AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Makes construction contractors civilly liable and/or jointly civilly liable for any claims of wage theft or nonpayment from an employee against the contractor, its subcontractors and any subcontractor.)

S2932

2026 -- S 2932
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LC004738
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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 -- PAYMENT OF WAGES

Introduced By:
Senators Thompson, Kallman, Patalano, Famiglietti, and Quezada

Date Introduced:
March 04, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Labor & Gaming
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Chapter 28-14 of the General Laws entitled "Payment of Wages" is hereby
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amended by adding thereto the following section:
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28-14-32. Construction industry paycheck recovery.
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(a) Definitions
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As used in this section:
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(1) "Benefits" means any and all benefits, including paid vacations, holidays, sick leave,
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employer contributions and reimbursements to health insurance and/or any other retirement
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benefits, and any other similar benefits that are incidents of employment.
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(2) "Construction" means the alteration, building, maintenance, reconstruction, moving or
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demolition of any building or structure, not including design services, or any appurtenances
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connected or attached to such buildings or structures.
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(3) "Construction contract" means a written or oral agreement for construction.
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(4) "Contractor" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company,
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organization or other entity, including a construction manager, general or prime contractor, joint
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venture, or any combination thereof, which enters into a construction contract for construction
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services with an owner.
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(5) "Notice" means a written communication mailed, postage prepaid, or hand delivered to
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the contractor’s place of business, registered agent, officer, director, worksite manager or a
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supervisor, or any other individual identified by the contractor as its representative. Notice shall

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include, if known and available, the name of the employer, the amount of the claim or an
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explanation of any data needed to calculate the amount of the claim and the dates that the claimant
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worked.
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(6) "Owner" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association or
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other organization or other entity, or a combination of any thereof, (with an ownership interest,
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whether the interest or estate is in fee, as vendee under a contract to purchase, as lessee or another
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interest or estate less than fee) that causes a building, structure or improvement, new or existing, to
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be constructed, altered, repaired, maintained, moved or demolished or that causes land to be
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excavated or otherwise developed or improved. "Owner" includes successors interest of the owner
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and agents of the owner acting within their authority or on the owner’s behalf. An owner shall not
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be subject to liability under subsection (b) of this section unless the owner is a contractor or
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subcontractor.
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(7) "Person" means, and shall include, any natural person, corporation, municipality,
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partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity.
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(8) "Subcontractor" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
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association, organization or other entity, or any combination thereof, which is a party to a contract
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with a contractor, and/or the contractor's subcontractors to perform any portion of work within the
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scope of the contractor's construction contract with the owner, including where the subcontractor
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has no direct privity of contract with the contractor.
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(b) A contractor making or taking a construction contract for construction work to be
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performed under the International Building Code (IBC), as modified and adopted as the Rhode
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Island building code RISBC-1 (510-RICR-00-00-1), shall assume liability for any debt resulting
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from an action brought under §§ 28-14-19, 28-14-19.1, 28-14-19.2, 37-13-14.1, or 37-13-17 owed
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to a wage claimant or third party on the wage claimant's behalf, incurred by a subcontractor within
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a chain of construction contracts at any tier acting under, by, or for the construction contractor or
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its subcontractors for the wage claimant's performance of labor; provided that, written notice of the
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alleged violation to be raised in that action is provided to the contractor not more than forty-five
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(45) days from the last occurrence of the alleged wage theft. A written offer and payment in full of
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all such wages allegedly owed during the forty-five (45) day period after a receipt of the notice by
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a contractor, shall extinguish a contractor’s liability for damages under this section.
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(c) The construction contractor’s joint and several liability shall be limited to one hundred
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twenty (120) consecutive days of any alleged wage theft, counting back the one hundred twenty
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(120) days from the day of the last violation prior to the notice. This one hundred twenty (120) day
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damages limitation period shall not impact other wage violation remedies available to a claimant.

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(d) No agreement or release by an employee or subcontractor to waive liability assigned to
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a construction contractor under this section shall be valid. The provisions of this section shall not
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be deemed to impair the rights of a contractor to maintain an action against a subcontractor for
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owed wages that are paid by a contractor pursuant to this section.
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(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the remedies available for a claim pursuant
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to subsection (b) of this section, shall only be civil and administrative actions.
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(f) In the case of a private civil action brought by an employee under §§ 28-14-19.2 and
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37-13-17, such employee may authorize and designate any person, organization or collective
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bargaining agent to file a complaint with the director, to make a wage claim on their behalf.
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(g) In the case of an action against a subcontractor, the construction contractor shall be
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considered jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages, benefits, wage supplements, attorneys'
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fees and any other costs resulting from such action in addition to any other damages and penalties
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specified in §§ 28-14-17, 28-14-19, 28-14-19.1, 37-13-16, and 37-13-12.4 that are applicable.
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(h) Nothing in this section shall preclude the attorney general from bringing a civil action
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to collect unpaid wages and penalties on behalf of employees pursuant to this section.
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(i) A contractor or any other person shall not evade, or commit any act that negates, the
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requirements of this section; provided, however, that this section shall not be deemed to prohibit a
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contractor or subcontractor from establishing by contract or enforcing any other lawful remedies
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against a subcontractor it hires for liability created by violation of this section; provided, further,
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that such contract or arrangement does not diminish the right of employees to bring an action under
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the provisions of this section.
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(j) Except as herein provided, nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights,
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privileges, or remedies of any employee under any collective bargaining agreement. The provisions
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of this section may be waived in a collective bargaining agreement between a contractor or
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subcontractor and a bona fide building and construction trade labor organization, which has
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established itself, and/or its affiliates, as the collective bargaining representative for persons
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performing work on a project; provided that, for such waiver to be valid, it shall explicitly reference
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this section; and provided further, however, that such waiver shall not diminish or impair the rights
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of an employee provided under any other section of this chapter.
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(k) The provisions of this section shall apply to construction contracts entered into,
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renewed, modified or amended on or after January 1, 2027.
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(l) Severability. If any provision of this section, or any application of any provision of this
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section, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision
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of this section, or of any other application of any provision of this section, which can be given

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effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the provisions and applications of this
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section are severable.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES
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This act would make contractors civilly liable and/or jointly civilly liable for any claims
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of wage theft or nonpayment from an employee against the contractor, its subcontractors and any
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subcontractor, involved in the performance of a contract solely for construction services performed
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under the International Building Code, as locally amended and adopted as the RISBC-1; provided
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that, written notice of the alleged violation be given to the contractor not more than forty-five (45)
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days from the last occurrence of the alleged wage theft. This act would also authorize only
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administrative and/or civil actions to recover the claimed wages. This act would further provide
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that these provisions could be waived by a collective bargaining agreement with a bona fide
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building and construction trade labor organization which has established itself as the collective
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bargaining representative for persons performing work on a project. This act would apply to
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construction contracts entered into, renewed, modified or amended on or after the effective date of
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this act.
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This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.
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