Rhode Island General Laws 28-33-17.1. Employees not entitled to compensation
(a) An employee shall not be entitled to compensation under chapters 29 — 38 of this title for any period during which the employee was gainfully employed or found capable of gainful employment at an average weekly wage equal to or in excess of the pre-injury average weekly wage, exclusive of overtime, that the employee was earning at the time of the employee’s injury, notwithstanding an existing agreement or decree to the contrary.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-33-17.1
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- 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
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- 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) In the event that any employer or insurer makes payment of compensation benefits to an employee for any period during which the employee was not entitled to be paid in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, or in the event that an overpayment of weekly benefits was paid, the employer shall be entitled to credit for any payment of compensation made during that period of employment against future compensation benefits and/or specific compensation benefits pursuant to § 28-33-19 payable directly to the employee, as agreed to by the parties, or determined by the court.
(c) An employee shall also not be entitled to compensation under chapters 29 — 38 of this title for any period during which the employee was imprisoned as a result of a conviction of a criminal offense. Where the disposition of criminal charges results in a conviction and includes credit for time-served, such that the time served becomes a period served as the result of a conviction, the employee shall not be entitled to compensation for that period. If payments were made to the employee for that period, prior to the disposition of the charges, the employer/insurer shall be entitled to a credit for the payments as against any future entitlement to benefits.
History of Section.
P.L. 1978, ch. 232, § 1; P.L. 1981, ch. 340, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 31, § 5; P.L. 1998, ch. 105, § 2; P.L. 1998, ch. 404, § 2; P.L. 2000, ch. 491, § 11; P.L. 2023, ch. 205, § 1, effective June 21, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 206, § 1, effective June 21, 2023.