News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 08/09/12

Rhode Island amends its UI law regarding waiting period credit

Rhode Island has amended its Temporary Disability Insurance Act as follows:

Waiting period credit. No individual may receive waiting period credit, benefits or dependents’ allowances under the temporary disability insurance (TDI) law for any week with respect to which benefits are paid or payable under any workers’ compensation law on account of any disability caused by accident or illness. If workers’ compensation benefits are subsequently awarded to an individual, whether on a weekly basis or in a lump sum, for weeks with respect to which he or she has already received waiting period credit, benefits or dependents’ allowances under TDI, the worker’s compensation award will be reduced by the amount of those benefits and/or dependents’ allowances. If, through inadvertence, error or mistake, an individual receives benefit payments and/or dependents’ allowances for any week under TDI, and has also received payments for the same week under a worker’s compensation law, he or she may be liable to repay those benefits or have them deducted from future benefits payable.

Note that benefit, waiting period credit benefits or dependents’ allowances will not be denied to individuals who receive a lump-sum settlement pursuant to the worker’s compensation law and subsequently apply for temporary disability benefits as long as the sickness or illness is materially different from the one for which the individual was paid workers’ compensation, is not affected by that injury, and/or the medical condition did not result from the injury for which the employee was paid workers’ compensation benefits.