S 2740Standards & Wages

Labor and Labor Relations - Minimum Wages - Healthcare Worker Overtime Pay

Healthcare workers must be paid one and a half times their regular wage for working on Sundays and holidays.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee Senate Labor & Gaming

Plain-English Summary

This bill mandates that healthcare workers and medical direct support professionals employed in healthcare facilities receive extra pay for working on specific days. Specifically, if these employees work on a Sunday or a holiday, their employer must pay them at a rate of "time and one-half," which means 1.5 times their normal hourly wage. This requirement applies to facilities defined under existing state laws regarding accident and sickness insurance policies.

For younger readers

This new rule helps people who work in hospitals and doctor's offices. Sometimes, these workers have to do their jobs on Sundays or on holidays when most other people are off having fun or resting. This bill says that if they work on those special days, their bosses must pay them extra money—specifically, one and a half times what they usually make. This is a way to reward them for working during times that are usually meant for family and rest.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Healthcare workersMedical direct support professionalsHealthcare facility ownersHospital administratorsPatients

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Directly increases the wages of essential workers, providing immediate financial relief and better compensation for the sacrifices made by working weekends and holidays.
Helps address income inequality by mandating premium pay for direct support professionals, who are often lower-paid but perform critical care labor.
Promotes a healthier work-life balance by financially disincentivizing employers from scheduling excessive staff on days traditionally reserved for rest and family, or adequately compensating those who must work.
Could lead to reduced hours or staffing levels on Sundays and holidays if employers try to cut costs, potentially hurting the overall income of the workers the bill intends to help.
May increase the cost of healthcare services, which could disproportionately affect low-income patients or underfunded community health centers.
Creates a disparity between healthcare workers and other essential low-wage workers (such as retail or food service) who are not included in this mandate for premium pay.

For Conservatives

Encourages the observance of traditional days of rest (Sundays and holidays) by making it more expensive for businesses to operate on those days.
Rewards hard work and labor availability, ensuring that individuals willing to work undesirable shifts are compensated through market-adjacent mechanisms rather than government handouts.
Potentially reduces the need for government welfare assistance for lower-income healthcare support staff by increasing their private-sector earnings.
Imposes strict government mandates on private businesses, interfering with the free market and the ability of employers and employees to negotiate their own contracts.
Increases operational costs for healthcare providers, which will likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher medical prices and insurance premiums.
Disregards the specific financial realities of small business healthcare providers who may not be able to afford the mandated wage hike, potentially forcing closures or consolidation.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 4 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 28-12 of the General Laws entitled "Minimum Wages" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 28-12-4.5. Overtime pay for healthcare professionals. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all healthcare workers and all medical direct support professionals who are employed in a healthcare facility, as defined in § 27-18-1.1, on any Sunday or holiday, shall be compensated at the rate of time and one-half.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.