Title 28
Labor and Labor Relations
Chapter 6
Wage Discrimination Based on Sex
R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6-17
§ 28-6-17. Definitions. [Effective January 1, 2023.]
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Age" means anyone who is at least forty (40) years of age.
(2) "Comparable work" means work that requires substantially similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and is performed under similar working conditions. Determining whether jobs are comparable will require an analysis of the jobs as a whole. Minor differences in skill, effort, or responsibility will not prevent two (2) jobs from being considered comparable.
(3) "Director" means the director of labor and training.
(4) "Employee" means any person as defined in § 28-14-1.
(5) "Employer" means any person or entity as defined in § 28-14-1.
(6) "Employment" means any employment under contract of hire, expressed or implied, written or oral, including all contracts entered into by helpers and assistants of employees, whether paid by employer or employee, if employed with the knowledge, actual or constructive, of the employer in which all or the greater part of the work is to be performed within the state.
(7) "Occurrence of discriminatory practice" means whenever a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted; whenever an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice; or whenever an individual is affected by the application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice.
(8) "Wage" means all amounts at which the labor or service rendered is recompensed, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculating the amount, and includes benefits. An employer shall not be liable under this chapter for disparities in total gratuities as defined in § 28-12-5 or overtime pay as defined in § 28-12-4.1 or commissions if the disparity is due to a factor over which the employer does not have control.
(9) "Wage history" means the wages paid to an applicant for employment by the applicant's current employer and/or previous employer or employers. Wage history shall not include any objective measure of the applicant's productivity, such as revenue, sales, or other production reports.
(10) "Wage range," as applied to an applicant for employment, means the wage range that the employer anticipates relying on in setting wages for the position and may include reference to any applicable pay scale; previously determined range of wages for the position; the actual range of wages for those currently holding equivalent positions; or the budgeted amount for the position, as applicable. "Wage range," as applied to a current employee, may include reference to any applicable pay scale; previously determined range of wages for the position; or the range of wages for incumbents in equivalent positions, as applicable.
History of Section.
P.L. 1946, ch. 1786, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 28-6-17; P.L. 2021, ch. 168, § 2, effective January 1, 2023; P.L. 2021, ch. 169, § 2, effective January 1, 2023.