AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAREHOUSE WORKER PROTECTION ACT (Requires employers to provide each employee of a warehouse distribution center, upon hire, with written description of quotas applicable to the employee within defined time periods and adverse employment action for failure to meet the quota.)

H7364

2026 -- H 7364
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LC004101
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAREHOUSE WORKER
PROTECTION ACT

Introduced By:
Representatives Shanley, Slater, Bennett, Craven, and Knight

Date Introduced:
January 28, 2026

Referred To:
House Labor
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Legislative findings.
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The general assembly finds and declares the following:
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(1) The rapid growth of just-in-time logistics and same- and next-day consumer package
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delivery, and advances in technology used for tracking employee productivity, have led to a rise in
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the number of warehouse and distribution center workers, who are subject to quantified work
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quotas.
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(2) Warehouse and distribution center employees who work under those quotas are
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expected to complete a quantified number of tasks within specific time periods, often measured
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down to the minute or second, and face adverse employment action, including suspension or
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termination, if they fail to do so.
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(3) Those quotas generally do not allow for workers to comply with safety guidelines or to
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recover from strenuous activity during productive work time, leaving warehouse and distribution
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center employees who work under them at high risk of injury and illness.
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(4) The quotas under which warehouse and distribution center employees regularly work
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also affect their compensation. California and many cities require employers to pay their employees
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a minimum-wage rate. Warehouse and distribution center employees who work under a quota,
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however, do not receive the full benefit of minimum wages if their quota is increased to make up
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for the direct or indirect effect of a minimum-wage increase.

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(5) Quotas in occupations that are already physically demanding not only increase
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accidents, but they also incentivize unsafe work. The workforce in warehouse and logistics is
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largely comprised of people of color who depend upon these jobs to provide for their families and
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often see no alternative but to prioritize quota compliance over their own safety. These workers
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end up working faster than is healthy in order to keep their jobs.
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(6) Workplace injuries can take a terrible toll on workers, their families and their
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communities, and can create substantial costs for employers. According to the most recent data
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(2020) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the warehouse industry itself reports a rate of
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serious work-related injuries involving lost time or restricted duty (4.0 cases/100 full-time workers)
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that is more than twice the average injury rates for all private industry (1.7 cases/100 full-time
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workers). The most common types of work-related serious injury reported by employers in the
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warehouse sector are musculoskeletal injuries, which often require workers to miss work and can
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force workers permanently out of the job and even out of the workforce.
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SECTION 2. Title 28 of the General Laws entitled "LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS"
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is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 61
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WAREHOUSE WORKER PROTECTION ACT
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28-61-1. Short title.

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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Warehouse Worker Protection Act".
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28-61-2. Definitions.

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As used in this chapter:
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(1) "Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement equal to or less than the
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duration of an employee's shift, and includes hours, minutes, and seconds and any fraction thereof.
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(2) "Department" means the department of labor and training.
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(3) "Director" means director of the department of labor and training.
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(4) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution
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center.
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(5)(i) "Employee work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores,
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analyzes, or interprets relating to an individual employee's performance of a quota, including, but
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not limited to, quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or produced,
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rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation
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to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks.
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(ii) "Employee work speed data" does not include qualitative performance assessments,
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personnel records, or itemized wage statements, except for any content of those records that

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includes employee work speed data, as defined in this definition.
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(6) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other
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person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service, or staffing
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agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions
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of one hundred (100) or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or one thousand
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(1,000) or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state.
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(7) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited
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liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint
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venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or
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foreign.
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(8) "Quota" means a work standard under which an employee is assigned or required to
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perform at a specified productivity speed, or perform a quantified number of tasks, or to handle or
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produce a quantified amount of material, within a defined time period and under which the
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employee may suffer an adverse employment action, if the employee fails to complete the
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performance standard.
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(9)(i) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the
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following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes, however that
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establishment is denominated:
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(A) 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage.
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(B) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods.
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(C) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods.
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(D) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses.
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28-61-3. Disclosure of quotas.

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(a) Each employer shall provide to each employee, upon hire, a written description of each
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quota to which the employee is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed
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or materials to be produced or handled, within the defined time period, and any potential adverse
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employment action that could result from the failure to meet the quota. The requirement to disclose
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also applies to any changes in the quota.
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(b) Nothing in this section requires an employer to use quotas or monitor work speed data.
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An employer that does not monitor this data, has no obligation to provide it.
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28-61-4. Meals and rest periods.

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An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or
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rest periods, use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom
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facilities, or occupational health and safety laws in the labor laws or department standards. An

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employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for failure to meet a quota
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that does not allow a worker to comply with meal and rest periods, use of bathroom facilities, or
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occupational health and safety laws, labor laws, or for failure to meet a quota that has not been
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disclosed to an employee.
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28-61-5. Employee information request.

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Employees may request from the employer the written description of the quota, and a copy
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of the employee's own speed data as well as the aggregated work speed data for comparable
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employees working in the facility.
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28-61-6. Unlawful retaliation.

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There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer in any
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manner discriminates, retaliates, or takes any adverse action against any employee because an
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employee exercises their rights pursuant to this chapter.
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28-61-7. Severability.

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The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision or its application is held
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invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect
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without the invalid provision or application.
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SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAREHOUSE WORKER
PROTECTION ACT
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This act would require employers to provide each employee, defined as a nonexempt
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employee who works at a warehouse distribution center, upon hire, with a written description of
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each quota to which the employee is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be
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performed or materials to be produced or handled, within the defined time period and any potential
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adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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