§ 28-44-18. Discharge for misconduct. (a) For benefit years beginning prior to July 1, 2012, an individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or her work shall become ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which that discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has, subsequent to that discharge, had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of that eight (8) weeks has had earnings of at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly wage as defined in chapter 12 of this title for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2012, and prior to July 6, 2014, an individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or her work shall become ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which that discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has, subsequent to that discharge, had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of that eight (8) weeks has had earnings greater than, or equal to, his or her weekly benefit rate for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning on or after July 6, 2014, an individual who has been discharged for proved misconduct connected with his or her work shall become ineligible for waiting-period credit or benefits for the week in which that discharge occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has, subsequent to that discharge, had earnings greater than, or equal to eight (8) times, his or her weekly benefit rate for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. Any individual who is required to leave his or her work pursuant to a plan, system, or program, public or private, providing for retirement, and who is otherwise eligible, shall under no circumstances be deemed to have been discharged for misconduct. If an individual is discharged and a complaint is issued by the regional office of the National Labor Relations board or the state labor relations board that an unfair labor practice has occurred in relation to the discharge, the individual shall be entitled to benefits if otherwise eligible. For the purposes of this section, "misconduct" is defined as deliberate conduct in willful disregard of the employer's interest, or a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of the employer, provided that such violation is not shown to be as a result of the employee's incompetence. Notwithstanding any other provisions of chapters 42 - 44 of this title, this section shall be construed in a manner that is fair and reasonable to both the employer and the employed worker.

(b) For the purposes of chapters 42 through 44 of this title, a suspension without pay from work for proved misconduct shall be treated as a discharge for proved misconduct and subject to the same conditions as a discharge for proved misconduct in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.

History of Section. (P.L. 1936, ch. 2333, § 7; P.L. 1937, ch. 2556, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 284, § 7; P.L. 1949, ch. 2175, § 1; P.L. 1953, ch. 3206, § 3; G.L. 1956, § 28-44-18; P.L. 1976, ch. 295, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 267, § 1; P.L. 1993, ch. 298, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 102, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 33, § 2; P.L. 1998, ch. 369, § 3; P.L. 1998, ch. 401, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 98, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 151, art. 4, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 179, § 3; P.L. 2014, ch. 203, § 3; P.L. 2015, ch. 101, § 2; P.L. 2015, ch. 113, § 2.)