Rhode Island General Laws 28-7-19.1. Mergers and consolidations of companies
(a) No business combination transaction shall result in the termination or impairment of the provisions of any labor contract covering persons engaged in employment in the state negotiated by a labor organization or by a collective bargaining agent or other representative. Notwithstanding a business combination transaction, the labor contract shall continue in effect until its termination date or until otherwise agreed by the parties to the contract or their legal successors.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-7-19.1
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the department of labor and training. 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
- Employer: includes any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without his or her knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent shall only be considered an employer with respect to individuals employed by the organization. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-7-3
- Labor organization: means any organization that exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection and which is not a company union as defined in this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-7-3
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
(b) As used in this section, the following words, unless the context clearly required otherwise, have the following meanings:
(1) “Business combination transaction” means any merger or consolidation, any sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition, in one transaction or a series of transactions, whether of all or substantially all the property and assets, including its good will, of the business operations that are the subject of the labor contract referred to in subsection (a) of this section or any transfer of a controlling interest in the business operations;
(2)(i) “Employment” means an individual’s entire service, if the service is localized in the state. Service is deemed to be localized in the state if:
(A) The service is performed entirely within the state; or
(B) The service is performed both within and without the state but the service performed without the state is incidental to the individual’s service within the state;
(ii)(A) Employment shall include an individual’s service, performed within and without the state, if the service is not localized in any state, but some of the service is performed in the state; and
(B) The individual’s base of operation is in the state; or
(C) If there is no base operations, then the place for which the service is directed or controlled is in the state; or
(D) The individual’s base of operations or place from which the service is directed or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is performed, but the individual’s residence is in the state.
(c) In the event that any employee is denied or fails to receive wage, benefits, or wage supplements as a result of a violation of this section, the employee shall have available civil and other remedies available at law or equity. The department of labor and training may take any and all appropriate actions to enforce the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, injunctions, cease and desist orders, and other penalties provided by law.
(d) Recovery pursuant to a violation of this section shall be applicable to secure recovery against the merged, consolidated, or resulting corporation or other successor employer, notwithstanding anything contained in this section or elsewhere to the contrary.
(e) This section is enacted in order to protect the employment interests of all persons engaged in employment in the state under existing labor contracts and shall be liberally construed in every case in order to achieve that purpose.
History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 138, § 2.