RI · state labor law, 2026
Rhode Island labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Rhode Island still pays a premium for Sunday and holiday work, insures caregivers through payroll and has a raise locked in for 2027.
Rhode Island and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $16.00/h
- statewide
- From January 1, 2027
- $17.00/h
- announced rate
- Tipped cash wage
- $3.89/h
- tips must make up the rest
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- state law
- Paid sick leave
- 1 h per 35 h
- cap 40 h a year
- Paid family leave
- 8 weeks
- Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI)
Rhode Island's minimum wage is $16.00 an hour in 2026 and rises to $17.00 on January 1, 2027, a step written into state law, which adds $2,080 a year to a full-time paycheck. The feature most visitors do not expect is the Sunday and holiday rule: in most businesses, work on those days is paid at time and a half, separately from overtime after 40 hours a week. Tipped staff may be paid $3.89 in cash as long as tips bring them to the full minimum. Workers earn one hour of sick and safe leave per 35 worked, up to 40 hours a year, paid at employers with 18 or more employees. Temporary Caregiver Insurance pays up to 8 weeks to bond with a child or care for a relative, with a maximum of $1,150 a week for claims starting on or after July 1, 2026. Accrued vacation must be paid out after one year on the job.
Gross pay for this week in Rhode Island
$640
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week
| Minimum wage in Rhode Island now | $16 an hour |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | 40 hours (cap reached) |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | 20 min meal |
| Final paycheck if fired | by the next regular payday (within 24 hours if the business is liquidated, merged, sold or moved out of state) |
| Unused vacation at the end | Accrued vacation must be paid out |
| Paid family leave | Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI), up to 8 weeks |
40 hours a week at $16. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
Sundays and holidays pay more
Rhode Island adds a pay rule tied to the calendar: the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) says employees must be paid at least one and a half times their normal rate for work on Sundays and holidays, with exceptions for some industries. That premium is a separate rule from weekly overtime. In retail, the Sunday and holiday premium hours are left out when counting the 40 hours that trigger overtime, so the same hour is not paid at a premium twice.
Take a store clerk paid $22 an hour who works an 8-hour Sunday shift. The base pay for the day is $176, and the Sunday rule adds $88 on top, whatever the length of the week. If your pay stub shows a plain rate for Sunday hours, DLT's Labor Standards Unit is where to raise it, and that office settles disputes one file at a time.
A dated raise for 2027
Unlike states that index wages to inflation, Rhode Island sets each step in its statute. The $17.00 rate for January 1, 2027 is already law, so a full-time worker at the minimum moves from $33,280 to $35,360 a year. Some groups have a reduced rate: full-time students under 19 at nonprofit, religious or community organizations at 90% of the minimum, and 14- and 15-year-olds working 24 hours a week or less at 75%. The tip credit can reach $12.11 an hour in 2026.
What the minimum wage raise is worth to you
Next rate in Rhode Island
$17.00
| Rate on January 1, 2026 | $16.00 |
| Rate in force now | $16.00 |
| Extra pay a year since January | $0 |
| Extra pay a year at the next rate | $1,560 |
Caregiver pay, disability pay and sick hours
Rhode Island funds two linked insurance programs through payroll. Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) covers up to 8 weeks to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill relative, with a weekly benefit based on your earnings, a floor of $148 and a dependency allowance for up to five dependents. Since January 1, 2026 it also covers bone marrow donors for one week and organ donors for thirty business days. Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) handles your own illness or injury for up to 30 weeks, and TCI weeks reduce that total. The state Parental and Family Medical Leave Act adds 13 weeks of unpaid job protection at employers with 50 or more workers, after 12 months of service.
Sick and safe leave builds more slowly here than in many states, at one hour per 35. A part-timer on 30 hours a week earns about 40 hours over a year, hitting the 40-hour cap. Sick leave rules by state compare the accrual rates.
Meals and the final paycheck
Rhode Island ties the meal break to shift length: a 20-minute mealtime for a six-hour shift and 30 minutes for an eight-hour shift, unpaid, except in licensed health care facilities or where fewer than three employees are on site. Final wages are due on the next regular payday whatever the reason for leaving, and within 24 hours if the business is sold, merged, liquidated or moves out of state. Vacation earned and unused must be paid once you have worked there for a year.
Rhode Island employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Statewide | $16.00 | |
| January 1, 2027 | Statewide | $17.00 | set by statute (RIGL 28-12-3), listed on the DLT minimum wage page |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Full-time students under 19 at nonprofit/religious/library/community organizations: 90% ($14.40); 14-15-year-olds working 24 h/week or less: 75% ($12.00). Read the Rhode Island rule.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. The salary test for exempt employees is the federal $684 a week. Separate rule: time and one-half for work on Sundays and holidays (with exceptions); retail Sunday/holiday premium hours are excluded from weekly overtime. source
Sick leave and family leave
Paid sick leave: 1 hour for every 35 hours worked (Up to 40 hours per year; paid at employers with 18+ employees, unpaid but protected at 17 or fewer.), all employers (paid at 18+ employees). Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act (RIGL 28-57). source
Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI): up to 8 weeks, Weekly benefit rate based on base-period wages; minimum $148, plus a dependency allowance (greater of $20 or 7% of the rate per dependent, up to 5), maximum $1,150.00 a week in 2026. Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI): up to 30 weeks for the worker's own non-work illness or injury (TCI weeks reduce TDI weeks). RI Parental and Family Medical Leave Act: 13 consecutive weeks of unpaid job-protected leave (employers with 50+ employees, 12 months of service). source
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: by the next regular payday (within 24 hours if the business is liquidated, merged, sold or moved out of state). Quitting: by the next regular payday. Vacation: Accrued vacation must be paid at separation once the employee has completed at least 1 year of service.. source vacation rule
Meal and rest breaks
Meal: 20-minute mealtime for a 6-hour shift, 30 minutes for an 8-hour shift (unpaid); not required in licensed health care facilities or where fewer than 3 employees are on site. No paid rest break is required for adults. source
Unions and dismissal
Rhode Island has no right-to-work law, so a union contract may require a fee from the workers it covers. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract.