Title 28, Title 28 and Labor Relations

(a) All state agencies, including educational institutions, that provide employment referral or placement services to public or private employees shall accept job orders, refer for employment, test, classify, counsel, and train only on a nondiscriminatory basis. They shall refuse…

(a) As used in this chapter, “Employer” means any entity employing fifty (50) or more employees. (b) As used in this chapter, “Sexual harassment” means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: (1)…

(a) All employers and employment agencies shall promote a workplace free of sexual harassment. (b) Every employer shall: (1) Adopt a policy against sexual harassment that shall include: (i) A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful; (ii) A statement that it …

Employers are encouraged to conduct an education and training program on sexual harassment consistent with the aims and purposes of this chapter for all employees, including, but not limited to supervisory or managerial personnel, on or before September 1, 1997.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The Rhode Island Workplace Violence Prevention Act.”

(a) If an employer, or an employer’s employee(s) or invitee(s), have: (1) Suffered unlawful violence by an individual; or (2) Received a threat of violence by an individual that can reasonably be construed as a threat that may be carried out at the worksite; or (3) Been stalked o…

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision…

WHEREAS, The system of workers’ compensation in the state of Rhode Island was once in a state of acute crisis until legislative intervention and oversight produced what is now a nationally recognized model of a well-managed economical program that provides injured workers with ap…

(a)(1) There shall be established within the department of labor and training a special restricted receipt account to be known as the Rhode Island uninsured protection fund. The department shall maintain the fund for the exclusive purpose of making payments to an injured employee…

The fund shall: (1) Be authorized to pay covered claims as determined by the director and the workers’ compensation court pursuant to the provisions of this section and promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions and overall purpose of this chapter…

The fund shall not distribute funds of any kind to any insured, insurer, or self-insured employer and shall not be deemed an insurer for any purpose noted in this act.

When the balance of the fund, following the deduction of operating expenses, reserves, claims, administration costs and all other reasonable and necessary costs and expenses, exceeds the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), the director is authorized to determine by experien…

The general treasurer of the state of Rhode Island shall be the custodian of such fund and the state controller is hereby authorized and empowered to draw orders upon the general treasurer upon receipt of duly authenticated vouchers.

(a) Where it is determined that the employee was injured in the course of employment while working for an employer who or that fails to maintain a policy of workers’ compensation insurance as required by § 28-36-1 et seq., in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the un…

(a) Where the director determines by experience or other appropriate accounting and actuarial methods that the reserves in the fund are insufficient to pay all claims presented or pending, the director shall petition the workers’ compensation court for an order to make appropriat…

(a) Where it is determined that an employer has failed to maintain a policy of workers’ compensation insurance as required by § 28-36-1 et seq. and that while the employer was uninsured in violation of the statute, an employee suffered a compensable injury, the uninsured protecti…

Every municipality, participating or nonparticipating in the municipal employees’ retirement system, may require its retirees, as a condition of receiving or continuing to receive retirement payments and health benefits, to enroll in Medicare as soon as he or she is eligible, not…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The Rhode Island Jobs Match Enhancement Program.”

The general assembly finds and declares that: (1) Rhode Island’s statewide career pathways systems must be driven by local business and industry needs; (2) Despite high unemployment, businesses report difficulties and frustration in locating employment candidates with the requisi…

On or before July 2, 2014, the department of labor and training shall implement the jobs match enhancement program using the current department of labor and training web-based workforce and job system as a basis, with significant enhancements, as follows: (1) It shall be easy for…

On or before October 1, 2013, the department of labor and training shall report to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives on the progress toward implementing the jobs match enhancement program, along with an estimate of any additional costs re…

The implementation of enhancements to the department of labor and training’s web-based workforce and job system shall be contingent upon available public and/or private financing.

For the purposes of this chapter: (1) “Applicant” means an applicant for employment. (2) “Employee” means an individual who provides services or labor for an employer for wages or other remuneration. (3) “Employer” includes the state, and all political subdivisions of the state, …

No employer shall: (1) Require, coerce, or request an employee or applicant to disclose the password or any other means for accessing a personal social media account; (2) Require, coerce, or request an employee or applicant to access a personal social media account in the presenc…

No employer shall compel an employee or applicant to add anyone, including the employer or the employer’s agent, to their list of contacts associated with a personal social media account or require, request, or cause an employee or applicant to alter settings that affect a third …

No employer shall: (1) Discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize any employee for an employee’s refusal to disclose or provide access to any information specified in § 28-56-2, or for refusal to add the employer to hi…

(a) This chapter shall not apply to information about an applicant or employee that is publicly available. (b) This chapter shall not prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants before hiring or to monitor or retain employee commu…

In any civil action alleging a violation of this chapter, the court may: (1) Award to a prevailing applicant or employee declaratory relief, damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and (2) Award injunctive relief against any employer or agent of any employer that or wh…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act.”

(a) Enforcement and notice requirements pursuant to this chapter shall be in accordance with enforcement and notice requirements of chapter 12 of this title. (b) Any employee or former employee aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be entitled to the sa…

An employer may not require disclosure of details relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual contact, or stalking or the details of an employee’s or an employee’s family member’s health information as a condition of providing paid sick and safe leave time under this ch…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed in a manner to discourage or prohibit an employer from the adoption of a paid sick and safe leave time policy that provides greater rights or benefits than those provided pursuant to this chapter. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be…

The department shall develop and implement a multilingual outreach program to inform employers, employees, parents, and persons who are under the care of a healthcare provider about the availability of paid sick and safe leave time under this chapter. This program shall include t…

(a) Employers may have different paid leave policies for different groups of employees, provided that all policies meet the minimum requirements of this chapter. (b) Employers who or that prefer not to track accrual of paid sick and safe leave time over the course of the benefit …

(a) Employers in the construction industry as classified as code 23 under the North American Industry Classification System that are signatories to a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement authorized pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act shall be in compliance with…

If any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation created under this chapter, or the application of any provision of this chapter to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the chapter, rule, or regulation…

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that employees in Rhode Island can address their own health and safety needs, as well as the health and safety needs of their family members, by requiring employers to allow employees to earn a minimum level of paid leave time, including t…

As used in the chapter, the following words and terms have the following meanings: (1) “Care recipient” means a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health- or safety-related care, including, but not limited to, helping the person obtain diagnost…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to conflict with the provisions of the Food Code or the Rules and Regulations pertaining to Reporting Infectious, Environmental and Occupational Diseases. (b) Any employer with a paid leave time off policy or paid sick and safe leave…

(a) All employees employed by an employer of eighteen (18) or more employees in Rhode Island shall accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every thirty five (35) hours worked up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours during calendar year 2018, thirty-two…

(a) Paid sick and safe leave time shall be provided to an employee by an employer for: (1) An employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condit…

CCAP family childcare providers shall accrue and may use paid sick and safe leave in the same manner as do employees under this chapter. The implementation, but not the amount, of paid sick and safe leave for CCAP family childcare providers shall be a subject of negotiation with …

No municipality shall establish, mandate, or otherwise require an employer to provide benefits in excess of those required under this chapter, including paid sick and safe leave to its employees, other than the paid sick and safe leave requirements provided by this chapter, or to…

The department shall coordinate implementation and enforcement of this chapter and shall promulgate appropriate guidelines or regulations for such purposes. All regulations to be drafted by the department pursuant to this act shall conform with existing applicable regulations and…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Local Ownership Opportunity Act.”

The purpose of this legislation is to preserve jobs and create new opportunities for economic growth and entrepreneurship in Rhode Island by providing opportunities for employees to purchase a business otherwise at risk of closure.