Rhode Island's law regarding family and medical leave is located in Title 28, Chapter 48 of the General Laws of Rhode Island.

• 28-48-1 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Definitions.
• 28-48-2 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Parental leave and family leave requirements.
• 28-48-3 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Employment and health benefits protection.
• 28-48-4. Employment benefits.
• 28-48-5 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Prohibited acts.
• 28-48-8 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Civil penalty for violations.
• 28-48-10 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Notice.
• 28-48-11 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Use of sick leave for adoptive parents.
• 28-48-12 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–School involvement leave.

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Director" means the director of the department of labor and training.

(2) "Employee" means any full-time employee who works an average of thirty or more hours per week.

(3) "Employer" means and includes:

(i) Any person, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other business entity that employs fifty (50) or more employees,

(ii) The state of Rhode Island, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and any state department or agency that employs any employees,

(iii) Any city or town or municipal agency that employs thirty (30) or more employees, and

(iv) Any person who acts directly or indirectly in the interest of any employer.

(4) "Family leave" means leave by reason of the serious illness of a family member.

(5) "Family member" means a parent, spouse, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, or the employee himself or herself.

(6) "Parental leave" means leave by reason of the birth of a child of an employee or the placement of a child sixteen (16) years of age or less with an employee in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee.

(7) "Serious illness" means a disabling physical or mental illness, injury, impairment, or condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, a nursing home, or a hospice, or outpatient care requiring continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider.

28-48-2 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Parental leave and family leave requirements.

(a) Every employee who has been employed by the same employer for twelve (12) consecutive months is entitled, upon advance notice to his or her employer, to thirteen (13) consecutive work weeks of parental leave or family leave in any two (2) calendar years. The employee shall give at least thirty (30) days notice of the intended date upon which parental leave or family leave shall commence and terminate, unless prevented by medical emergency from giving the notice. The director shall promulgate regulations governing the form and content of the employee's notice to the employer.

(b) Parental leave or family leave granted pursuant to this chapter may consist of unpaid leave. If an employer provides paid parental leave or family leave for fewer than thirteen (13) weeks, the additional weeks of leave added to attain the total of thirteen (13) weeks required by subsection (a) may be unpaid.

(c) The employer may request that the employee provide the employer with written certification from a physician caring for the person who is the reason for the employee's leave, which certification shall specify the probable duration of the employee's leave.

28-48-3 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Employment and health benefits protection.

(a) Every employee who exercises his or her right to parental leave or family leave under this chapter, upon the expiration of that leave, is entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced, or to a position with equivalent seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, including fringe benefits and service credits that the employee had been entitled to at the commencement of leave.

(b) During any parental leave or family leave taken pursuant to this chapter the employer shall maintain any existing health benefits of the employee in force for the duration of the leave as if the employee had continued in employment continuously from the date he or she commenced the leave until the date he or she returns to employment pursuant to subsection (a).

(c) Prior to commencement of parental leave or family leave, the employee shall pay to the employer a sum equal to the premium required to maintain the employee's health benefits in force during the period of parental leave. The employer shall return the payment to the employee within ten (10) days following the employee's return to employment.

28-48-4. Employment benefits.

(a) The taking of parental leave or family leave pursuant to this chapter shall not result in the loss of any benefit accrued before the date on which the leave commenced.

(b) Except as provided in Sec. 28-48-3(b), nothing in this chapter shall be construed to entitle any employee who takes parental leave or family leave pursuant to this chapter to any benefit other than benefits to which the employee would have been entitled had he or she not taken the leave.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect an employer's obligation to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or employment benefit plan that provides greater parental leave or family leave rights to employees than the rights provided under this chapter.

(d) The parental leave and family leave rights mandated by this chapter shall not be diminished by any collective bargaining agreement or by any employment benefit plan.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect or diminish the contract rights or seniority status of any other employee of any employer covered by this chapter.

28-48-5 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Prohibited acts.

(a) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise any right provided by this chapter.

(b) It is unlawful for any employer to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any employee for exercising any right provided by this chapter.

(c) It is unlawful for any employer to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any employee for opposing any practice made unlawful by this title.

28-48-7 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Enforcement powers of the director.

If, after giving an employer written notice and an opportunity to be heard, the director finds that the employer has failed to comply with any provision of this chapter, the director may issue those orders that he or she deems necessary to protect the rights of any employee. The director shall promulgate those rules and regulations that are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section.

28-48-8 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Civil penalty for violations.

Any employer who violates any provision of this chapter or of any order issued pursuant to Sec. 28-48-7 is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). In the case of a continuing violation, each day's continuance is deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.

28-48-10 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Notice.

(a) Each employer shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice, to be approved by the agency, setting forth excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions of this chapter and information pertaining to the filing of a charge.

(b) Any employer that willfully violates this section shall be assessed a civil money penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each separate offense.

28-48-11 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–Use of sick leave for adoptive parents.

Any employer who allows sick time or sick leave of an employee to be utilized after the birth of a child shall allow the same time to be used for the placement of a child sixteen (16) years of age or less with an employee in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee.

28-48-12 Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act–School involvement leave.

(a) An employee who has been employed by the same employer for twelve (12) consecutive months is entitled to a total of ten (10) hours of leave during any twelve (12) month period to attend school conferences or other school-related activities for a child of whom the employee is the parent, foster parent or guardian.

(b) The employee must provide a twenty-four (24) hours prior notice of the leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt the operations of the employer.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the leave be paid; except that an employee may substitute any accrued paid vacation leave or other appropriate paid leave for any part of the leave under this section.