Employee Handbook

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK — RHODE ISLAND

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Purpose and Employment Framework
2. Equal Employment, Accommodation, and Reporting
3. Pay, Timekeeping, and Meal Periods
4. Leave and Protected Absences
5. Workplace Standards
6. Corrective Action and Separation
7. Administration and Acknowledgment

1. PURPOSE AND EMPLOYMENT FRAMEWORK

1.1 Company and Effective Date

This Handbook states the current workplace policies of [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] (the “Company”) for employees working in Rhode Island. It is effective [__/__/____] and prospectively replaces prior handbook versions.

1.2 Handbook Status

This Handbook is not a contract for employment for a fixed term. Except where a signed agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or controlling law provides otherwise, the Company intends employment to be at will. Either the employee or the Company may end the relationship at any time, subject to applicable law.

This Handbook does not guarantee a disciplinary sequence, continued employment, a particular assignment, or a benefit not vested under a governing plan or agreement.

1.3 Policy Changes

The Company may revise policies prospectively in writing, subject to applicable law, earned wages, vested benefits, signed agreements, and collective bargaining agreements. Only [AUTHORIZED TITLE] may approve a Handbook revision.

1.4 Coverage Checklist

Complete before distribution:

• Rhode Island employees: [NUMBER]
• Total employer employees for Rhode Island sick-leave counting: [NUMBER]
• Employer has 4 or more employees for state fair-employment coverage: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Employer has 18 or more Rhode Island employees for paid sick-and-safe leave: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Employer has 50 or more employees for the state sexual-harassment-policy chapter and private-employer family leave: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Municipal or public employer: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Collective bargaining or industry-specific rules: [DESCRIBE]

2. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT, ACCOMMODATION, AND REPORTING

2.1 Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act generally covers private employers with four or more employees and protects against employment discrimination based on race or color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age forty or older, and country of ancestral origin. Race includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles. Federal and other controlling law may protect additional categories.

Recruiting, hiring, compensation, scheduling, assignments, promotion, discipline, and separation decisions will follow applicable anti-discrimination and equal-pay requirements.

2.2 Disability, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Menopause, and Religious Accommodation

Applicants and employees may request accommodation from [HR / ACCOMMODATION CONTACT] for disability, religious observance or practice, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, lactation, or a related condition. The Company will conduct an individualized review and provide accommodation where required by the controlling standard.

Rhode Island law prohibits requiring leave when another reasonable accommodation can be provided for a pregnancy-, childbirth-, menopause-, or related condition. Possible accommodations include additional breaks, seating, schedule changes, temporary transfer, light duty, assistance with manual labor, and break time with private non-bathroom space to express breast milk. The Company will provide and post the required written accommodation notice and will provide it within ten days after an employee notifies the Company of pregnancy or menopause.

2.3 Sexual-Harassment Policy

The Company prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation. Reports may be made through any contact listed in Section 2.5.

If the Company employs fifty or more employees, its written sexual-harassment policy must include the statutory statements, examples, consequences, internal complaint process and contacts, and state and federal enforcement-agency information required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-51-2. A copy must be provided to every employee and to each new employee at hire, maintained at the business premises, and provided on request. Training is encouraged by the statute and may be required by another applicable rule or Company policy.

2.4 Pay Equity, Wage Discussion, Salary History, and Wage Ranges

The Company prohibits unlawful wage differentials for comparable work based on race or color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or country of ancestral origin. A differential must be supported by a lawful factor under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6-18.

Employees may inquire about, discuss, or disclose wages and may aid another employee in exercising those rights. No employee is required to disclose wages.

The Company will not seek or rely on an applicant's wage history except within the narrow post-offer circumstances permitted by § 28-6-22. Upon request, an applicant will receive the wage range for the position. An employee will receive the wage range at hire, upon movement into a new position, and upon request for the employee's current position.

2.5 Reporting, Written Disposition, and Non-Retaliation

Report discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage concerns, leave interference, safety issues, or other suspected violations to any of the following:

• [SUPERVISOR]
• [HR CONTACT]
• [ALTERNATE CONTACT OUTSIDE THE REPORTING CHAIN]

Reports may be oral or written. The Company will review reports promptly, preserve confidentiality to the extent practicable, prohibit retaliation, and take action based on the findings.

When an employee presents an internal workplace-harassment complaint based on a category protected by R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7, the Company will timely disclose the disposition in writing, including a description of action taken in resolution, without disclosing other personnel information. The Company will not require an agreement that makes alleged civil-rights violations confidential or imposes non-disparagement concerning alleged civil-rights violations or alleged unlawful conduct.

Internal reporting does not require an employee to waive or delay a protected agency contact, charge, testimony, emergency request, or legal remedy.

3. PAY, TIMEKEEPING, AND MEAL PERIODS

3.1 Classification and Workweek

Employees are classified as [FULL-TIME / PART-TIME / TEMPORARY] and [EXEMPT / NONEXEMPT] under applicable law. The fixed workweek begins [DAY/TIME] and ends [DAY/TIME]. A title or salary alone does not determine exempt status.

3.2 Minimum Wage and Overtime

Rhode Island's minimum wage is $16.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2026, and is scheduled to become $17.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2027. The Company will pay the highest applicable federal, state, or local minimum wage.

Unless an exemption or special rule applies, covered nonexempt employees receive one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over forty in a workweek. Advance approval may be required, but all work the Company requires or permits must be recorded and paid.

3.3 Timekeeping and Off-the-Clock Work

Nonexempt employees must accurately record all work, including required preparation, closing, meetings, training, remote work, and work outside a scheduled shift. Off-the-clock work is prohibited. Employees must report a missed punch, unrecorded work, or payroll error to [PAYROLL CONTACT] without fear of retaliation.

3.4 Hiring Notice, Paydays, Statements, and Deductions

At the start of employment, the Company will provide the written hiring notice required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-12, including pay rates and basis, applicable allowances, leave and hours policies, employment and exemption status, potential deductions, pay-period and payday information, employer names and addresses, and telephone number. The Company will retain the employee-signed acknowledgment and required wage-and-hour records.

The regular payday is [DAY / SCHEDULE]. Rhode Island generally requires weekly payment unless compensation is fixed at a permitted longer rate or the Department of Labor and Training approves a petition for less-frequent payment. A scheduled payday generally must fall within nine days after the payroll period ends. Changes to a scheduled payday require advance written or posted notice at least three paydays before the change.

Each regular payday statement will contain the hours and deduction information required by § 28-14-2.1. An employee may request a printed or handwritten statement instead of an electronic statement through written authorization.

The Company will make deductions only when authorized by law, court order, or the employee's written or electronic approval. Employee authorization cannot permit deductions for spoilage or breakage, shortages or losses, or fines or penalties for tardiness, misconduct, or quitting without notice.

3.5 Meal Periods

Unless a statutory exception applies, an employee is entitled to a twenty-minute meal period within a six-hour work shift and a thirty-minute meal period within an eight-hour work shift. R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-3-14 does not apply to licensed healthcare-facility employers or to a worksite shift employing fewer than three people.

The Company's meal-period schedule is [POLICY]. An unpaid meal period requires the employee to be relieved of work; compensable short breaks will be paid as required.

4. LEAVE AND PROTECTED ABSENCES

4.1 Sick and Safe Leave

An employer with eighteen or more Rhode Island employees generally must provide paid sick-and-safe leave. Covered employees accrue at least one hour for every thirty-five hours worked, up to forty hours per year. Accrual begins at employment, although a waiting period of up to ninety days may apply to use; the statute has a separate 180-day use rule for temporary employees. Carryover applies unless the employer uses a compliant frontloading or year-end payout-and-replenishment method.

An employer with fewer than eighteen employees generally need not provide paid leave under this chapter, but must protect up to forty hours per year of qualifying unpaid sick-and-safe leave, subject to the statute's notice and verification rules.

Qualifying uses include the employee's or a family member's health needs, specified public-health closures or communicable-disease circumstances, and needs arising when the employee or family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Employees may request leave orally, in writing, electronically, or by another accepted method. The Company will not require an employee to find a replacement worker.

The Company's complete accrual, frontloading, carryover, notice, documentation, confidentiality, and anti-retaliation rules appear in the separate [SICK AND SAFE LEAVE POLICY].

4.2 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave

The Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act generally covers private employers with fifty or more employees, state employers, and municipal employers with thirty or more employees. A covered full-time employee who averages thirty or more hours per week and has twelve consecutive months of service may take thirteen consecutive workweeks of parental or family leave in any two calendar years.

Leave may be unpaid. The employee generally must provide thirty days' advance notice unless a medical emergency prevents notice. The statute provides restoration to the same position or an equivalent position and continued existing health benefits, subject to the employee-premium procedure in § 28-48-3.

4.3 School-Involvement Leave

An employee covered by Chapter 28-48 who has twelve consecutive months of service may take up to ten hours of unpaid leave in a twelve-month period for school conferences or other school-related activities for a child of whom the employee is a parent, foster parent, or guardian. The employee must provide twenty-four hours' notice and reasonably avoid undue operational disruption. Available paid leave may be substituted.

4.4 Temporary Caregiver Insurance

Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance provides wage-replacement benefits for qualifying bonding and family-care leave. Beginning January 1, 2026, the regular TCI maximum is eight weeks in a benefit year. Employees must apply to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training within thirty days after leave begins and must satisfy program eligibility and documentation rules.

TCI-covered leave includes statutory restoration and continued-health-benefit protections. Where federal FMLA or Rhode Island parental and family leave also applies, the Company may designate leave to run concurrently as permitted by law. Employees should notify [LEAVE CONTACT] and apply directly through the DLT program.

4.5 Federal Family and Medical Leave

Eligible employees of a covered employer may take unpaid, job-protected federal FMLA leave for qualifying reasons. Private-sector coverage generally begins at fifty employees in twenty workweeks. Employee eligibility generally requires twelve months of employment, 1,250 hours of service in the preceding twelve months, and a worksite with fifty employees within seventy-five miles.

The FMLA generally provides up to twelve workweeks in a twelve-month period and up to twenty-six workweeks in a single twelve-month period for qualifying military-caregiver leave. Use the separate FMLA policy and required notices for eligibility, certification, benefits, intermittent leave, and restoration.

4.6 Jury Service and Crime-Victim Court Attendance

The Company will not cause an employee to lose a position, wage increase, promotion, longevity benefit, or other employment benefit because the employee is called for jury duty. Rhode Island law does not require private-employer wage continuation for jury service absent a contract or collective bargaining agreement.

An employer with fifty or more employees must provide an employee who is a crime victim leave to attend related court proceedings, subject to statutory notice and undue-hardship rules. The leave need not be paid; available vacation, personal, or sick leave may be used or required, and seniority may not be lost.

4.7 Other Protected Leave

The Company administers military service and reemployment, workers' compensation absences, disability accommodation, subpoenas and testimony, and other protected absences under applicable federal and state law.

4.8 Company-Provided Leave

Complete before use and coordinate with the statutory policies above:

• Vacation/PTO: [ACCRUAL / USE / CARRYOVER / PAYOUT]
• Sick leave: [ACCRUAL / USE / CARRYOVER]
• Bereavement: [POLICY]
• Personal leave: [POLICY]

5. WORKPLACE STANDARDS

5.1 Attendance, Safety, and Conduct

Employees must report as scheduled, follow lawful safety and work rules, accurately maintain records, protect Company and customer property, and avoid dishonesty, threats, violence, unlawful harassment, and material conflicts of interest. Call-in procedures are [METHOD / CONTACT / TIMING], subject to protected leave and accommodation rules.

5.2 Confidential Information, Wage Discussion, and Protected Reports

Employees must protect trade secrets and legitimately confidential business information. This policy does not prohibit wage discussion, protected reports to the Company or a public body, refusal to violate law, participation in an investigation or court action, consultation with counsel, or other activity protected by R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-6-18, 28-50-3, or controlling law.

5.3 Drug and Alcohol Testing

Employees may not work while impaired or possess, use, sell, or distribute unlawful substances at work. Testing of a current employee will occur only under a separately reviewed policy that satisfies R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6.5-1 or an applicable federal exception.

For state-law testing based on suspected impairment, the statute requires reasonable grounds tied to specific job performance and contemporaneous documented observations, private sample collection, confirmatory testing, an employer-paid opportunity for independent testing or evaluation, an opportunity to rebut or explain, confidentiality, and referral after a positive result rather than termination solely on that first positive result. Random, post-accident, or other testing must not be added to this Handbook without confirming a lawful route.

5.4 Personnel-File Inspection

Upon a written request and at least seven days' advance notice excluding holidays and weekends, an employee may inspect covered personnel records at a reasonable nonworking time in the presence of the employer or designee. Inspection ordinarily occurs on the business premises, and the statute excludes specified investigative, litigation, reference, confidential, and managerial records. Inspection need not be permitted more than three times in a calendar year. Copy charges may be limited to reasonable costs.

5.5 Technology and Personal Social Media

Company systems are for authorized use under the separate [INFORMATION SECURITY / ACCEPTABLE USE] policy. The Company will not require or request an employee or applicant to disclose a password to a personal social-media account or access the personal account in the Company's presence, except as expressly permitted by Rhode Island law. This policy does not prohibit protected reporting, wage discussion, or concerted activity.

5.6 Separate Agreements

Arbitration, restrictive covenants, invention assignment, confidentiality obligations intended to survive employment, and other binding terms must be placed in separately reviewed agreements. They are not created by this Handbook.

6. CORRECTIVE ACTION AND SEPARATION

6.1 Corrective Action

Depending on the circumstances, the Company may use coaching, verbal warning, written warning, final warning, suspension, reassignment, or discharge. It may select or skip steps. This discretionary framework is not a promise of progressive discipline and does not create a notice-and-cure right.

6.2 Final Pay and Vacation

When employment ends for any reason, unpaid wages and compensation are due on the next regular payday at the usual place of payment. When separation follows at least one year of service, vacation pay accrued or awarded under a collective bargaining agreement, written or verbal Company policy, or other agreement becomes wages and is payable with other wages on the next regular payday.

If separation results from the employer liquidating, merging, disposing of, or moving the business out of state, wages are due within twenty-four hours under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4(c).

Bonuses, commissions, expenses, and other compensation are handled under the governing written policy, plan, agreement, and applicable law. Earned wages will not be conditioned on return of property or signing a release.

6.3 Return of Property

Employees must return Company property, records, credentials, and equipment by [METHOD / DEADLINE]. Disputed property will be addressed separately from wage payment, and no deduction will be made contrary to R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-3.2.

7. ADMINISTRATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

7.1 Conflicts

If this Handbook conflicts with controlling law, a benefit plan, a signed agreement, or a collective bargaining agreement, the controlling authority governs. Contact [HR / LEGAL] before applying a policy to an unusual coverage, leave, wage, accommodation, testing, or worksite question.

7.2 Required Notices and Separate Policies

Confirm delivery and posting, as applicable:

☐ Signed § 28-14-12 hiring notice

☐ Pregnancy-, childbirth-, menopause-, and related-condition accommodation notice

☐ Equal-pay notice

☐ Sick-and-safe-leave notice and policy

☐ Rhode Island parental and family leave notice

☐ Sexual-harassment policy for employers with fifty or more employees

☐ Whistleblower notice posted in every language spoken by employees and distributed by another appropriate method

☐ Federal and other required workplace posters

7.3 No Risk-Shifting Terms

This Handbook does not impose employee indemnity, a damages cap, attorney-fee shifting, an exclusive forum, arbitration, a jury waiver, a restrictive covenant, a pre-claim notice-and-cure period, or force-majeure relief from wage, leave, safety, or insurance obligations.

EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I acknowledge receipt of the [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] Employee Handbook effective [__/__/____]. I understand that:

1. I am responsible for reading the Handbook and asking [HR CONTACT] about unclear policies.
2. The Handbook is not a contract for employment for a fixed term.
3. The Company may prospectively revise policies in writing, subject to applicable law and binding agreements.
4. The corrective-action framework is discretionary unless controlling law or an authorized agreement requires otherwise.
5. Nothing in the Handbook requires me to waive or delay protected reports, agency contacts, or remedies.

Employee Name: [________________________________]

Employee Signature: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Company Representative: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

OFFICIAL SOURCES AND IMPLEMENTATION REFERENCES

• Rhode Island General Assembly — Fair Employment Practices
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Sexual Harassment, Education and Training in the Workplace
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Pay Equity and Wage Range
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Minimum Wages
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Payment of Wages
• Rhode Island General Assembly — R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-3-14
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Parental and Family Medical Leave Act
• Rhode Island DLT — Temporary Disability and Caregiver Insurance
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Jury-Service Employment Protection
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Crime-Victim Court Attendance
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Personnel-File Inspection
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Employee Drug Testing
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Whistleblowers' Protection Act
• Rhode Island DLT — Whistleblower Protection Act Notice Guidance
• Rhode Island General Assembly — Employee Social Media Privacy
• U.S. Department of Labor — Family and Medical Leave Act FAQs
• U.S. Department of Labor — Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the FLSA