Rhode Island General Laws Title 28. Labor and Labor Relations § 28-42-2. Declaration of policy

Economic insecurity, due to unemployment, being a serious menace to the health, morale, and general welfare of the people of this state, is, therefore, a subject of interest and concern to the community as a whole, warranting appropriate action by the general assembly to prevent its spread and to lighten the burden that now falls on the unemployed worker and his or her family. According to the report of the joint special commission appointed pursuant to the joint resolutions, the evidence seems conclusive that in the face of recurring periods of business depression, which industry and commerce appear powerless to prevent, the industrial worker's position is extremely insecure. The individual is as incapable of protecting himself or herself against unemployment as industry is of preventing it. Experience has shown that if the state delays action until unemployment becomes excessive, it can neither promptly create the organizations necessary to orderly, economical, and effective relief, nor bear the financial burden of relief without disrupting its whole system of ordinary revenues and jeopardizing its credit. Chapters 42--44 of this title are designed to meet in some measure this situation by providing for the accumulation of a fund to assist in protecting the public against the ill effects of unemployment that may arise in future years.