AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Commencing January 1, 2027, this act would increase the minimum wage for employees receiving gratuities, from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to six dollars and seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour.)

S2408

2026 -- S 2408
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LC003387
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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

Introduced By:
Senators Mack, Valverde, Vargas, and Quezada

Date Introduced:
January 30, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Labor & Gaming
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 28-12-5 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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28-12-5. Employees receiving gratuities.
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(a) Every employer shall pay to each of the employer’s employees who are engaged in any
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work or employment in which gratuities have customarily and usually constituted a part of his or
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her weekly income, the rate as provided by §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1.
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(b) Allowance for gratuities as part of the hourly wage rate for restaurants, hotels, and other
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industries, except taxicabs and limited public motor vehicles, shall be an amount equal to the
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applicable minimum rates as provided by §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1 less two dollars and eighty-
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nine cents ($2.89) per hour. “Gratuities” means voluntary monetary compensation received directly
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or indirectly by the employee for services rendered.
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(c) Each employer desiring to deduct for gratuities as part of the minimum rates as provided
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in §§ 28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1 wages paid to an employee shall provide substantial evidence that the
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amount shall be as set out in the formula in subsection (b) of this section; however, the cash wage
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shall not be less than two dollars and eighty-nine cents ($2.89) per hour; provided, however, that
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commencing January 1, 2016, the cash wage shall increase by fifty cents ($.50) to an amount not
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less than three dollars and thirty-nine cents ($3.39) per hour; provided further, that commencing
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January 1, 2017, the cash wage shall increase by fifty cents ($.50) to an amount not less than three
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dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) per hour
; provided further, that commencing January 1, 2027,

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the cash wage shall increase by two dollars and eighty-six cents ($2.86) to an amount not less than
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six dollars and seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour
.
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(d) The director of labor and training shall notify employers concerning what type of proof
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shall be accepted as substantial evidence for the purpose of this subsection. Employees involved
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shall be entitled to a hearing on the question of the amount of deduction if they so desire.
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(e) In cases where wages are figured by the employer on an incentive basis in such a manner
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that an employee of reasonable average ability earns at least the minimum wage established by §§
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28-12-3 and 28-12-3.1, it shall be taken that the employer has complied with this statute. It shall be
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of no concern to the director of labor and training how the employer arrives at its wage scale so
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long as it is not unreasonable in its demands on the employee.
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(f) Where, in the case of the employment of a full-time student who has not attained his or
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her nineteenth (19th) birthday engaged in the activities of a nonprofit association or corporation,
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whose aims and objectives are religious, educational, librarial, or community service in nature, the
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employer-employee relationship does exist, the employer shall pay to each such employee wages
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at a rate of not less than ninety percent (90%) of the minimum wage as specified in § 28-12-3. In
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case of any conflict between provisions of this section and those of § 28-12-3.1, the provisions of
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§ 28-12-3.1 shall govern.
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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
***
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Commencing January 1, 2027, this act would increase the minimum wage for employees
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receiving gratuities, from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to six dollars and
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seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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