Does Rhode Island require a pay stub?

Yes, and it asks for something most states do not: the reason for each deduction. Every regular payday you are owed a statement of the hours you worked in the pay period and a record of all deductions from your gross earnings with an explanation of the basis or reason for them. In commercial construction the regular hourly rate goes on the record too.

Can my Rhode Island employer give me an electronic pay stub?

Yes. The statements and records the law requires may be furnished as an electronic record by default. If you give your employer a written authorization asking for it, the employer must furnish a printed or handwritten record instead, and it has to be at no cost to you.

What is the Rhode Island minimum wage in 2026?

Sixteen dollars an hour, up from fifteen in 2025. A June 2025 amendment carried the schedule forward, so seventeen dollars is already written into the statute for 1 January 2027. Employees in tipped occupations have a separate cash floor of $2.23 an hour, with tips expected to bring the total to at least the full minimum.

How often must Rhode Island wages be paid?

Weekly, unless your compensation is fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly or yearly rate, and public sector and charitable employers sit outside the rule. A larger employer can petition the director to pay less often, but only against a surety bond and never less than twice a month. Whatever the schedule, payday falls within nine days of the end of the payroll period.

When is my last Rhode Island paycheck due?

On the next regular payday at the usual place of payment, plus accrued vacation pay if you have completed at least a year of service. The exception is a business winding down: if your employer liquidates, merges, sells or moves the business out of state, everything becomes payable within twenty-four hours of the separation.

Pay stub requirements in Rhode Island

Rhode Island asks for the reason behind a deduction, not merely its amount. On every regular payday section 28-14-2.1 requires a statement of the hours the employee worked during the pay period and a record of all deductions made from gross earnings together with an explanation of the basis or reason for them, and employers in commercial construction must add the regular hourly rate. Statements may be furnished electronically, but a printed or handwritten copy is owed at no cost once the employee asks in writing. Pay is weekly unless the director permits otherwise, each payday falls within nine days of the end of the payroll period, and the minimum wage reached $16.00 on 1 January 2026.

Pay stub required: Yes, hours worked plus every deduction with its reason
Electronic delivery: Yes, with paper on written request at no cost
Minimum wage (2026): $16.00/hour from 1 January 2026
Pay frequency: Weekly by default, payday within 9 days of the period

What Rhode Island law requires

Hours, deductions, and the reason for each one
On every regular payday every employer shall furnish the employee a statement of the hours worked during the applicable pay period and a record of all deductions made from gross earnings, together with an explanation of the basis or reason for the deductions. Employers engaged only in the commercial construction industry must also record the regular hourly rate of pay.
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Electronic by default, paper on written request
All statements and records the section requires may be furnished as an electronic record. Where the employee provides a written authorization to the employer, the employer must furnish a printed or handwritten record in lieu of the electronic one at no cost to the employee, so paper is available on request rather than as the starting point.
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Weekly pay, with a bonded exception
Every employee other than state and municipal staff and those of religious, literary or charitable corporations must be paid weekly, except employees whose compensation is fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly or yearly rate. The director may allow less frequent payment where average payroll exceeds 200 percent of the state minimum wage, wages land at least twice a month, and the employer posts a surety bond covering the highest biweekly payroll exposure of the preceding year.
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Nine days from the end of the period to the payday
Every employer shall establish a regular payday on which wages are paid in full, and each scheduled payday must fall within nine days of the end of the payroll period for which the wages are computed, unless prevented by inevitable casualty. A change to the scheduled payday requires written or posted notice at least three paydays in advance.
Source
Sixteen dollars in 2026 and seventeen in 2027
Section 28-12-3 was amended in June 2025 to extend its schedule: the minimum wage is sixteen dollars per hour commencing 1 January 2026 and seventeen dollars commencing 1 January 2027. Employees in occupations where gratuities customarily form part of the pay keep a separate floor, which the section holds at no less than $2.23 per hour before tips.
Source
Moving the business out of state accelerates the last cheque
On an ordinary separation unpaid wages become due on the next regular payday at the usual place of payment, and an employee with at least a year of service also gets accrued vacation pay as wages then. If the employer liquidates, merges, disposes of or moves the business out of state, all wages become due within twenty-four hours, along with holiday pay, vacation pay and insurance benefits for anyone with a year of service.
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What this generator calculates for Rhode Island

State withholding for Rhode Island is calculated from the 2026 figures the state publishes, and our test suite holds those figures against the state's own published calculation rather than against arithmetic of ours.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Wage and hour law changes. Check the linked source before relying on any figure here, and treat this page as a starting point rather than legal advice.

Pay stub requirements in Rhode Island

What Rhode Island law requires

Hours, deductions, and the reason for each one

Electronic by default, paper on written request

Weekly pay, with a bonded exception

Nine days from the end of the period to the payday

Sixteen dollars in 2026 and seventeen in 2027

Moving the business out of state accelerates the last cheque