2026 Changes in Rhode Island: Notices to New Hires and Changes to Disability Insurance

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Patricia Tsipras

January 23, 2026

In case you missed it, important changes became effective in Rhode Island on January 1, 2026.

Amendments to Temporary Disability Insurance Law

Rhode Island amended its temporary disability insurance law to provide leave of up to five days for bone marrow donors and up to 30 days for living organ donors.  See 2025 RI S.B. 829.  Leave may be used to cover time needed for any procedures, medical tests, and surgeries related to the donation.

Rhode Island also amended its temporary disability insurance law to extend paid leave benefits to employees who are caring for a seriously ill sibling.  See 2025 R.I. HB 6066.  “Sibling” means children with a common parent, including biological siblings, half-siblings, step-siblings, foster siblings, and adopted siblings.  Previously, paid leave was permitted only to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or to bond with a new child.

Rhode Island Employer Takeaways: Update your leave of absence policies and ensure that your managers and human resources professionals are trained on the new law.

New Hire Notices

All Rhode Island employers (regardless of size) must provide new hires with a written notice containing important details about their employment.  See 2025 R.I. HB 5679.  Employees must sign the notice and employers must retain the signed copy.  See our article here about a similar requirement that became effective in Oregon this year.

The notice must include:

• Rates and bases of pay, including, but not limited to, whether the employee will be paid by the hour, shift, piece, commission, salary, or other method.
• Allowances, if any, related to meals or lodging.
• The employer’s policies on leaves of absence – e.g., sick time, vacation, personal leave, and holidays.
• The employee’s employment status (e.g., full-time, part-time, temporary) and classification (e.g., exempt or non-exempt from overtime requirements).
• Deductions that may be made from the employee’s pay.
• The applicable pay schedule, including the number of days in a pay period, the pay dates, and the date on which the employee will receive their first paycheck.
• Employer information, such as the legal and operating name(s) of the employer, the employer’s address (the main office or principal place of business and mailing address, if different), and the employer’s telephone number.

Employers who violate the notice requirements will face fines, and penalties will increase for subsequent offenses.

Rhode Island Employer Takeaways: Prepare a template notice to include all applicable employment information.  Update your new hire procedures, including adding the notice to your new hire packets and training hiring managers and human resources personnel on the new law’s requirements.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania.  This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist.  Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.