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S 2166Standards & Wages

Labor and Labor Relations - Minimum Wages - Overtime

This bill raises the salary threshold required for businesses to exempt executive and administrative employees from mandatory overtime pay.

Held for study
Population
Affected
35
Introduced Jan 16, 2026Committee Senate Labor & Gaming

Plain-English Summary

This bill significantly changes the salary requirements for employees to be considered exempt from overtime pay in Rhode Island. Currently, certain executive, administrative, and professional employees are exempt if they earn a salary above a low threshold. Starting in 2027, this legislation creates a tiered system requiring these employees to earn a salary equivalent to specific multipliers of the minimum wage (rising to 2.5 times the minimum wage by 2029) to remain exempt from overtime. It establishes different compliance timelines and thresholds for small businesses (50 or fewer employees) versus larger employers.

For younger readers

In Rhode Island, most workers get paid extra money, called overtime, if they work more than 40 hours a week. However, some bosses don't have to pay overtime to workers who are "managers" or have a set salary. This bill changes the rules. It says that bosses must pay these workers a much higher salary if they want to avoid paying them overtime. The rules start changing in 2027 and the required salary goes up until 2029. This helps ensure workers get paid fairly for the time they work.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Salaried EmployeesSmall Business OwnersLarge CorporationsHuman Resources ManagersExecutive and Administrative Staff
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases the income threshold for overtime exemption, ensuring that lower-paid salaried workers are fairly compensated for working extra hours and are not exploited under the guise of "management" titles.
  • Raises the standard of living for many administrative and professional workers by effectively forcing wage increases or reducing uncompensated labor hours.
  • Closes a loophole that allowed employers to avoid paying overtime to workers earning slightly above minimum wage by classifying them as salaried professionals.
  • Delays implementation until 2027, leaving vulnerable workers without updated protections or increased wages for several more years.
  • Creates a tiered system that allows small businesses to pay lower wages for the same work compared to larger corporations, potentially creating unequal standards for workers.
  • The reliance on multipliers of the minimum wage means that if the minimum wage remains stagnant, the threshold for overtime protection will also stagnate.
For Conservatives
  • Provides a delayed implementation timeline (starting in 2027), giving business owners several years to adjust their business models and payroll structures.
  • Establishes a distinct, lower tier of requirements for small businesses (50 or fewer employees) during the transition years, acknowledging the financial challenges smaller entities face.
  • Maintains the fundamental concept of the "white collar" exemption for executive and professional employees rather than eliminating the category entirely.
  • Imposes significant new labor costs on businesses by mandating higher salaries or overtime pay, which could force layoffs, hiring freezes, or business closures.
  • Interferes with the free market by dictating the terms of employment contracts between private employers and salaried professionals.
  • Increases the administrative and regulatory burden on business owners, who must now meticulously track hours for previously exempt salaried staff to ensure compliance.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 35 additions · 10 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 28-12-4.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-12 entitled "Minimum Wages" is hereby amended to read as follows: 28-12-4.3. Exemptions.

(a) The provisions of §§ 28-12-4.1 and 28-12-4.2 do not apply to the following employees:

(1) Any employee of a summer camp when it is open no more than six (6) months of the year;

(2) Police officer;

(3) Employees of the state or political subdivision of the state who may elect through a collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other agreement between the employer and representatives of the employees, or if the employees are not represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, through an agreement or understanding arrived at between the employer and the employee prior to the performance of work, to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) in a week. The compensatory hours shall at least equal one and one-half (1½) times the hours worked over forty (40) in a week. If compensation is paid to an employee for accrued compensatory time, the compensation shall be paid at the regular rate earned by the employee at the time of payment. At the time of termination, unused accrued compensatory time shall be paid at a rate not less than:

(i) The average regular rate received by the employee during the last three (3) years of the employee’s employment; or

(ii) The final regular rate received by the employee, whichever is higher;

(4) Any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., compensated for services on a salary basis of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) per week;

(5) Any employee as defined in subsection (a)(4) of this section unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would violate the applicable minimum wage law; (4)(i) Through December 31, 2026, any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would violate the applicable minimum wage law, as defined by § 28-12-3;

(ii) Commencing January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027: any employee employed by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than one and one-half (1½) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;

(iii) Commencing January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027: any employee employed by an employer with more than fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;

(iv) Commencing January 1, 2028, through December 31, 2028: any employee employed by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two (2) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;

(v) Commencing January 1, 2028: any employee employed by an employer with more than fifty (50) employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum wage, established by § 28-12-3;

(vi) Commencing January 1, 2029: any employee employed by an employer with fifty (50) or fewer employees in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., unless the wages of the employee, if computed on an hourly basis, would equal less than two and one-half (2½) times the minimum wage established by § 28-12-3; (6)(5) Any salaried employee of a nonprofit national voluntary health agency who elects to receive compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week; (7)(6) Any employee, including drivers, driver’s helpers, mechanics, and loaders of any motor carrier, including private carriers, with respect to whom the United States Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31502; (8)(7) Any employee who is a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic primarily engaged in the sale and/or servicing of automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, and is employed by a non- manufacturing employer primarily engaged in the business of selling vehicles or farm implements to ultimate purchasers, to the extent that the employers are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10); provided, that the employee’s weekly, biweekly, or monthly actual earnings exceed an amount equal to the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times the number of hours actually worked plus the employee’s basic contractual hourly rate of pay times one-half (½) the number of hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week; (9)(8) Any employee employed in agriculture; however, this exemption applies to all agricultural enterprises that produce greenhouse crops, fruit and vegetable crops, herbaceous crops, sod crops, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, feed for livestock, forestry, dairy farming, aquaculture, the raising of livestock, furbearing animals, poultry and eggs, bees and honey, mushrooms, and nursery stock. This exemption also applies to nursery workers; and (10)(9) Any employee of an air carrier subject to the provisions of 45 U.S.C. § 181 et seq., of the Railway Labor Act when the hours worked by that employee in excess of forty (40) in a workweek are not required by the air carrier, but are arranged through a voluntary agreement among employees to trade scheduled work hours.

(b) Nothing in this section exempts any employee who under applicable federal law is entitled to overtime pay or benefits related to overtime pay.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.