AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME (Requires small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees to pay overtime wages to exempt workers if their salary exceeds varying multipliers of minimum wage for a forty (40) hour workweek.)

H7490

2026 -- H 7490
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LC004604
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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 -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME

Introduced By:
Representatives Potter, Bennett, Read, Shanley, Edwards, Messier,
Furtado, and Giraldo

Date Introduced:
February 04, 2026

Referred To:
House Labor
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 28-12-4.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-12 entitled "Minimum
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Wages" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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28-12-4.3. Exemptions.
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(a) The provisions of §§ 28-12-4.1 and 28-12-4.2 do not apply to the following employees:
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(1) Any employee of a summer camp when it is open no more than six (6) months of the
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year;
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(2) Police officer;
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(3) Employees of the state or political subdivision of the state who may elect through a
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collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other agreement between
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the employer and representatives of the employees, or if the employees are not represented by an
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exclusive bargaining agent, through an agreement or understanding arrived at between the
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employer and the employee prior to the performance of work, to receive compensatory time off for
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hours worked in excess of forty (40) in a week. The compensatory hours shall at least equal one
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and one-half (1½) times the hours worked over forty (40) in a week. If compensation is paid to an
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employee for accrued compensatory time, the compensation shall be paid at the regular rate earned
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by the employee at the time of payment. At the time of termination, unused accrued compensatory
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time shall be paid at a rate not less than:
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(i) The average regular rate received by the employee during the last three (3) years of the
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employee’s employment; or

1
(ii) The final regular rate received by the employee, whichever is higher;
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(4) Any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional
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capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., compensated
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for services on a salary basis of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) per week;
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(5) Any employee as defined in subsection (a)(4) of this section unless the wages of the
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employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would violate the applicable minimum wage law;
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(4)(i) Through December 31, 2026, any employee employed in a bona fide executive,
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administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29
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U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would
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violate the applicable minimum wage law, as defined by § 28-12-3;
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(ii) Commencing January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027: any employee employed
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by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or
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professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.,
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unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than one and
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one-half (1½) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;
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(iii) Commencing January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027: any employee employed
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by an employer with more than fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or
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professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.,
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unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2)
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times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;
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(iv) Commencing January 1, 2028, through December 31, 2028: any employee employed
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by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or
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professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.,
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unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2)
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times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;
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(v) Commencing January 1, 2028: any employee employed by an employer with more than
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fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined
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by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee,
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if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum
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wage, established by § 28-12-3;
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(vi) Commencing January 1, 2029: any employee employed by an employer with fifty (50)
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or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined
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by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee,
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if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum

LC004604 - Page 2 of 4
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wage established by § 28-12-3;
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(6)
(5)
Any salaried employee of a nonprofit national voluntary health agency who elects
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to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week;
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(7)
(6)
Any employee, including drivers, driver’s helpers, mechanics, and loaders of any
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motor carrier, including private carriers, with respect to whom the United States Secretary of
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Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the
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provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31502;
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(8)
(7)
Any employee who is a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic primarily engaged in
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the sale and/or servicing of automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, and is employed by a non-
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manufacturing employer primarily engaged in the business of selling vehicles or farm implements
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to ultimate purchasers, to the extent that the employers are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards
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Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10); provided, that the employee’s weekly, biweekly, or monthly
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actual earnings exceed an amount equal to the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times
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the number of hours actually worked plus the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times
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one-half (½) the number of hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week;
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(9)
(8)
Any employee employed in agriculture; however, this exemption applies to all
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agricultural enterprises that produce greenhouse crops, fruit and vegetable crops, herbaceous crops,
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sod crops, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, feed for livestock, forestry, dairy farming,
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aquaculture, the raising of livestock, furbearing animals, poultry and eggs, bees and honey,
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mushrooms, and nursery stock. This exemption also applies to nursery workers; and
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(10)
(9)
Any employee of an air carrier subject to the provisions of 45 U.S.C. § 181 et seq.,
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of the Railway Labor Act when the hours worked by that employee in excess of forty (40) in a
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workweek are not required by the air carrier, but are arranged through a voluntary agreement among
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employees to trade scheduled work hours.
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(b) Nothing in this section exempts any employee who under applicable federal law is
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entitled to overtime pay or benefits related to overtime pay.
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SECTION 2. 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 -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME
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Under current law, employers are not obligated to pay overtime to their executive,
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administrative, and professional employees who are compensated through salary rather than hourly
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wages, unless the salary of such employees would, if calculated according to a 40-hour work week,
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fall below the state’s current minimum wage. This act would raise that cut-off and make additional
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salaried employees non-exempt and therefore eligible for overtime pay, by requiring small
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employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more
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employees, to pay overtime wages to currently exempt workers, if their salary falls below a
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threshold based upon multipliers of minimum hourly wage, for a forty (40) hour workweek. For
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example, for the year 2027, the multiplier would be one and one-half (1½) times the minimum
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hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for small employers with less than fifty (50) employees
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and two (2) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for large employers
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with more than fifty (50) employees, resulting in overtime entitlement for more employees.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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