Despite warnings from small businesses, the Rhode Island House and Senate advanced several bills that will have a negative impact on the state’s employers. As the dust is still settling from the end of session frenzy of legislative action, NFIB wants to provide a brief update on the status of the proposals important to small business.

TDI/TCI

It was priority for legislators to extend the amount of time as a caregiver under TDI/TCI. The bills filed doubled the amount of time from 6 weeks to 12 weeks for a calendar year. NFIB felt this was excessive as many employers still struggle to fully staff their business. The final bill extended the benefit to 7 weeks in 2025 and then to 8 weeks in 2026. Despite the concerns from small businesses, one senate lawmakers expressed his dissatisfaction with the 8-week plan as the bill passed calling the smaller increase “scraps.”

The TDI/TCI extension awaits the governor’s signature.

Retirement Plans

Rhode Island will now likely join the states with a state-run worker retirement benefit. Thankfully, employers are not mandated to contribute as with previous versions of this proposal, you will have to remit the employee contribution to the state. The RI Secure Choice Retirement Program will be administered by the state treasurer, and workers will be automatically enrolled, unless the opt out. NFIB felt this was one more administrative burden for small businesses, many without human resource departments. This bill passed both the state House and Senate.

However, some other policies did not advance including bills to raise the state minimum wage to $20 per hour, legislation expanding parental leave, a workplace psychological bullying bill, allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits, as well as a bill that would increase employer/worker health premiums. Unfortunately, legislative leaders also stripped the provisions in Governor McKee’s budget that would allocate surplus federal funds to the unemployment insurance fund to help lower UI tax rates for employers.

NFIB will continue to update members on all pending legislation as Governor McKee considers each proposal for his signature. Later in the year, a full small business voting record for the 2023-24 Rhode Island legislative session will be made available.