Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5678 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 5678
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7	7	LC000459
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES --OVERTIME
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Potter, Shanley, Furtado, Edwards, Morales, Alzate,
17	17	O'Brien, Cruz, Slater, and Messier
18	18	Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Labor
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 28-12-4.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-12 entitled "Minimum 1
24	24	Wages" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	28-12-4.3. Exemptions. 3
26	26	(a) The provisions of §§ 28-12-4.1 and 28-12-4.2 do not apply to the following employees: 4
27	27	(1) Any employee of a summer camp when it is open no more than six (6) months of the 5
28	28	year; 6
29	29	(2) Police officer; 7
30	30	(3) Employees of the state or political subdivision of the state who may elect through a 8
31	31	collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other agreement between 9
32	32	the employer and representatives of the employees, or if the employees are not represented by an 10
33	33	exclusive bargaining agent, through an agreement or understanding arrived at between the 11
34	34	employer and the employee prior to the performance of work, to receive compensatory time off for 12
35	35	hours worked in excess of forty (40) in a week. The compensatory hours shall at least equal one 13
36	36	and one-half (1½) times the hours worked over forty (40) in a week. If compensation is paid to an 14
37	37	employee for accrued compensatory time, the compensation shall be paid at the regular rate earned 15
38	38	by the employee at the time of payment. At the time of termination, unused accrued compensatory 16
39	39	time shall be paid at a rate not less than: 17
40	40	(i) The average regular rate received by the employee during the last three (3) years of the 18
41	41	employee’s employment; or 19
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45	45	(ii) The final regular rate received by the employee, whichever is higher; 1
46	46	(4) Any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional 2
47	47	capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., compensated 3
48	48	for services on a salary basis of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) per week; 4
49	49	(5) Any employee as defined in subsection (a)(4) of this section unless the wages of the 5
50	50	employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would violate the applicable minimum wage law; 6
51	51	(4)(i) Through December 31, 2025, any employee employed in a bona fide executive, 7
52	52	administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 8
53	53	U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would 9
54	54	violate the applicable minimum wage law, as defined by § 28-12-3; 10
55	55	(ii) Commencing January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026: any employee employed 11
56	56	by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or 12
57	57	professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., 13
58	58	unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than one and 14
59	59	one-half (1½) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3; 15
60	60	(iii) Commencing January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026: any employee employed 16
61	61	by an employer with more than fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or 17
62	62	professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., 18
63	63	unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2) 19
64	64	times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3; 20
65	65	(iv) Commencing January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2026: any employee employed 21
66	66	by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or 22
67	67	professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., 23
68	68	unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2) 24
69	69	times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3; 25
70	70	(v) Commencing January 1, 2027: any employee employed by an employer with more than 26
71	71	fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined 27
72	72	by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, 28
73	73	if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum 29
74	74	wage, established by § 28-12-3; 30
75	75	(vi) Commencing January 1, 2028: any employee employed by an employer with fifty (50) 31
76	76	or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined 32
77	77	by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, 33
78	78	if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum 34
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82	82	wage established by § 28-12-3; 1
83	83	(6)(5) Any salaried employee of a nonprofit national voluntary health agency who elects 2
84	84	to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week; 3
85	85	(7)(6) Any employee, including drivers, driver’s helpers, mechanics, and loaders of any 4
86	86	motor carrier, including private carriers, with respect to whom the United States Secretary of 5
87	87	Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the 6
88	88	provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31502; 7
89	89	(8)(7) Any employee who is a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic primarily engaged in 8
90	90	the sale and/or servicing of automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, and is employed by a non-9
91	91	manufacturing employer primarily engaged in the business of selling vehicles or farm implements 10
92	92	to ultimate purchasers, to the extent that the employers are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards 11
93	93	Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10); provided, that the employee’s weekly, biweekly, or monthly 12
94	94	actual earnings exceed an amount equal to the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times 13
95	95	the number of hours actually worked plus the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times 14
96	96	one-half (½) the number of hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week; 15
97	97	(9)(8) Any employee employed in agriculture; however, this exemption applies to all 16
98	98	agricultural enterprises that produce greenhouse crops, fruit and vegetable crops, herbaceous crops, 17
99	99	sod crops, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, feed for livestock, forestry, dairy farming, 18
100	100	aquaculture, the raising of livestock, furbearing animals, poultry and eggs, bees and honey, 19
101	101	mushrooms, and nursery stock. This exemption also applies to nursery workers; and 20
102	102	(10)(9) Any employee of an air carrier subject to the provisions of 45 U.S.C. § 181 et seq., 21
103	103	of the Railway Labor Act when the hours worked by that employee in excess of forty (40) in a 22
104	104	workweek are not required by the air carrier, but are arranged through a voluntary agreement among 23
105	105	employees to trade scheduled work hours. 24
106	106	(b) Nothing in this section exempts any employee who under applicable federal law is 25
107	107	entitled to overtime pay or benefits related to overtime pay. 26
108	108	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 27
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115	115	EXPLANATION
116	116	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
117	117	OF
118	118	A N A C T
119	119	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES --OVERTIME
120	120	***
121	121	Under current law, employers are not obligated to pay overtime to their executive, 1
122	122	administrative, and professional employees who are compensated through salary rather than hourly 2
123	123	wages, unless the salary of such employees would, if calculated according to a 40-hour work week, 3
124	124	fall below the state’s current minimum wage. This act would raise that cut-off and make additional 4
125	125	salaried employees non-exempt and therefore eligible for overtime pay, by requiring small 5
126	126	employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more 6
127	127	employees, to pay overtime wages to currently exempt workers, if their salary falls below a 7
128	128	threshold based upon multipliers of minimum hourly wage, for a forty (40) hour workweek. For 8
129	129	example, for the year 2026, the multiplier would be one and one-half (1½) times the minimum 9
130	130	hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for small employers with less than fifty (50) employees 10
131	131	and two (2) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for large employers 11
132	132	with more than fifty (50) employees, resulting in overtime entitlement for more employees. 12
133	133	This act would take effect upon passage. 13
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