Rhode Island — Wage & Hour

Rhode Island's minimum wage is $16.00 per hour as of January 1, 2026. The rate is scheduled to increase to $17.00 per hour on January 1, 2027. These rates apply to all covered employees unless a specific statutory exemption applies.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3

Rhode Island requires employers to pay overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The state follows the weekly threshold and does not impose daily overtime. Employers are prohibited from using the fluctuating workweek method under 29 C.F.R. § 778.114 to calculate overtime for delivery drivers or sales merchandisers.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-4.1

Rhode Island requires employers to pay all unpaid wages by the next regular payday following an employee's separation, regardless of whether the employee quit or was terminated. This is the general rule under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4(a) and applies to both voluntary and involuntary separations.

Accrued leave for employees with one year of service

An employee who has completed at least one year of service is entitled to additional payments beyond regular wages at separation. Under § 28-14-4(b), any accrued vacation pay awarded by collective bargaining agreement, company policy (written or verbal), or other agreement between employer and employee becomes wages and must be paid in full or on a prorated basis on the next regular payday. The statute treats accrued vacation pay as "wages" once the employee has one year of service, making it a mandatory payment obligation rather than a discretionary benefit.

Business liquidation, merger, disposal, or relocation

If an employer separates an employee from the payroll because the employer is liquidating the business, merging the business, disposing of the business, or removing the business out of state, a different timeline applies. Under § 28-14-4(c), all wages become immediately due and payable within 24 hours of the separation, at the usual place of payment. For employees with at least one year of service in these circumstances, the 24-hour rule also applies to holiday pay, vacation pay (full or prorated), and insurance benefits due under a collective bargaining agreement, company policy, or other agreement. The statute explicitly treats these items as unpaid wages subject to the accelerated 24-hour payment deadline.

Penalties for late payment

Employers who violate the payment-timing rules under § 28-14-4 face both criminal and civil penalties. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-17(a), any employer who violates § 28-14-4 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of at least $400 for each separate offense, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. Each pay period of failure to pay wages on time constitutes a separate violation. If the employer knowingly and willfully violates § 28-14-4 and the actual value of wages due exceeds $1,500, the violation becomes a felony under § 28-14-17(b), punishable by imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-17

Rhode Island permits employers to take a tip credit against the state minimum wage for employees engaged in work where gratuities customarily and usually constitute part of their weekly income. The employer must pay the full minimum wage ($16.00 per hour as of January 1, 2026), but may credit tips received toward that obligation.

Tip-credit formula and cash wage floor

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-5(b), the maximum tip credit — termed the "allowance for gratuities" — equals the applicable minimum wage less $2.89 per hour. This formula applies to restaurants, hotels, and other industries, but explicitly excludes taxicab drivers and limited public motor vehicle operators. With the $16.00 minimum wage in effect for 2026, the maximum tip credit is $13.11 per hour ($16.00 − $2.89).

The statute establishes a separate cash wage floor. Section 28-12-5(c) requires that the cash wage paid directly by the employer "shall not be less than" $3.89 per hour. This floor has been in effect since January 1, 2017, and does not automatically adjust when the overall minimum wage increases. The statute specifies two prior step-ups: to $3.39 on January 1, 2016, and to $3.89 on January 1, 2017. No further scheduled increases to the cash wage floor appear in the current statute.

Employer burden of proof and compliance obligation

An employer who wishes to take the tip credit must provide "substantial evidence" that the employee receives tips sufficient to satisfy the formula in subsection (b) — that is, that cash wage plus tips equal or exceed the full minimum wage. Section 28-12-5(c) places this evidentiary burden on the employer. The Director of Labor and Training is authorized under § 28-12-5(d) to specify what proof constitutes substantial evidence.

If total compensation (cash wage plus actual tips received) falls short of the applicable minimum wage in any hour or pay period, the employer must make up the difference. Section 28-12-5(a) states that the employer "shall pay" the full minimum wage rate to each tipped employee, meaning the tip credit operates as an allowance only when sufficient tips are in fact received.

Definition of gratuities and covered employees

"Gratuities" is defined in § 28-12-5(b) as "voluntary monetary compensation received directly or indirectly by the employee for services rendered." The tip-credit provision applies only to employees "engaged in any work or employment in which gratuities have customarily and usually constituted a part of [their] weekly income" under § 28-12-5(a). This is a narrower standard than the FLSA's $30-per-month threshold (29 U.S.C. § 203(t)); Rhode Island law requires that tips customarily and usually form part of weekly income, not merely that the employee occasionally receive them.

Industry exclusions

The tip credit does not apply to taxicab drivers or employees operating limited public motor vehicles. Section 28-12-5(b) explicitly excludes these occupations; employers in those industries must pay the full minimum wage in direct cash wages without any tip credit.

Interaction with other wage-and-hour rules

Rhode Island's tipped-wage rules sit on top of the FLSA floor. Under 29 U.S.C. § 203(m), the federal tip credit allows employers to pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour (as of 2026) if tips bring total compensation to at least $7.25 per hour. Because Rhode Island mandates a $3.89 cash wage and a $16.00 total minimum, the state rule is more favorable to employees and controls. Employers must comply with the higher state standard in all particulars: higher cash wage, higher total minimum, and the state's evidentiary and definitional requirements.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-5 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3

Rhode Island's minimum wage law excludes specific categories of individuals from the definition of "employee" under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-2(5). These statutory exclusions operate differently from the overtime exemptions codified in § 28-12-4.3; individuals excluded from the employee definition are not entitled to the state minimum wage at all, while those exempted under § 28-12-4.3 remain subject to minimum wage requirements but are exempt from overtime pay rules.

Statutory exclusions from "employee" definition

Under § 28-12-2(5), "employee" includes any individual suffered or permitted to work by an employer, but expressly excludes the following categories:

(i) Domestic service workers. Any individual employed in domestic service or in or about a private home is excluded from coverage. This exclusion applies to household workers such as housekeepers, nannies, gardeners, and similar domestic roles performed in or around a private residence.

(ii) Federal employees. Any individual employed by the United States government is excluded. Federal employees are governed by federal wage and hour law and are not subject to Rhode Island's state minimum wage.

(iii) Nonprofit and charitable organization volunteers. Any individual engaged in the activities of an educational, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organization where the employer-employee relationship does not, in fact, exist, or where the services rendered to the organization are on a voluntary basis. This exclusion turns on two elements: the absence of a true employer-employee relationship, or the performance of services voluntarily. The statute does not define "voluntary," but the exclusion does not automatically apply to all workers at nonprofits; it applies only when the individual is genuinely a volunteer or when no employment relationship exists.

(iv) Minors employed by a parent. Any individual under eighteen years of age employed by their parent. The parent-child employment exclusion is categorical for minors; no minimum wage obligation attaches when the employer is the minor's parent.

(v) Individuals employed by a son or daughter. Any individual employed by their son or daughter. This reciprocal exclusion mirrors subsection (iv) and exempts parents working for their adult children.

(vi) Outside salespersons. Any outside salesperson. The statute does not define "outside salesperson" within § 28-12-2. Rhode Island regulations at 260-RICR-30-05-2 incorporate the federal FLSA exemption standards by reference, which include the outside sales exemption under 29 C.F.R. § 541.500 et seq. Under that federal standard, an outside salesperson is one whose primary duty is making sales or obtaining orders or contracts away from the employer's place of business and who is customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's premises.

(vii) Seasonal resort workers (May 1–October 1). Any individual employed between May 1 and October 1 in a resort establishment that regularly serves meals to the general public and that is open for business not more than six months a year. The exclusion is temporal (limited to the May–October window) and operational (the establishment must be open no more than six months annually and must serve meals to the general public). A resort that operates seven months or more does not qualify for the exclusion.

(viii) Organized camp workers (camps operating ≤7 months/year). Any individual employed by an organized camp that does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year. The statute defines "organized camp" as any camp (other than a trailer camp) having a structured program including recreation, education, religious activities, or any combination thereof. The exclusion does not apply to individuals employed by the camp on an annual, full-time basis; those employees remain covered by the minimum wage even if the camp itself operates for seven months or fewer.

Relationship to overtime exemptions

The exclusions in § 28-12-2(5) remove individuals from minimum wage coverage entirely. In contrast, § 28-12-4.3 exempts certain employees—such as bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees; outside salespersons; motor carrier employees subject to U.S. DOT regulation; and automotive salespersons and mechanics—from Rhode Island's overtime requirements but does not exempt them from the state minimum wage. Employers must distinguish between the two: an individual excluded under § 28-12-2(5) need not be paid the Rhode Island minimum wage; an individual exempted under § 28-12-4.3 must be paid at least the applicable minimum wage (currently $16.00/hour as of January 1, 2026, per § 28-12-3) but is not entitled to overtime premium pay.

Federal floor

Even when an individual is excluded from Rhode Island's minimum wage law under § 28-12-2(5), the employer must still comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if the individual is covered by federal law. For example, domestic service workers excluded under subsection (i) may still be entitled to the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour under 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)) if they meet the FLSA's coverage tests set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 206(f) and the implementing regulation at 29 C.F.R. § 552.3 (e.g., earning at least $2,600 in cash wages in a calendar year from one employer, or working more than 8 hours per week for one or more employers). The state exclusion does not override federal coverage.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-2 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-4.3 Source: 260 R.I. Code R. 30-05-2 Source: 29 U.S.C. § 206 Source: 29 C.F.R. § 541.500 Source: 29 C.F.R. § 552.3

Rhode Island exempts ten categories of employees from the state's overtime requirements under R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-12-4.1 and 28-12-4.2. These exemptions apply only to the state overtime obligation; they do not exempt the employer from paying the Rhode Island minimum wage (currently $16.00/hour as of January 1, 2026). Subsection (b) of § 28-12-4.3 provides an important federal-floor protection: "Nothing in this section exempts any employee who under applicable federal law is entitled to overtime pay or benefits related to overtime pay." If federal law entitles an employee to overtime, the state exemption does not override that entitlement.

Statutory exemptions under § 28-12-4.3(a)

The ten exempt categories are:

(1) Summer camp employees. Any employee of a summer camp when it is open no more than six (6) months of the year. The exemption is conditioned on the camp's operational period; a camp open more than six months does not qualify.

(2) Police officers. The exemption applies categorically to police officers without further limitation in the statute.

(3) State and municipal employees electing compensatory time. Employees of the state or a political subdivision of the state who may elect through a collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other agreement between the employer and employee representatives (or, if not represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, through an agreement or understanding arrived at between the employer and the employee prior to the performance of work) to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) in a week. The compensatory hours must at least equal one and one-half (1½) times the hours worked over forty (40) in a week. If compensation is paid to an employee for accrued compensatory time, the compensation must be paid at the regular rate earned by the employee at the time of payment.

(4) Bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees. Any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Rhode Island incorporates the federal FLSA definition by reference. The FLSA's white-collar exemptions are codified in 29 C.F.R. Part 541 and require both a duties test (executive, administrative, or professional work as defined in the federal regulation) and a salary-basis test. Rhode Island does not set a separate state salary threshold; the federal standard controls. The federal salary threshold is currently $684 per week ($35,568 per year).

(5) Outside salespersons. The statute exempts outside salespersons. Rhode Island does not define "outside salesperson" in § 28-12-4.3 itself, but Rhode Island regulations at 260-RICR-30-05-2 incorporate the federal FLSA exemption standards by reference. Under 29 C.F.R. § 541.500, an outside salesperson is one whose primary duty is making sales or obtaining orders or contracts for services or for the use of facilities and who is customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's place of business.

(6) Salaried employees of nonprofit national voluntary health agencies electing compensatory time. Any salaried employee of a nonprofit national voluntary health agency who elects to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week. The exemption is conditioned on two elements: the employee must be salaried (not hourly), and the employee must affirmatively elect to receive compensatory time in lieu of cash overtime. The statute does not define "nonprofit national voluntary health agency," but the language indicates a narrow category of organizations (likely referring to entities such as the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or similar national charitable health organizations). The election requirement means that the exemption does not apply unless the employee chooses compensatory time; if the employee prefers cash overtime, the employer must provide it.

(7) Motor carrier employees subject to DOT regulation. Any employee, including drivers, driver's helpers, mechanics, and loaders of any motor carrier (including private carriers), with respect to whom the United States Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 31502. This exemption mirrors the FLSA's motor carrier exemption under 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1).

(8) Automotive and farm implement salespersons, parts persons, and mechanics. Any employee who is a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic primarily engaged in the sale and/or servicing of automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, and is employed by a non-manufacturing employer primarily engaged in the business of selling vehicles or farm implements to ultimate purchasers, to the extent that the employers are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10). The statute imposes a compensation floor: the employee's weekly, biweekly, or monthly actual earnings must exceed "an amount equal to the employee's basic contractual hourly rate of pay times the number of hours actually worked plus the employee's basic contractual hourly rate of pay times one-half (½) the number of hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week." In practical terms, actual earnings must exceed what the employee would have been paid had overtime premium been applied at 1.5× for hours over 40.

(9) Agricultural employees. Any employee employed in agriculture. Section 28-12-4.3(a)(9) states that "this exemption applies to all agricultural enterprises that produce greenhouse crops, fruit and vegetable crops, herbaceous crops, sod crops, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, feed for livestock, forestry, dairy farming, aquaculture, the raising of livestock, furbearing animals, poultry and eggs, bees and honey, mushrooms, and nursery stock." The statute specifies that the exemption also applies to nursery workers. This state exemption overlaps with the federal agricultural exemption under 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(12), meaning agricultural workers in Rhode Island are not entitled to overtime pay under either federal or state law.

(10) Air carrier employees engaged in voluntary shift trading. Any employee of an air carrier subject to the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 181 et seq., when the hours worked by that employee in excess of forty (40) in a workweek are not required by the air carrier but are arranged through a voluntary agreement among employees to trade scheduled work hours. The exemption is narrow: it applies only to hours over 40 that result from voluntary shift swaps, not to employer-mandated overtime.

Relationship to federal overtime law

Section 28-12-4.3(b) provides critical limiting language: "Nothing in this section exempts any employee who under applicable federal law is entitled to overtime pay or benefits related to overtime pay." This provision ensures that the state exemptions do not undercut the federal floor. For example, if a state or municipal employee elects compensatory time under exemption (3) but federal law (the FLSA) would entitle that employee to cash overtime, the federal entitlement controls. Employers must apply whichever standard—state or federal—is more favorable to the employee.

Interaction with minimum wage

The exemptions in § 28-12-4.3 remove the overtime premium obligation but do not exempt employees from Rhode Island's minimum wage. An agricultural worker exempt under (9), for example, is still entitled to $16.00 per hour under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3 (as of January 1, 2026) for every hour worked, even though no 1.5× premium applies after 40 hours in a workweek. This contrasts with the exclusions from the "employee" definition in R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-2(5), which remove individuals from minimum wage coverage entirely.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-4.3 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-2 Source: 29 U.S.C. § 213 Source: 29 C.F.R. § 541 Source: 260 R.I. Code R. 30-05-2

Rhode Island law does not define "regular payday" as a standalone term in R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4 (the final paycheck statute) or elsewhere in Chapter 28-14. Instead, the concept takes its meaning from the mandatory payment frequency rules codified in R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-2.2. A "regular payday" is simply the recurring date on which the employer pays wages under its established pay schedule, and that pay schedule must comply with the statutory frequency floors in § 28-14-2.2.

Default rule: weekly payment

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-2.2(a), every employee—other than employees of the state and its political subdivisions and employees of religious, literary, or charitable corporations—must be paid weekly, with one exception: employees whose compensation is fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or yearly rate may be paid on the schedule that corresponds to that rate. The statute turns on how compensation is fixed (the contractual structure), not merely on the employer's convenience. An hourly employee who happens to be paid biweekly does not satisfy the exception unless the employee's compensation is expressly fixed at a biweekly rate rather than an hourly rate.

The weekly-payment rule is mandatory unless the employer fits within the exception in subsection (a) or obtains Director approval under subsection (b) or (c). Employees of state and local governments and employees of religious, literary, or charitable corporations are excluded from § 28-14-2.2 entirely; their payment frequency is governed by other law or institutional practice.

Director-approved alternative schedules

Section 28-14-2.2(b) and (c) authorize the Director of Labor and Training to permit less frequent payment—but never less frequently than twice per month—upon written petition showing good and sufficient reason. The standards differ based on the employer's average payroll relative to the state minimum wage (currently $16.00/hour as of January 1, 2026, per R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3).

For employers whose average payroll exceeds 200% of the state minimum wage (i.e., an average wage above $32.00/hour), subsection (b) requires:

(1) Payment on a predesignated date no less than twice per month; (2) Proof of a surety bond or other security in the amount of the highest biweekly payroll exposure in the preceding year; and (3) If employees are subject to collective bargaining, written consent of the collective bargaining representative.

For employers whose average payroll is less than 200% of the state minimum wage, subsection (c) imposes additional conditions beyond those in subsection (b):

(1) The employer must supply specified information to the Department of Labor and Training (the statute delegates the detail to administrative process); (2) Payment on a predesignated date no less than twice per month; (3) The employer must have no history of wage and hour violations; (4) Proof of a surety bond or other security in the amount of the highest biweekly payroll exposure; and (5) If employees are subject to collective bargaining, written consent of the bargaining representative.

Both waivers are discretionary ("the director may … permit") and require good and sufficient reason. The statute does not define "good and sufficient reason," leaving that determination to the Director's judgment on a petition-by-petition basis.

Absolute floor: twice per month

Regardless of which subsection applies, Rhode Island law establishes an absolute statutory floor: no employer may pay wages less frequently than twice per month even with Director approval. Subsections (b)(1) and (c)(2) both mandate payment "on a predesignated date no less than twice per month." Monthly payment (once per month) is therefore prohibited for private-sector employees covered by § 28-14-2.2, even if the employee's compensation is fixed at a monthly rate, unless the employer is exempt (state, local government, or religious/literary/charitable corporation) or the employee falls outside the coverage of the wage-payment statute altogether.

"Regular payday" in the separation context

Section 28-14-4(a) requires that unpaid wages become due "on the next regular payday" following an employee's separation. Because § 28-14-2.2 mandates that the employer maintain a pay schedule of at least weekly frequency (or biweekly/semi-monthly/monthly if compensation is fixed accordingly, or twice-monthly under Director waiver), the "next regular payday" is the next occurrence of the employer's established, compliant payday after separation. If an employer is paying weekly (e.g., every Friday), the next regular payday is the Friday following separation. If the employer has obtained Director approval to pay semi-monthly (e.g., the 15th and last day of each month), the next regular payday is whichever of those two dates comes next after the separation date.

The statute does not permit an employer to stretch the "next regular payday" by unilaterally adopting an infrequent pay schedule (e.g., quarterly). An employer that pays less frequently than the statutory minimum violates § 28-14-2.2 during employment and cannot rely on that unlawful schedule to delay the final paycheck under § 28-14-4.

Interaction with § 28-14-4's 24-hour rule

The "next regular payday" rule in § 28-14-4(a) is subject to an important override. Under § 28-14-4(c), when an employer separates an employee from the payroll because the employer is liquidating, merging, disposing of, or relocating the business out of state, all wages become immediately due and payable within 24 hours of separation—not on the next regular payday. In that scenario, the concept of "regular payday" is irrelevant; the statute imposes an absolute 24-hour deadline. The 24-hour rule also applies to holiday pay, vacation pay, and insurance benefits for employees with at least one year of service when the separation is triggered by business liquidation, merger, disposal, or out-of-state relocation.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-2.2 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4 Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3