Rhode Island General Laws 28-53-2. Establishment – Sources – Administration
(a)(1) There shall be established within the department of labor and training a special restricted receipt account to be known as the Rhode Island uninsured protection fund. The department shall maintain the fund for the exclusive purpose of making payments to an injured employee otherwise entitled to benefits pursuant to chapters 29 — 38 of this title, or in the case of death of the injured employee, to person(s) presumed wholly dependent for support upon the deceased employee, as defined in § 28-33-13, and any costs specifically associated therewith, where the employer required to secure payment of the compensation failed to insure or self-insure its liability at the time the injury took place as determined by the director and the workers’ compensation court.
(2) The fund shall be capitalized from excise taxes assessed against uninsured employers pursuant to the provisions of § 28-53-9 and from general revenues appropriated by the legislature. Beginning in the state fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, the legislature may appropriate up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) in general revenue funds annually for deposit into the Rhode Island uninsured protection fund.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-53-2
- Department: means the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Director: means the director of labor and training or his or her designee unless specifically stated otherwise. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Employee: means any person who has entered into the employment of or works under contract of service or apprenticeship with any employer, except that in the case of a city or town other than the city of Providence it shall only mean that class or those classes of employees as may be designated by a city, town, or regional school district in a manner provided in this chapter to receive compensation under chapters 29 — 38 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Injury: means and refers to personal injury to an employee arising out of and in the course of his or her employment, connected and referable to the employment. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
(b) All moneys in the fund shall be mingled and undivided. The fund shall be administered by the director of the department of labor and training, or his or her designee, but in no case shall the director incur any liability beyond the amounts paid into and earned by the fund.
(c) All amounts owed to the uninsured protection fund from illegally uninsured employers are intended to be excise taxes and as such, all ambiguities and uncertainties are to be resolved in favor of a determination that such assessments are excise taxes.
History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 509, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 377, § 4; P.L. 2010, ch. 95, § 5; P.L. 2010, ch. 121, § 5; P.L. 2012, ch. 149, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 182, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 445, § 6; P.L. 2013, ch. 475, § 6; P.L. 2014, ch. 231, § 4; P.L. 2014, ch. 289, § 4; P.L. 2015, ch. 104, § 4; P.L. 2015, ch. 116, § 4; P.L. 2017, ch. 106, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 266, § 2; P.L. 2018, ch. 86, § 5; P.L. 2018, ch. 98, § 5.