Rhode Island raised the state minimum wage from $15 to $16 per hour in a law that went into effect Jan. 1. The shift affects some 50,000 workers who earn minimum wage, according to a press release from the office of Gov. Dan McKee, who signed the legislation last August. The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, stipulates a further increase in the minimum wage to $17 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Jan. 1, 2025 brought the completion of McKee’s previous minimum wage increase in a 2021 law he signed to raise the state’s minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 per hour over four years.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, R.I. employers can pay tipped workers less than minimum wage, but employees’ total earnings — including tips — must add up to at least the minimum wage. If their tips and wage don’t total to $16 per hour, employers must pay their workers the difference…