Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-19.1. Misclassification of employees
(a) The misclassification of a worker whether performing work as a natural person, business, corporation, or entity of any kind, as an independent contractor when the worker should be considered and paid as an employee shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-19.1
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Director: means the director of the department of labor and training or his or her duly authorized representative. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1
- Employee: means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer, except that independent contractors or subcontractors shall not be considered employees. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1
- Employer: means any individual, firm, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, receiver, or other like officer appointed by a court of this state, and any agent or officer of any of the previously mentioned classes, employing any person in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1
- Independent contractor: means a person who has filed a notice of designation as independent contractor with the director pursuant to § 28-29-17. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
(b) In addition to any other relief to which any department or an aggrieved party may be entitled for such a violation, the employer shall be liable for a civil penalty in an amount not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) and not greater than three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each misclassified employee for a first offense and up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each misclassified employee for any subsequent offense, which shall be shared equally between the department and the aggrieved party.
(c) In determining the amount of any penalty imposed under this section, the director, or his or her designee, shall 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.
(d) A violation of this section may be adjudicated under § 28-14-19 and consolidated with any labor standards violation or under § 37-13-14.1 and § 37-13-15 and consolidated with any prevailing wage violation.
(e) A violation of this section may be brought or adjudicated by any division of the department of labor and training.
(f) The department shall notify the contractors’ registration board and the tax administrator of any violation of this section.
History of Section.
P.L. 2012, ch. 306, § 4; P.L. 2012, ch. 344, § 4; P.L. 2017, ch. 302, art. 13, § 7.