Are Rhode Islanders happy at work? Here’s a look at the stats.

Time-and-a-half on Sundays, limited post-employment drug testing, an attorney appointed to represent workers in unemployment insurance appeals, and a trailblazing temporary disability insurance program are just a few of the reasons Rhode Island comes out as one of the friendlier states for workers – but does that lead to job satisfaction?

It depends.

One firm, SelectSoftware Reviews, ranked Rhode Island as second for “happiest employees,” behind Alaska, with a calculation based on wages, quit rate, commute times, working hours, injuries, paid time off laws and “state positivity levels.”

“With a thriving job market, available PTO [paid-time-off] laws, and a modest quit rate of 2.4%, it also has the lowest injury rate of any state, with only five fatal incidents reported in the previous year,” reviewer Phil Strazzulla wrote.

Rhode Island is, and has been, a leader in paid-time-off laws, passing the first temporary disability insurance program in the country. It was the eighth state to pass mandated paid sick leave in 2017, mandating that employers with 18 or more workers give full-time employees at least five paid sick days a year.

U.S. News & World Report puts Rhode Island as number 23 on its “employment” rankings, an evaluation of unemployment rate, job growth and labor force participation.

More: Do you like where you work? Nominate your company for a Top Workplaces award.

Other metrics by the firm rank Rhode Island much lower, including its “opportunity” index, where the state ranks 37th, ranking high for economic opportunity (16th) but low for affordability (37th) and equality (37th).

Still, Rhode Island beats neighboring Massachusetts for “opportunity,” which has higher rankings for economic opportunity (13th) and equality (14th) but is tanked by its affordability (45th).

Is Rhode Island a good place to find a job?

The website WalletHub.com ranked Rhode Island 10th on its 2023 ranking of the best place to find a job, its job market rank (16th) being buoyed by its economic environment ranking (9th).

However, the survey noted that Rhode Island ranks near last for employment growth, 48th, just above New Jersey and Idaho, and just below New Hampshire and Connecticut.

How is Rhode Island as a place to work?

The nonprofit Oxfam has a more comprehensive ranking of the “best” places to work in the United States, putting Rhode Island at 14th overall (an increase of one spot over last year), with Oregon, California and the District of Columbia leading the rankings.

Oxfam breaks its rankings down into three policy areas: wages, worker protections and the rights to organize.

Oxfam ranked Rhode Island 18th for wage policies (up two spots over last year), noting the increased minimum wage ($13 an hour in 2023, $14 in 2024 and set to increase to $15 in 2025), but docking it for maintaining a tipped minimum wage ($3.89) and average unemployment benefits which, according to Oxfam, only supply 15% of the money needed to cover the cost of living.

Rhode Island is also docked for not allowing municipalities to set a minimum wage above the state standards.

Rhode Island ranks 12th for worker protection policies.

Notable are the protections Rhode Island is lacking, which include:

• Paid breaks to pump for breastfeeding workers.
• Flexible scheduling of worker shifts.
• Split-shift pay regulation.
• Advanced notice of shift scheduling.
• No protections for domestic workers (including no minimum wage).
• No heat safety standards for outdoor workers.

Rhode Island ranks 14th for its right to organize laws, only being docked for not protecting workers against wage theft retaliation.

In the last legislative session, wage theft by employers went from being a misdemeanor to a felony, a charge led by Attorney General Peter Neronha.

What laws are worker friendly in Rhode Island?

The entire Northeast tends to be more worker friendly than much of the rest of the country and Rhode Island is no exception, said labor attorney Matthew Parker of Whelan Corrente & Flanders LLP.

The three lawyers interviewed for this story all keyed in on one major worker benefit, and innovation, where Rhode Island is leading the way: its temporary disability insurance program and, more recently, the temporary caregiver insurance program.

The temporary disability insurance program in Rhode Island was the first of its kind in the country, established in 1942. It funds partially paid medical leave for workers dealing with non-work-related injuries and illness. While Rhode Island was the trailblazer, the rest of the country never got on board. To date, only New York, New Jersey, California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico have followed Rhode Island’s lead.

“It’s an amazing benefit to our workforce,” labor lawyer Richard Sinapi of Sinapi Law Associates said. “I cannot tell you how many families have been saved from the brink of bankruptcy.”

Sinapi said the one problem with the program is that it does not apply to state workers. While some have union benefits or other insurance, nothing stacks up to the “amazing, efficient and well-run” program that is a lifesaver to so many families.”

More: Marijuana is legal in RI. What does it mean for drug tests, employers and employees?

The Temporary Caregiver Insurance program, passed in 2013, extended the idea to caregivers, giving workers up to six weeks of benefits to care for a seriously ill child, partner, parent, parent-in-law or grandparent, or to bond with a newborn child, newly adopted child or new foster child.

Sean Fontes, a lawyer with Partridge Snow & Hahn, a law firm representing businesses, and former executive counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, said Massachusetts is often considered more worker friendly than Rhode Island, yet it only passed its own temporary caregiver insurance law in 2018.

Other places where Rhode Island excels for worker protections are:

• Paying an attorney to represent those seeking unemployment benefits during the appeals process.
• Robust protections for drug testing after someone has started work.
• Paid sick leave.
• Mandated time-and-a-half on Sundays for most hourly workers, as Sundays are classified as “holidays.”
• Employers can’t require non-disclosure agreements that prevent reporting of certain bad actions, including civil rights violations.
• Wage theft is a felony.

Do you like where you work? Let us know

For the first time, The Providence Journal will honor quality workplace culture in Rhode Island. Any organization with 35 or more employees in the state is eligible to earn Top Workplaces recognition.  

The nomination deadline is March 22. Anyone can nominate any organization, whether it is public, private, nonprofit, a school or even a government agency. To nominate an employer or get more information on the awards, go to providencejournal.com/nominate or call (401) 226-0749.