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Previous Updates
Paid Family Leave
Effective January 1, 2026, Rhode Island's paid family leave law, also known as temporary caregiver insurance (TCI), extends the wage-replacement benefit period from seven weeks to eight weeks.
Effective January 1, 2026, Rhode Island amends its paid family leave law to cover:
- Bone marrow and organ donation; and
- Care for a seriously ill sibling.
New Hire Notification Requirements
Effective January 1, 2026, when an employee is hired, they must be provided with a written notice in English containing certain pay-related information, such as their rate and basis of pay, deductions and allowances, employer policies on sick and other leaves, among other information.
The employee must sign and acknowledge receipt of the notice, and the employer must keep a copy of it for at least three years. A sample notice template will be provided in early December.
Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act
Effective January 1, 2026, the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act (the Act) gives Rhode Island residents privacy rights with respect to their personal data and establishes certain requirements and limitations for covered businesses.
The Act's protections do not apply to individuals acting in an employment context or to employment-related data.
New Retail Business Definition
Rhode Island requires overtime pay, at time-and-a-half, for nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. Rhode Island also requires time-and-a-half to be paid for work on Sundays and certain holidays (unless qualified as an exemption).
Under state law, most employers must pay time-and-a-half for work performed on Sundays and designated holidays, in addition to overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a week, which can result in “stacked” premium pay. As noted in a recent FrankCrum News Alert, effective August 17, 2025, the RI DOL and Training provides a clearer definition of what constitutes a “retail business” and revises its regulations on Sunday and holiday premium pay. The updated definition classifies a retail business as one that primarily sells goods or services directly to the general public at the end of the distribution chain, in small quantities to the ultimate consumer, consistent with other consumer goods and services. This definition would not include businesses engaged in food service for immediate consumption, manufacturing, nor wholesale operations that serve other businesses rather than individual customers. Qualifying retail businesses may now count Sunday and holiday premium hours toward the 40-hour overtime threshold, thereby avoiding double payment of premiums.
Non-retail employers must continue to pay both the Sunday/holiday premium and any applicable overtime separately. Employers can assess their classification for applicability and calculate their Sunday and holiday pay accordingly.
Additionally, Governor McKee signed legislation earlier this month to increase the minimum wage to $16 an hour on January 1, 2026, and to $17 an hour on January 1, 2027.
Employment Law Updates
Effective June 24, 2025, Rhode Island pregnancy accommodation law includes protections for menopause and menopause-related conditions. The amended law requires covered employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodations for menopause and menopause-related conditions, in addition to pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, barring undue hardship. A covered employer must post and provide employees at specified times an updated written notice that includes these additional rights. Bill Text: RI S0361 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced | LegiScan
Effective July 1, 2025, the definition of race under Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) is amended to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles. The FEPA applies to employers with four or more employees. https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1848733
Effective July 2, 2025, Governor McKee signed into law HB No. 5506 SUB A. Rhode Island has joined the growing list of states to ban mandatory employer-sponsored meetings regarding religious and “political matters”.
Disaster Tax Relief
Effective June 24, 2024, a nonresident employee in Rhode Island to perform disaster-related work due to a declared state disaster or emergency is not subject to Rhode Island state or local income taxes or withholding and unemployment taxes during the disaster period. Such workers will not be considered to have established residency in the state during that period.
In addition, an out-of-state business that conducts operations within the state to perform work on critical infrastructure damaged, destroyed, or lost due to a declared state disaster or emergency will not be considered to have established a presence that would require the business to register, file and remit state or local taxes during the disaster period.
A disaster period means the period that begins within 10 days of the first day of the state governor's proclamation or the US President's declaration, whichever occurs first, and that extends for 60 calendar days after the end of the declared disaster or emergency period.
If this applies to you, please reach out to your Payroll Coordinator.
Wage Theft
Effective January 1, 2024, each pay period (previously each day) that an employer fails to timely pay an employee's wages constitutes a separate civil offense. An employer that knowingly and willingly violates state law regarding regular wage payments, wage payments for deceased employees, and wage payments upon termination of employment is guilty of a felony if the amount of wages owed exceeds $1,500, and may be subject to a $5,000 fine, imprisonment, or both.
Nondisclosure or Non-disparagement Agreements
Rhode Island has passed S0342 that prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign a nondisclosure or non-disparagement provision “concerning alleged violations of civil rights or alleged unlawful conduct, or any agreement with a clause that requires alleged violations of civil rights remain confidential”.
Pay Equity Law
The law broadens pay discrimination protections beyond sex to include:
- Race,
- Color,
- Religion,
- Sexual orientation,
- Gender identity or expression,
- Disability,
- Age, and
- National origin.
An employer may not pay its employees less than the rate paid to employees of another protected class for comparable work unless it can justify the wage differential using specified factors.
The law also contains wage disclosure protections and anti-retaliation provisions, bans salary history inquiries, and requires employers to provide applicants and employees with pay ranges for the positions they apply for or hold.
An employer that completes a qualifying self-evaluation of its pay practices and eliminates any unlawful pay differentials it identifies may have an affirmative defense against liability under the law.
Paid Temporary Caregiver Leave
Beginning January 1, 2023, the maximum number of weeks of paid temporary caregiver leave, also known as paid family leave, increases from five weeks to six weeks in a benefit year.
Tip Protection Law
The Governor has signed Rhode Island's Tip Protection law to:
- Prohibit employers from taking possession of tips received by their employees for any purpose, in line with federal law;
- Establish requirements for tip pools;
- Clarify that service charges may not be counted as tips received, but may be used to satisfy an employer's minimum wage and overtime requirements; and
- Allow employers to deduct a percentage from employees' tips for credit card processing fees.
You can learn more about the law here.
Recreational Marijuana Legal
Individuals over the age of 21 can lawfully possess up to an ounce of marijuana in Rhode Island under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act. However, employers are not required to accommodate:
- The use or possession of cannabis, or being under the influence of cannabis, in any workplace; or
- The use of cannabis in any other location while an employee is performing work, including remote work.
Human Trafficking Awareness in Hospitality
Effective January 1, 2022, Rhode Island will require all hotels to post human trafficking awareness signage in English and any other language spoken by at least 10% of the hotel’s workforce. Please review link for information required on posting:
HB 5270: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText21/HouseText21/H5270A.htm
Temporary Caregiver Leave
All Rhode Island employers are required to provide job-protected leave to employees to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent, or to bond with a newborn, adopted or foster child. Employees can apply for partial wage replacement through the state.
Beginning January 1, 2022, the maximum number of weeks of paid temporary caregiver leave increases from four weeks to five weeks in a benefit year. It increases again January 1, 2023 to six weeks. To review additional information for employers click here.
Rhode Island Minimum Wage Increases to $11.50
As a reminder, on October 1, 2020, the minimum wage in Rhode Island increases from $10.50 per hour to $11.50 per hour. The maximum tip credit increases from $6.61 per hour to $7.61 per hour.
