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Gov. Dan McKee said he is working with lawmakers to offer help to Rhode Islanders collecting unemployment benefits to transition back to work. (Rachel Nunes/Patch )
PROVIDENCE, RI Rhode Islanders currently collecting unemployment benefits could continue to collect including the $300 boost provided by the federal government even after going to work, Gov. Dan McKee said this week.
McKee said he is working with state lawmakers to draft legislation that, if approved, would allow greater flexibility for Rhode Islanders to continue to collect unemployment benefits while returning to work part-time.
Under the current rules, residents can make up to 100 percent of their weekly benefits before they lose their ability to collect, Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor explained. With the extra boost from the federal government, some business owners have argued that residents are disincentivized to work, making it hard to find employees heading into the busy summer season.
Encouraging signs emerge in Mass. and R.I. coronavirus data
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Governor Charlie Baker toured the COVID-19 vaccination center at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield on Thursday.STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN â THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE/Associated Press
In Boston, COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to decline as mobile vaccination teams fan out across the city. Statewide, the seven-day average of deaths recently dipped to the lowest level since the early days of the pandemic.
In Rhode Island, where one-third of the population has been vaccinated, the governor announced that capacity limits on businesses will be gone by Memorial Day, heralding the promise of a resurgent summer.