Articles About Rhode Island Labor And Employment Law

Healthcare and healthcare-related employers have not just been at the heart of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also recently been on the battleground in the fight over mandatory vaccination. Multiple states and locales have enacted some form of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement. Many of these vaccination

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed pay equity legislation (H 5261A, S 0270A) that will go into effect on January 1, 2023. The new legislation amends Rhode Island’s existing pay equity law and contains the following key provisions.

Rhode Island has joined the growing ranks of states that have enacted a sweeping pay equity statute. The Rhode Island law, which takes effect on January 1, 2023, amends the Rhode Island Equal Pay Law and places significant new burdens on both large and small businesses. The law seeks

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has signed into law new protections against pay discrimination. The new law, which goes into effect January 1, 2023, makes it unlawful to pay any employee less than the employees of another race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or

On May 20, 2021, Governor Dan McKee signed an amendment to Rhode Island law that will see the Ocean State’s minimum wage increase to $15.00 per hour by 2025.  Beginning January 1, 2022, Rhode Island’s minimum wage will increase from its current $11.50 to $12.25. On January 1, 2023, it

A federal court in Rhode Island allowed a former employee to proceed with her lawsuit alleging that the employer violated state law when it terminated her employment after a positive breath alcohol test. Stafford v. CSL Plasma, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-00270 (D.R.I. September 14, 2020).

Stafford worked for CSL Plasma

On May 29, 2020, the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Rhode Island drug testing statute brought against an employer that terminated an employee for refusing to submit to a reasonable grounds drug test.  Although there were multiple

Like many states, Rhode Island has enacted a statute that governs the use of drug tests in the employment context. Under Rhode Island’s drug-testing statute, R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6.5-1(a)(1), an employer may require an employee to submit to a drug test only if it has “reasonable grounds to believe

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against an employer who terminated an employee for refusing to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test, even though the employee’s odd behaviors could have been attributable to pain or other things. Colpitts v. W.B. Mason Co., Inc., No.

With Phase 1 of the “Reopening RI” framework set to commence on May 9, 2020, certain non-critical businesses will be able to resume operations. A list of businesses eligible to reopen in Phase 1 is available here. On May 6, 2020, Governor Raimondo and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) released “Phase 1: General Business Guidelines” and draft regulations (subsequently promulgated on May 8, 2020) designed to assist businesses in complying with rules surrounding reopening.  These guidelines apply to both businesses reopening and those critical infrastructure businesses continuing operations, with some limitations.

The recent outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has implications specific to Rhode Island employers. On March 9, 2020, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo declared a state of emergency. Four days later, on March 13, 2020, Governor Raimondo ordered all public schools closed for the week of March 16, 2020, and indicated she would revisit this order week-by-week.

Rhode Island has followed the recent trend of its neighboring states—including Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire1—by enacting a law that largely prohibits employers from entering into noncompete agreements with their employees. The Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act, R.I. Gen. Laws 28-58-1, et seq. (the “Act”), creates a statutory scheme that is aimed at safeguarding the “bargaining power and mobility of low-wage workers” by limiting the enforcement of these agreements. The Act, however, vastly overextends its protections to prohibit noncompete agreements for many employees—not just low-wage workers.

On May 11, 2018, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training finalized regulations concerning the state’s mandatory paid sick and safe time law,1 the Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act (HSFWA). The regulations clarify some issues like business size and pay rate calculations and fill some gaps left by the enacting statutes. Yet the regulations fail to provide sufficient clarification on certain issues and interpret some more common provisions in a novel way that may leave employers scratching their heads.

The Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (“PR DOL”) has issued a new regulation, effective October 18, 2017, to administer Puerto Rico’s Christmas Bonus Law, Act. No. 148 of June 30, 1969. The new regulation, which supersedes all prior regulations on the subject, includes guidance on implementation of the Christmas Bonus Law, as amended by the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act, Act No. 4 of January 26, 2017 (“LTFA”).

Rhode Island has joined the growing list of states and municipalities that have enacted paid sick leave laws. Under the Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act, signed by Governor Gina Raimondo, employers with at least 18 employees must provide their employees with paid sick leave. The new law goes into effect July 1, 2018.