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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0215 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC000817 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators Mack, Ciccone, Murray, Kallman, Lauria, Valverde, Thompson, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Quezada, and Acosta |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 07, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Labor & Gaming |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 28-12-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-12 entitled "Minimum 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Wages" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 28-12-5. Employees receiving gratuities. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) Every employer shall pay to each of the employer’s employees who are engaged in any 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | work or employment in which gratuities have customarily and usually constituted a part of his or 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | her weekly income, the rate as provided by §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1. 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) Allowance for gratuities as part of the hourly wage rate for restaurants, hotels, and other 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | industries, except taxicabs and limited public motor vehicles, shall be an amount equal to the 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | applicable minimum rates as provided by §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1 less two dollars and eighty-9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | nine cents ($2.89) per hour. “Gratuities” means voluntary monetary compensation received directly 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | or indirectly by the employee for services rendered. 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) Each employer desiring to deduct for gratuities as part of the minimum rates as provided 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | in §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1 wages paid to an employee shall provide substantial evidence that the 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | amount shall be as set out in the formula in subsection (b) of this section; however, the cash wage 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | shall not be less than two dollars and eighty-nine cents ($2.89) per hour; provided, however, that 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | commencing January 1, 2016, the cash wage shall increase by fifty cents ($.50) to an amount not 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | less than three dollars and thirty-nine cents ($3.39) per hour; provided further, that commencing 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | January 1, 2017, the cash wage shall increase by fifty cents ($.50) to an amount not less than three 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) per hour; provided further, that commencing January 1, 2026, 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC000817 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 45 | 45 | | the cash wage shall increase by two dollars and eighty-six cents ($2.86) to an amount not less than 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | six dollars and seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour. 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (d) The director of labor and training shall notify employers concerning what type of proof 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | shall be accepted as substantial evidence for the purpose of this subsection. Employees involved 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | shall be entitled to a hearing on the question of the amount of deduction if they so desire. 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (e) In cases where wages are figured by the employer on an incentive basis in such a manner 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | that an employee of reasonable average ability earns at least the minimum wage established by §§ 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1, it shall be taken that the employer has complied with this statute. It shall be 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | of no concern to the director of labor and training how the employer arrives at its wage scale so 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | long as it is not unreasonable in its demands on the employee. 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (f) Where, in the case of the employment of a full-time student who has not attained his or 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | her nineteenth (19th) birthday engaged in the activities of a nonprofit association or corporation, 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | whose aims and objectives are religious, educational, librarial, or community service in nature, the 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | employer-employee relationship does exist, the employer shall pay to each such employee wages 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | at a rate of not less than ninety percent (90%) of the minimum wage as specified in § 28-12-3. In 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | case of any conflict between provisions of this section and those of § 28-12-3.1, the provisions of 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | § 28-12-3.1 shall govern. 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ======== |
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| 64 | 64 | | LC000817 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ======== |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | LC000817 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 69 | 69 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 70 | 70 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 71 | 71 | | OF |
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| 72 | 72 | | A N A C T |
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| 73 | 73 | | RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES |
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| 74 | 74 | | *** |
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| 75 | 75 | | Commencing January 1, 2026, this act would increase the minimum wage for employees 1 |
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| 76 | 76 | | receiving gratuities from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to six dollars and 2 |
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| 77 | 77 | | seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour. 3 |
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| 78 | 78 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 79 | 79 | | ======== |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC000817 |
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| 81 | 81 | | ======== |
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| 82 | 82 | | |
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