pdf Senate Bill No. 630 Morgan, de la Cruz, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS-CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM MANDATED INDEMNIFIED (LIABILITY-FREE) PRODUCTS (Prohibits mandating indemnified products to consumers in certain circumstances.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0630.pdf Senate Resolution No. 639 Mack, SENATE RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CONVERSION OF RHODE ISLAND'S ECONOMY FROM MILITARISM TO CLIMATE RESILIENCY http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0639.pdf Senate Bill No. 640 Kallman, Cano, Quezada, Valverde, DiMario, Euer, Coyne, Seveney, Lombardo, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- RHODE ISLAND SECURE CHOICE RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM ACT (Establishes the Rhode Island secure choice retirement savings program. Establishes a board which is a public corporation. Allows for creation of IRA-type retirement investments managed by the board.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0640.pdf Senate Bill No. 654 DiMario, Valverde, Kallman, Raptakis, Murray, Pearson, Quezada, Mendes, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- SMALL BUSINESSES -- ZONING ORDINANCES http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0654.pdf Senate Bill No. 668 Mack, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY – RESIDENTIAL RENT AND MORTGAGE CANCELLATION ACT OF 2021 http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0668.pdf Senate Bill No. 673 Lombardi, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- PARTNERSHIPS--RHODE ISLAND PARTNERSHIP ACT (Enacts the Uniform Partnership Act of 1997, last amended in 2013, to govern the law of partnerships in this state and would repeal chapter 12 of title 7 entitled "Partnerships".) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0673.pdf Senate Bill No. 674 Lombardi, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- THE RHODE ISLAND LIMITED PARTNERSHIP ACT (Enacts the Rhode Island Limited Partnership Act to govern the law of limited partnerships in this state and repeal chapter 12 of title 7 entitled "Limited Partnerships". Effective January 1, 2022.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0674.pdf Senate Bill No. 688 Lawson, Lombardo, Seveney, Quezada, Miller, Sosnowski, Cano, Pearson, Euer, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- BENEFITS (Increases temporary caregiver benefits to six (6) weeks in a benefit year starting January 1, 2022 and would increase temporary caregiver benefits to eight (8) weeks in a benefit year beginning January 1, 2023.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0688.pdf Senate Bill No. 689 Mack, Calkin, Mendes, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAGES (Increases minimum wage on October 1, 2021, to $13, gradually increases future wages to $16 in 2023.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0689.pdf
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CALL TO ACTION – Time to Call/Email Your Legislators
On Tuesday at 4:00 pm, the Senate is scheduled to vote on S.78 SubA on the floor of the Senate. The House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources is set to vote on the companion bill – H.5445 – Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Go to this link to send an email directly to your State Senator and Representative – please do it today! https://p2a.co/dzkbnYe These bills speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emission targets currently in law, but they do much more. Under current law, Rhode Island set a goal of 10% reduction over 1990 levels by 2020, a 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2035, and 80% over 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing plans to meet those targets. The state has met the 2020 target. S.78 SubA and H.5445 change the targets to 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2030, 80% reduction over 1990 levels by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. The more challenging change is in the enforcement of the reduction targets. S.78 SubA and H.5445 allow the EC4 to require agencies to promulgate rules necessary to reach the targets. There is no language in the bills to provide guidelines for what can or cannot be adopted as part of a rule. At this time, the only known technological path to meet the 2040 goal is to require every business and every residence to switch heating systems to a geothermal heat pump or an electric heat pump for heating purposes, and to require all Rhode Islanders to switch to electric vehicles. In addition, all electricity generation in the state would have to switch to renewable fuel – wind, solar, etc. If the emission target is not reached, any person has the right to file a lawsuit and force government action regardless of the cost. The Chamber sent sixteen questions to RI DEM concerning what a transition might look like from fossil fuel use to renewable energy. For example, 89% of the state’s electricity is currently generated by natural gas. The body responsible for ensuring reliability of New England’s electrical grid will not complete its study on feasibility until the end of this year. Rhode Island also has the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. How does the state transition to 100% renewable electricity and at what cost? If (as S.78 and H.5445 would indirectly require) all businesses and residents must switch to electric heat and electric vehicles by 2030 or 2040, how will the additional electricity demand be met and at what cost? According to the State’s consultant, a “deep residential energy retrofit” would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit. No cost analysis was provided for a commercial or industrial facility. Massachusetts has similar language in law to that proposed by S.78 SubA and H.5445. Last month legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to raise $10 billion to pay for necessary actions to try to meet the mandated greenhouse gas emission targets in their state law. Part of the $10 billion, includes $500 million generated from a carbon tax on electricity, transportation, heating and industry. The money would go to construct more renewable energy capacity, local aid for climate-related projects, clean energy workforce training and direct payments to lower-income households. Now is the time to call your State Senator and State Representative! Ask them to vote against passage of S.78 SubA and H.5445 or H.5445 SubA (the House Environment Committee is expected to amend H.5445 to mirror S.78 SubA which is basically a technical amendment). This Week at the State House House Labor Wednesday – Calling all HR Managers At 6:30pm on Wednesday, the House Labor Committee will hear testimony on five bills of interest. H.5261, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, requires employers to adhere to equal pay for “comparable” work. Under current Rhode Island law, employers are prohibited from paying female employees less than their male counterparts if they are performing equal work on the same operations. Unequal salaries are permitted for seniority, training, skill, ability, shift times, and other issues unrelated to gender. These differentials would apply to males just as they would to females. H.5261 dramatically changes the work world by requiring employers to not only look at equal work but “comparable work.” H.5261 also extends this wage payment system to religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (41+) and ancestral origin. Under this bill, if a wage differential exists, and the employer does not have a seniority or merit system written policy, the burden to prove that the differential is legal shifts to the employer. That burden can only be overcome by proving the following: 1. The reason for the differential is for some reason other than race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or ancestral origin; 2. The reason is job-related to the position in question; AND 3. It is a “business necessity” which means essential to effective job performance; however, if the employee can demonstrate that an alternative exists to the pay differential and the employer refused to accept the alternative then the employer loses the case. If the employer fails to prove all three requirements to the Department of Labor and Training, the employee is entitled to unpaid wages – meaning whatever the other employee was getting paid – compensatory damages and liquidated damages up to three times the amount of unpaid wages and benefits deemed to be owed. H.5584, An Act Related to Labor and Labor Relations – Unlawful Employment Practices, bars employers from asking potential employees for salary history before an offer of employment has been negotiated. An employee can voluntarily provide the information. The bill states that time out of work due to pregnancy leave or family and medical leave cannot be considered when determining seniority. Lastly, it gives employers an affirmative defense to an employee’s complaint, if that employer conducted a self-evaluation of pay practices within the previous three years and can demonstrate reasonable progress in eliminating wage differentials. H.5718, and H.5853 Acts Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, forbid an employer to require an employee, as a condition of employment, to execute a nondisclosure agreement or an agreement with a clause that requires alleged violations of civil rights remain confidential, or a non-disparagement agreement concerning alleged violations of civil rights or alleged unlawful conduct. Any contract provision in violation of this subsection shall be void as a violation of public policy. These bills are identical. H.5852, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, prohibits an employer, from directly or indirectly committing any act declared to be an unlawful employment practice. Individual employees (including HR managers) or employers committing any act declared to be unlawful employment practice may be held personally liable for such conduct in addition to the employer. If you wish to submit written testimony on any of these bills, send it (in pdf form) to: [email protected] Indicate your name, bill number, (for/against/neither) at top of message. Due to high volume, clerks are not screening this inbox for verbal testimony requests. This inbox is for written testimony only. Written testimony must be submitted by 3:30 pm on Wednesday. If you wish to verbally testify on a bill, you must fill out a form by 4:00pm on Tuesday, March 16th. For verbal testimony requests, CLICK HERE Governor McKee Release FY2022 Budget UTD will be featuring summaries of the budget articles contained in Governor McKee’s $11.1 billion budget released last Thursday. As with everything else in these COVID-19 related times, the Governor’s budget is different this year. The budget is much smaller and contains less programmatic initiatives. However, keep in mind that this budget was developed in a very short time frame, and was submitted prior to the federal government passing a stimulus package that provides assistance to state and local governments. That said, it does lay out a basis for the start of the budget discussion. There are no broad-based tax increases in the bill and it does continue the phase-out of the Rhode Island car tax. Of particular interest to the business community is a decoupling of the state income tax from the federal income tax in the treatment of PPP loans/grants. Congress voted to declare the loans/grants tax-free; Governor McKee’s budget seeks to declare PPP over $150,000 as taxable to the state. Estimates suggest the state could re-capture approximately $133 million in tax revenue by decoupling for this purpose. The link to H.6122 can be found below. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6064 (Secretary of State) Caldwell, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- MERGER AND CONSOLIDATION (Amends the Rhode Island Nonprofit Corporation Act regarding consolidation and merger.) H6064.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6073 Henries, Lombardi, Alzate, Morales, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY – RESIDENTIAL RENT AND MORTGAGE CANCELLATION ACT OF 2021 (Forgives rent for tenants and mortgage payments for small homeowners from the date of a declared health emergency by the governor until the expiration of ninety (90) days after the governor declares that the state of emergency has ended.) H6073.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6085 Morgan, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Grants immunity from civil liability and professional disciplinary action for any action or inaction arising out of a disaster or declared emergency, when acting in good faith.) H6085.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6090 Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- BENEFITS (Increases temporary caregiver benefits to six (6) weeks in a benefit year starting January 1, 2022 and would increase temporary caregiver benefits to eight (8) weeks in a benefit year beginning January 1, 2023.) H6090.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6119 McEntee, Costantino, Caldwell, Cortvriend, Phillips, Carson, Cassar, Giraldo, Casimiro, Slater, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- SMALL BUSINESSES--ZONING ORDINANCES (Imposes one year moratorium on enforcement of municipal ordinance or zoning requirement that penalizes owners of food service establishments/bars for modifications/alternations to their premises in response to an emergency declaration.) H6119.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6122 (Governor) Abney, AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE STATE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2022 H6122.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 549 Cano, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Euer, Kallman, Acosta, Seveney, Mack, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- STATE PURCHASES (Provides an exception to competitive bidding for local, minority and woman-owned businesses. Provides a waiver of compliance to contractors for the inclusion of minority-owned businesses in all procurements and construction projects.) S0549.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 568 Miller, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Ruggerio, Coyne, Felag, DiPalma, Sosnowski, Pearson, Acosta, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- CANNABIS AUTHORIZATION, REGULATION AND TAXATION (Establishes Cannabis Control Commission to regulate all aspects of cannabis production and distribution.) S0568.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 580 Picard, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Amends the classification of manufacturing machinery that is eligible for a property tax exemption by eliminating the requirement that the machinery be new.) S0580.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 583 DiPalma, Seveney, AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- PAYMENT OF STATUTORY FEES (Allows state departments and agencies to implement electronic filing of applications for licenses, permits, registrations, certificates and functions by allowing a vendor to withhold a commission for implementing the system for electronic filing.) S0583.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 605 Euer, Miller, Lawson, Acosta, Quezada, DiMario, Valverde, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - THE FAIR CHANCE EMPLOYMENT ACT (Prohibits employers from conducting a background check until after a conditional employment offer is made, and prohibit considering convictions.) S0605.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 610 Calkin, Anderson, Acosta, Bell, Goldin, Mack, Mendes, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Requires employers with 50 or more employees to pay "hazard pay" to employees involved in providing essential services during a declared public health emergency.) S0610.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 611 Cano, DiMario, Quezada, Lombardi, Lawson, Goldin, Murray, Seveney, Miller, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND PARENTAL AND FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (Increases the amount of parental or family leave available to an employee from thirteen (13) weeks to twenty-six (26) weeks in any two (2) calendar years.) S0611.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 612 Goldin, Goodwin, Cano, Mendes, Mack, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES AND WORKPLACES ACT (Requires an employer to provide employees with additional paid sick leave time, in addition to paid sick and safe leave time, for COVID-19 purposes.) S0612.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 613 Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Ciccone, Lombardo, Lombardi, Pearson, Lawson, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- REAL JOBS RHODE ISLAND ACT (Establishes the real jobs Rhode Island program in order to create an industry led system to advance the skills of the state's workforce, grow the state's economy and increase sustainable employment for middle class working families.) S0613.pdf (state.ri.us)
Last Week at the State House Senate Labor Committee Passes Bullying Bill On a 7-1 vote, the members of the Senate Labor Committee voted to recommend passage of S.196, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Dignity At Work Act. Those voting in favor were: Senators Burke, Ciccone, Goldin, Lombardi, Lombardo, Picard and Sosnowski. Voting against the bill was Senator de la Cruz. The bill would allow employees to sue fellow workers and/or the employer for acts deemed as bullying. Such acts include: overbearing supervision, withholding information or training to harm an employee, pestering, gossiping, moving an employee’s personal items or equipment, physically or mentally causing an employee harm, et al. The chamber testified against the bill. The full Senate will vote on the bill during today’s session that starts at 4:00 p.m. ISO New England Provides Electricity Update ISO New England appeared before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture last week to provide an update on the condition of New England’s electricity marketplace. New England is part of what is referred to as the “eastern connection,” meaning New England states south to Florida and west to the foot of the Rockies are all part of one system. The states are dependent upon one another. ISO New England is the independent, not-for-profit company authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform three critical, complex, interconnected roles: 1. Operate the regional electrical grid; 2. Market energy within the region; and 3. Plan for future electricity needs. According to ISO, no net growth in electricity is occurring in the New England region. While there is growth in the marketplace, energy efficiency programs have driven down demand for electricity. About 7,000 MW of generating capacity are set retire. A coal plant in Bridgeport will be closing and two older fossil fuel plants are closing. Currently there are proposals for new plants, that if all were completed and operational, would add 24,420 MW of electricity to the grid. However, many times proposed plants do not see their way to completion. ISO is in the process of completing studies to determine what will be needed to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets passed by Massachusetts and Rhode Island and Connecticut. The results of the studies are expected by the end of 2021. This Week at the State House Governor McKee’s Budget is expected to be delivered Thursday. The challenge is to close a projected deficit of about $329 million without knowing all the details of the latest 600+ page federal stimulus bill. The State’s 76th Governor has indicated, in public, that he is not inclined to include any tax increases in his budget unless absolutely necessary. The stimulus package may help make that possible. Governor McKee also named a number of key staff members: Anthony Silva, Chief of Staff Joy Vaudreuil, Director of Scheduling Antonio Afonso, Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Abhulime, Deputy Chief of Staff Kim Ahern, Policy Director and Senior Counsel Tom Mullaney, Senior Advisor (on loan from the Office of Management and Budget) Chris Farrell, Senior Advisor to the Governor Kevin Horan, Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Guerline Aurelus, Director of Constituent Services Cheyenne Cazeault, Policy Advisor Rosa DeCastillo, Director of Community Affairs and Outreach Craig Dwyer, Manager of Appointments Andrea Palagi, Director of Communications Joseph Polisena Jr. Deputy Counsel on Policy Claire Richards, Executive Counsel House Labor Has Full Agenda Wednesday Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. the House Labor Committee will take on a full agenda of wage, benefit and construction bills. H.5938, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Minimum Wage, increases the minimum wage to $13 starting July 1, 2021, to $14 July 1, 2022, to $15 July 1, 2023, and by CPI index starting July 1, 2024. H.6012, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Tipped Wages, increases the tipped wage to $6.95 on January 1, 2022; to $8.95 January 1, 2023, to $10.95 January 1, 2024, to $12.95 January 1, 2025, to $14.95 January 1, 2026, and to minimum wage January 1, 2026. Currently tipped employees are paid $3.89 per hour plus tips received. Employers are required to pay wages equal to the state’s minimum wage if the employee does not receive enough tips to equal minimum wage. H.5722, An Act Relating to Public Property and Works, requires construction companies, that wish to bid on a public school construction project of $5 million or more, to employ apprentices. Ten percent of the employees working on the project must be apprentices. While proponents point to the need to bring young people into the construction trades as a reason to pass the legislation, the 10% apprenticeship requirement essentially limits bidders to union companies. Union construction companies request necessary apprentices from a union hall. Non-union companies must have apprentices as full-time employees, making it much more difficult to comply with the requirement. H.6089, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Permanent Replacement Employees, prohibits employers from permanently replacing an employee who has participated in an authorized union strike against the employer or another employer. H.6090, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Temporary Disability Insurance, increases the temporary caregiver benefit from six weeks to 8 weeks starting January 1, 2023. Product Liability Bill - Wednesday H.5867, An Act Relating to Courts and Civil Procedure, is on the agenda of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The bill changes a manufacturer’s liability in the event the person who purchase the item alters it and then harms him/herself. Currently the alternation can be a complete bar to recovery. H.5867 would change the liability to comparative negligence, meaning a court or jury would decide how much of the damage caused was due to the alternation of the product and the award of damages to the claimant would be adjusted to reflect the percentage at fault. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 5912 Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- COVID-19 PANDEMIC INSURANCE RECOVERY ACT (Allows businesses that had an insurance policy in place for business interruption as of March 9, 2019 to recover from their insurance companies for a COVID-19 business impact.) H5912.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5938 Ranglin-Vassell, Ajello, Barros, Kislak, Fogarty, Cassar, Alzate, Henries, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS --MINIMUM WAGES (Provides increases to the minimum wage in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and implements a permanent formula to provide annual adjustments to the minimum wage thereafter.) H5938.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5939 Ranglin-Vassell, Henries, Shekarchi, Bennett, Ajello, Fogarty, Cassar, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAGES (Increases the minimum wage by using an annual fixed amount until 1/1/25, where it reaches to $15 per hour, then raised annually thereafter by using the CPI-W. Also raises hourly minimum wage for employees receiving gratuities by using similar scale.) H5939.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5959 Shanley, Marszalkowski, Craven, Ruggiero, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT (Creates the "Rhode Island data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act" to identify information collected by online service providers and commercial websites.) H5959.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5984 (Secretary of State) Shallcross Smith, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Requires that annual reports of domestic and foreign business corporations, nonprofit corporations, and limited liability companies be filed with the secretary of state between February 1 and May 1 of each year.) H5984.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5985 Ackerman, Solomon, Knight, Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- RHODE ISLAND TITLE INSURERS ACT (Provides that only RI attorneys can act as title insurance agents and determine insurability and marketability. Limits discount title insurance premiums and restricts sharing premiums.) H5985.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6012 Felix, Henries, Potter, Batista, Barros, Cassar, Morales, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE (Gradually increases the tipped minimum wage from the current $3.89 to $14.95 commencing January 1, 2026 and on January 1, 2027 the tipped minimum wage shall be no less than the minimum wage established by the minimum wage law.) H6012.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6055 Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Creates consumer legislation designed to limit in-application payments for software applications and purchases.) H6055.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 471 DiMario, Kallman, Euer, Valverde, Anderson, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- FORCE-FED POULTRY PRODUCTS (Prohibits a retail food or a food service establishment from the sale of any force-fed poultry product or food containing a force-fed poultry product and would impose a civil penalty of $500 for each violation.) S0471.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 515 Lawson, Quezada, Murray, Euer, Cano, Lombardi, Kallman, Acosta, Ciccone, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- IMPLANTATION DEVICES AS CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (Prohibits an employer from subjecting its employees or prospective employees to the implantation of an implantation device. It creates criminal penalties as well as civil damages, that may be assessed against violating employers.) S0515.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 545 Euer, Ciccone, Kallman, Valverde, DiMario, Lawson, Cano, Murray, Sosnowski, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE (Gradually increases the tipped minimum wage from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to sixteen dollars and ninety-five cents ($16.95) over the course of five (5) years, between 2022 and 2027.) S0545.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 546 Mack, Acosta, Calkin, Anderson, Bell, Miller, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PERMANENT REPLACEMENT EMPLOYEES (Prohibits an employer from permanently replacing an employee who has participated or honored a union authorized strike.) S0546.pdf (state.ri.us) Last Week at the State House
Senate Labor Passes Comparable Pay Bill Last week, the Senate Labor Committee voted 6-1 to recommend passage of S.270, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices. Voting in favor of passage were: Senators Burke, Ciccone, Goldin, Lombardi, Lombardo and Sosnowski. Senator de la Cruz voted against passage. The bill goes to the full Senate for a vote on Tuesday, March 2nd. S.270 dramatically changes the work world by requiring employers to pay employees equally for “comparable” work, defined as “work that requires comparable skill, effort, and responsibility, and is performed under similar working conditions.” This change creates tremendous uncertainty in the workplace and opens the door to endless litigation. S.270 also extends this wage payment system beyond gender to religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (41 and older) and ancestral origin. Under the bill, employers can pay differing rates based on seniority or a merit system if the policy is in writing. If the employer does not have a written policy and a wage differential exists, the employer is still ok if it can prove: 1. The reason for the differential is for some reason other than race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or ancestral origin; 2. The reason is job-related to the position in question; AND 3. It is a “business necessity” which means essential to effective job performance. If the employer can prove all three, the employee then has the opportunity to demonstrate that an alternative to the pay differential existed and the employer refused to accept the alternative. If that happens, the employee wins the case. An aggrieved employee is entitled to unpaid wages – the difference between what the employee is getting paid verses the other employee – compensatory damages and liquidated damages up to three times the amount of the unpaid wage and benefits deemed to be owed. The Chamber testified against the bill and offered to work with the committee to re-work the legislation. However, the committee did pass the bill. If this bill is of concern to your business, please contact your State Senator today. The House has an identical bill – H.5261. Contact your State Representative about both bills. This Week at the State House COVID Workplace Presumption/Hazard Pay/Parental and Family Leave/ Removal of Women MBE The chamber submitted testimony opposing the passage of H.5474, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Workers’ Compensation – Occupational Diseases. The hearing will be held Monday, March 1st at 6:00 pm in the House Labor Committee. H.5474 creates a presumption that the contraction of COVID-19 is work related for employees in essential jobs. Currently, the Worker’s Compensation Act provides benefits for those where causation to work is established. H.5474 would give the presumption to public safety officials, including, but not limited to, police, fire, EMS, medical facility workers, correctional officers, dispatchers, paramedics, pharmacists, pharmaceutical technicians, grocery or retail workers, essential state and municipal employees, public transportation employees, parcel and freight delivery employees, and truck drivers and utility workers. This change would result in increased premiums to Rhode Island businesses. Under current law, employees who cannot provide a direct causation, have benefits available to them through unemployment insurance, pandemic federal benefits, TDI and TCI. This change unfairly places the financial burdens associated with COVID-19 on the business community. H.5721, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Minimum Wages, requires employers employing fifty (50) or more employees to pay "hazard pay" to employees involved in providing essential services during a declared public health emergency. The hazard pay would be at a rate of one and one-third (1⅓) times the regular rate of pay. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from taking adverse employment action against an employee who refuses to work during a public health emergency. “Essential services” include the following businesses: (1) Agricultural equipment and supply; (2) Auto repair and supply; (3) Banks and credit unions; (4) Child care; (5) Construction; (6) Electronics and telecommunications; (7) Firearms; (8) Food and beverage stores, supermarkets and distributors, liquor stores, specialty food stores, bodegas and convenience stores, farmers' markets, food banks and pantries; (9) Funeral homes; (10) Gas stations; (11) Harm reduction organizations, recovery and treatment organizations, and organizations conducting in-person outreach with vulnerable populations such as those who use drugs, unhoused individuals and people recently released from incarceration; (12) Health care; (13) Industrial, construction equipment and supply, hardware stores, general power equipment; (14) Laundromats; (15) Pet supply; (16) Pharmacies, medical supply stores and compassion centers; (17) Printing shops, mail and delivery stores and operations and office supply businesses; (18) Professional uniform suppliers and stores; (19) Restaurants; (20) Seafood equipment and supply; (21) Security and public safety; and (22) Any commercial business, operation or entity designated as providing essential services by the director of the department of labor. H.5720, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act, doubles the time an employee can take off for parental or family leave, from 13 weeks to 26 weeks over a two-year period. The granted leave time may still be unpaid; and if an employer currently pays for 13 weeks of leave, that employer is not required to provide payment for the addition 13 weeks. The employer is required to hold the job for the employee or to reinstate that employee to a similar position upon returning to the company. If passed, H.5720 would take effect upon passage. H.5717, An Act Relating to Public Property and Works – Minority Business Enterprise, removes “women” from the MBE program; and requires state procurement and construction projects to hire MBE qualified businesses for 25% of the value of an entire project. Last week the House Labor Committee heard testimony on a bill that would remove Portuguese as a minority under the MBE program. If both bills were to pass (the bill removing Portuguese seemed to have a favorable hearing) 25% of contracts would go to the remaining groups: Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and any other groups defined as a minority under the Federal Small Business Act. Submit written testimony to: [email protected] Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. Due to high volume, clerks are not screening this inbox for verbal testimony requests. This inbox is for written testimony only. DEADLINE: In order for materials to be shared with members and posted to the General Assembly website in a timely manner, written testimony must be submitted no later than 3:00 pm on Monday, March 1st. All testimony received after deadline will be sent to committee members and posted to the website -- as soon as possible. For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file Senate Labor to Take Up Workplace Bullying Bill The Senate Labor Committee will take testimony on S.196 An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Dignity at Work Act, on Wednesday, March 3rd at 3:30 pm. This bill passed the Senate during previous sessions and died in the House. This year, it is hard to predict the fate of the legislation. S.196 creates a general duty of employers to provide a workplace free from bullying and moral, psychological or general harassment and to provide a workplace that protects each employee's personal integrity, dignity and human rights. The idea of personal dignity appears to have come out of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December of 1948, following World War II. The Declaration included human dignity at the same time it addressed slavery, torture, arbitrary arrest and recognition as a person. Examples of workplace bullying outlined in S.196 include: (A) Persistent or egregious use of abusive, insulting, or offensive language; (B) Unwarranted physical contact or threatening gestures; (C) Interfering with a person's personal property or work equipment; (D) The use of humiliation, personal criticism, ridicule, and demeaning comments (E) Overbearing or intimidating levels of supervision; (F) Withholding information, supervision, training or resources to prevent someone from doing their job; (G) Changing work arrangements, such as rosters, offices, assignments, leave, and schedules to deliberately inconvenience someone; (H) Isolating, or marginalizing a person from normal work activities; (I) Inconsistently following or enforcing rules, to the detriment of an employee; (J) Unjustifiably excluding colleagues from meetings or communications; (K) Intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying or stalking; and (L) Spreading misinformation or malicious rumors. The legislation states, that while the offender’s intent is relevant to the remedy provided, it is not an element to support a claim of workplace bullying. For harassment to be legally actionable, a victim must demonstrate the harassment “disturbed their emotional tranquility in the workplace” or the harassment affected their ability to perform their job as usual, or up to standard, or the harassment “interfered with and undermined their personal sense of well-being.” A single incident is enough to have a triable case. If deemed to be a legitimate claim, the employer is vicariously liable for the action. Some of the remedies include: lost wages (both back pay and front pay), any expenses related to treatment related to the bullying, compensable damages to compensate for the pain and suffering, emotional and psychological damages resulting from such workplace bullying, punitive damages as deemed necessary to deter future acts of workplace bullying, and injunctive relief. An employer can reduce its damages if it can prove three things: (1) The employer took reasonable steps to prevent and correct workplace harassment; (2) The employee unreasonably failed to use the preventive and corrective measures that the employer provided or otherwise avoid or mitigate harm; and (3) Reasonable use of the employer's procedures would have prevented at least some of the harm that the employee suffered. If the employer establishes that the employee, by taking reasonable steps to utilize internal complaint procedures, could have caused the harassing conduct to cease, the employer will only remain liable for any compensable harm that was unavoidable. The bill has a three-year statute of limitations and would take effect upon passage. Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: [email protected] *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 5603 Cardillo, Fellela, Costantino, Batista, Perez, AN ACT RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - RETAIL LICENSES (Allows holders of a Class P license to purchase alcoholic beverages from either a retail or wholesale establishment in the state of Rhode Island.) H5603.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5619 Noret, Casimiro, Vella-Wilkinson, Alzate, Solomon, Craven, Amore, Casey, Lima, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN (Requires children who seek a special limited work permit to successfully complete a training program which shall address workers' rights, workplace health and safety, and workers' compensation, to be established and funded by the DLT.) H5619.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Resolution No. 230 Mendes, Acosta, Calkin, Mack, Bell, Kallman, Cano, Anderson, Quezada, Valverde, SENATE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND ASSESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICARE-FOR-ALL SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND S0230.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 233 Bell, Calkin, Mack, Anderson, Goldin, Quezada, Lawson, Mendes, Acosta, DiMario, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Establishes a universal, comprehensive, affordable single-payer health care insurance program which shall be referred to as, "the Rhode Island Comprehensive Health Insurance Program" (RICHIP)) S0233.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 262 Lombardo, Lombardi, Archambault, DiPalma, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the deceptive trade practices chapter to clarify the law's exemptions and enhances the attorney general's authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the law.) S0262.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 264 Coyne, Sosnowski, Valverde, Burke, Seveney, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- THE ELDER ADULT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT (Requires employees of regulated financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of elder adults to the office of healthy aging and provide authority to the regulated financial institution to place a temporary hold on transactions.) S0264.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 270 Goldin, Ruggerio, Gallo, Coyne, Goodwin, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Comprehensively addresses wage discrimination, based on sex by expanding employee protections and the scope of the remedies available to employees who have experienced wage discrimination.) S0270.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 272 Goldin, Goodwin, Murray, Coyne, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES ACT (Changes the definition of employee and employer for purposes of the fair employment practices act, while expanding personal liability for violations.) S0272.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 279 Quezada, Picard, Calkin, Cano, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- FILING OF ASSUMED NAME (Requires a person or persons who transact business under a trade name to register with a municipality, provides more extensive information when filing and to notify the municipality when the trade name is changed or discontinued.) S0279.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 294 Ciccone, McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX AMNESTY (Creates a ninety (90) day tax amnesty program in the state fiscal year 2021-2022) S0294.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 321 Euer, Cano, Murray, DiMario, Valverde, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- HEALTH AND SAFETY (Updates and modernize the Department of Environmental Management’s ability to enforce environmental laws, and more specifically modifies practices regarding a Notice of Violation.) S0321.pdf (state.ri.us) |
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