Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 28-48 - Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act

• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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
• Director: means the director of the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• Employee: means any full-time employee who works an average of thirty (30) or more hours per week. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• Employer: means and includes:

  (i)  Any person, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other business entity who or that employs fifty (50) or more employees;

  (ii)  The state of Rhode Island, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and any state department or agency that employs any employees;

  (iii)  Any city or town or municipal agency that employs thirty (30) or more employees; and

  (iv)  Any person who acts directly or indirectly in the interest of any employer. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1

• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Family leave: means leave by reason of the serious illness of a family member. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• Family member: means a parent, spouse, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, or the employee himself or herself, and with respect to employees of the state as defined in subsection (3)(ii), shall include domestic partners as defined in § 36-12-1(3). See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• 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
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Parental leave: means leave by reason of the birth of a child of an employee or the placement of a child sixteen (16) years of age or less with an employee in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Physician: means medical doctor, surgeon, dentist, licensed psychologist, chiropractor, osteopath, podiatrist, or optometrist, as the case may be. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
• Serious illness: means a disabling physical or mental illness, injury, impairment, or condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, a nursing home, or a hospice, or outpatient care requiring continuing treatment or supervision by a healthcare provider. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9