S 2926Standards & Wages

Labor and Labor Relations - Fair Employment Practices

Construction work on healthcare facilities must now pay workers the state-mandated prevailing wage rates.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Labor & Gaming

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that any contract for capital improvements—such as construction, renovation, or demolition—performed on a healthcare facility in Rhode Island must adhere to the state's prevailing wage laws. This means that contractors and subcontractors hired for these projects are required to pay their employees the specific wage rates and benefits established by the state for public works projects, rather than standard market rates. The bill applies to all healthcare facilities as defined by existing state law.

For younger readers

This bill creates a new rule for how much money construction workers get paid when they build or fix hospitals and doctor's offices. The state has a special list of pay rates called "prevailing wage," which is usually higher than normal pay. Before, this rule was mostly for building schools or government buildings. Now, if a company is hired to build or fix a healthcare building, they have to pay their workers this specific amount of money from the state's list.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Construction ContractorsConstruction WorkersHealthcare FacilitiesHospitalsPatients

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Ensures that construction workers on healthcare projects earn a living wage and benefits, preventing the exploitation of labor and promoting economic stability for working families.
Protects local labor standards by preventing unscrupulous contractors from undercutting bids through the use of low-wage or exploited workforces.
Strengthens the middle class by expanding the reach of prevailing wage laws, ensuring that the economic growth of the healthcare sector is shared with the workers building the infrastructure.
Could increase the cost of construction and renovations for healthcare facilities, potentially leading to higher medical costs for patients or reduced services in underserved communities.
May place a financial strain on smaller, non-profit community health centers that operate on tight budgets, potentially delaying necessary facility upgrades.
Strict prevailing wage reporting requirements could create administrative barriers for small, minority-owned contracting businesses that lack the resources to manage complex compliance paperwork.

For Conservatives

Disincentivizes the use of illegal or undocumented labor by mandating strict wage reporting and compliance with state labor laws.
Encourages the use of skilled, local tradespeople rather than cheap, out-of-state transient labor, keeping economic activity within the state.
Ensures that critical healthcare infrastructure is constructed to high standards by professional workforce, potentially reducing long-term structural liabilities.
Imposes government price controls on private sector wages, interfering with the free market and the right of private businesses to negotiate their own contracts.
Significantly increases the cost of healthcare construction, which will inevitably be passed down to consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums and medical bills.
Expands government bureaucracy and red tape, placing heavy regulatory burdens on businesses and favoring unionized labor over non-union merit shop contractors.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 6 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 28-5 of the General Laws entitled "Fair Employment Practices" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 28-5-44. Labor and payment of debts by contractors. Any contract for capital improvements to any healthcare facility as defined in § 23-17-2 including, but not limited to, construction, reconstruction, renovation, demolition, and alteration, shall adhere to the requirements and obligations in chapter 13 of title 37 which requires all relevant contractors and subcontractors performing work on the healthcare facility to pay their employees, as defined in § 37-13-7.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.