Yes. Rhode Island requires employers to pay time and a half on Sundays. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 25-3-3, any work performed on a Sunday or a recognized legal holiday must be paid at a rate of at least 1.5 times the employee’s normal hourly rate, no matter how many hours the employee worked that week.1Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 25-3-3 – Work on Sundays or Holidays
How the Sunday Premium Works
The trigger is the calendar day, not the weekly hour total. If you pick up a short Sunday shift after a full Monday-through-Friday schedule, those Sunday hours are still paid at the premium rate. You could also work only 25 hours in a week, all on Sunday, and every one of those hours would qualify, even though you never approached 40.
At Rhode Island’s 2026 minimum wage of $16.00 per hour, a Sunday shift pays at least $24.00 per hour.2RI Department of Labor and Training. Minimum Wage
This is not overtime, and it is not the same thing. Federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require any premium for weekend or holiday work; FLSA overtime only applies after 40 hours in a workweek.3U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay Rhode Island layers its own Sunday-and-holiday rule on top of that federal floor.
The two don’t stack. When a retail employee works Sunday or holiday hours at the premium rate, those hours are excluded from the overtime calculation for the same workweek.4RI Department of Labor and Training. Labor Standards FAQ
You Can Refuse Sunday and Holiday Work
The pay rule comes paired with a right. An employer cannot fire, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee for declining a Sunday or holiday shift. The work must be voluntary.1Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 25-3-3 – Work on Sundays or Holidays
One exception matters: manufacturers that run seven continuous days a week can require Sunday work. Even then, the time-and-a-half rate still applies.
Retail Employees Get an Extra Protection
Retail workers are covered by a separate statute, R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-23-2. They get the same time-and-a-half rate, plus a guaranteed minimum of four hours of work for any Sunday or holiday shift. Retail Sunday work must also be strictly voluntary.5Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 5-23-2 – Licenses for Sunday and Holiday Work
The Department of Labor and Training defines a retail business as one that primarily sells goods or services directly to the general public in small quantities at the end of the distribution chain. Restaurants and other operations primarily preparing and selling food for immediate consumption fall outside this definition, as do wholesalers.4RI Department of Labor and Training. Labor Standards FAQ
Which Holidays Trigger Premium Pay
The same 1.5 multiplier covers Rhode Island’s ten recognized legal holidays:6RI Department of Labor and Training. Legal Holidays
- New Year’s Day (January 1)
- Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
- Juneteenth (June 19)
- Independence Day (July 4)
- Victory Day (second Monday in August)
- Labor Day (first Monday in September)
- Columbus Day (second Monday in October)
- Veterans Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
Victory Day is unique to Rhode Island and catches many employers off guard. The right to refuse applies to these holidays as well.
Who Is Exempt
A limited set of employer categories do not have to pay the Sunday and holiday premium.7Legal Information Institute. Rhode Island Code 260-RICR-30-05-2.6 – Premium Pay Exemptions for Work on Holidays and Sundays The approved categories include certain airport-related employers, continuous-operation manufacturers, private security firms, nonprofit higher education institutions, houses of worship for work tied to services, and telephonic call centers. These exemptions were all approved before 2021, when the legislature stripped the Department of Labor and Training of authority to grant new ones.
The statute itself also exempts limousine and taxi companies that operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and car rental companies at T.F. Green International Airport whose lease requires Sunday or holiday operations (for work performed at that location).1Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 25-3-3 – Work on Sundays or Holidays
If Your Employer Didn’t Pay the Premium
Unpaid Sunday or holiday wages carry real financial exposure for the employer. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-19.2, an employee can bring a private action to recover the unpaid wages plus liquidated damages of up to two times the amount owed, along with compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and costs, and equitable relief such as reinstatement.8Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 28-14-19.2 – Private Right of Action A court weighs the employer’s size, whether the violation was willful or a good-faith mistake, the seriousness of the violation, and any history of prior violations.
In practice, an employer who shorts a worker $1,000 in Sunday premium pay could owe up to $3,000 before attorney’s fees: the $1,000 in wages plus $2,000 in liquidated damages.
Filing a Wage Claim
You can file a complaint with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s Labor Standards Unit, which investigates premium pay complaints along with minimum wage and overtime issues.9RI Department of Labor and Training. Wage Complaints The claim uses the Non-Payment of Wages Complaint Form, which must be printed, signed, and mailed to the Labor Standards Unit at 1511 Pontiac Avenue in Cranston.10RI Department of Labor and Training. Non-Payment of Wages Complaint Form
Before filing, gather your pay stubs showing Sunday or holiday hours and the rate you were actually paid, your employer’s full legal name, your exact hourly rate, the rate you should have received, and the total unpaid amount. If a union contract or employment agreement entitles you to a higher premium than the statute, attach it.
Deadlines
A claim filed with the Department of Labor and Training must be submitted within three years of the underpayment. If you file a lawsuit in court instead, the deadline is one year. Once the department receives your claim, it notifies your employer and begins reviewing payroll records as a neutral investigator.
Union and Government Workers
Collective bargaining agreements often go further than the statute. Many unions have negotiated time-and-a-half or even double-time rates for Sunday and holiday work, and those rates are enforceable as contract terms. If you’re a union member, check your contract for the rate that applies.
State and municipal employees may operate under separate compensation structures set by government ordinances or departmental policies, which can set premium pay rates that differ from the general statutory requirement.