Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act — employer size thresholds
Rhode Island's Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act requires employers with 18 or more employees to provide paid sick and safe leave. Employers with 17 or fewer employees must provide earned sick and safe leave, but it does not need to be paid. The law applies to any employer with at least one employee in Rhode Island, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers. The Act took effect July 1, 2018.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-5
Accrual rate and annual usage cap
Employees accrue paid sick and safe leave at a rate of one hour for every 35 hours worked. The annual usage cap is 40 hours per year (following a phase-in of 24 hours in 2018 and 32 hours in 2019). Employers may provide a higher annual limit in both accrual and use if they choose. Exempt employees are presumed to work 40 hours per week for accrual purposes unless their normal workweek is shorter.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-5
Permitted uses of paid sick and safe leave
Rhode Island's Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act specifies four categories of permitted uses for paid sick and safe leave under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-6(a):
1. Employee's own health needs
An employee may use leave for their own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or for preventive medical care.
2. Family member care
An employee may use leave to care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; to care for a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or to care for a family member who needs preventive medical care. "Family member" is defined broadly under the Act to include children, parents, spouses, domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-3).
3. Public health emergency closures
An employee may use leave when their place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or when an employee needs to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency. The statute also covers situations where an employee or family member must stay home because health authorities or a healthcare provider have determined that the person's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of exposure to a communicable disease.
4. Domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
An employee may use leave to address the physical, psychological, or legal effects of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This includes seeking medical attention, obtaining victim services, obtaining psychological or other counseling, relocating or taking steps to secure an existing home, obtaining legal services (including preparing for or participating in civil or criminal proceedings), or attending, participating in, or preparing for a criminal or civil court proceeding related to the incident.
The Act includes anti-fraud provisions: employers may discipline employees, up to and including termination, for misuse of sick leave if the employee is committing fraud or engaging in activity inconsistent with allowable purposes (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-6(i)). Employers may also discipline employees exhibiting a clear pattern of taking leave immediately before or after weekends, vacations, or holidays unless the employee provides reasonable documentation (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-6(j)).
For absences longer than three consecutive workdays, employers may require reasonable documentation if they have notified the employee in writing of this requirement in advance. However, employers may not require that documentation explain the nature of the illness or details of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking unless required by existing law or regulation (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-6(f)).
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-6