Amendment ID: S2001-15

Amendment 15

Ensuring Unemployment Insurance Benefits for Commercial Fishermen

Messrs. Montigny, Joyce, Tarr and Hedlund move to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

SECTION__.  Section 1 of chapter 151A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 186, after the word “employer”, the following :-

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an individual employed as a crewmember on a commercial fishing vessel shall be deemed to be in total unemployment during any period of general closing of his employer’s fishing vessel due to the employer’s inability to conduct fishing operations as a result of federal fisheries management restrictions and the individual performs no wage-earning services whatsoever, and for which he receives no remuneration during those periods of general closing of his employer’s fishing vessel.

Mr. Montigny further moves to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

SECTION__.  Section 25 of Chapter 151A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after line 152, the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no disqualification shall be imposed if an individual establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the individual is employed as a crewmember of a commercial fishing vessel and is unable to work for a period of time due to the general closing of his employer’s fishing vessel for that period of time as a result of the employer’s inability to conduct fishing operations pursuant to federal fisheries management restrictions.