An employer who the provisions of § 28-6-18 shall be liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid wages, and in an additional equal amount of liquidated damages. An action to recover the liability may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and in behalf of himself or herself or themselves and other similarly situated employees. At the request of any employee paid less than the wage to which he or she is entitled under § 28-6-17 — § 28-6-21, the director of labor and training may take an assignment of the wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the liquidated damages provided for above. The director of labor and training shall not be required to pay the filing fee or other costs in connection with the action. The director of labor and training shall have the power to join various claimants against the employer in one cause of action.

History of Section.
P.L. 1946, ch. 1786, § 4; G.L. 1956, § 28-6-20.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-6-20

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Director: means the director of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-6-17
  • Employee: means any person as defined in § 28-14-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-6-17
  • Employer: includes any person acting in the interest of an employer directly or indirectly. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-6-17
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • 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. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-6-17

§ 28-6-20. Liability of employer. [Effective January 1, 2023.]

(a)  Any employee or former employee aggrieved by a violation of §§ 28-6-18(a) through (i) shall be entitled to the same protections and relief as under § 28-14-19.2(a).

(b)  An employer who violates § 28-6-22 shall be liable for any compensatory damages; or special damages not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000); appropriate equitable relief; and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. In setting the amount of damages, the appropriate finder of fact should consider the size of the employer’s business; the good faith of the employer; the gravity of the violation; the history of previous violations; and whether or not the violation was an innocent mistake or willful.

History of Section.
P.L. 1946, ch. 1786, § 4; G.L. 1956, § 28-6-20; P.L. 2021, ch. 168, § 2, effective January 1, 2023; P.L. 2021, ch. 169, § 2, effective January 1, 2023.