Rhode Island Workplace Harassment Laws: 4-Employee Rule (2026)

Workplace harassment is unlawful in Rhode Island under the Fair Employment Practices Act, which makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, because of a protected trait, to "discriminate against him or her with respect to hire, tenure, compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment" (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(1)(ii)). The Act covers the State, its political subdivisions and any person in Rhode Island "employing four (4) or more individuals" (§ 28-5-6(9)).

Two Rhode Island harassment rules stand out: an employer must tell an employee in writing what became of the employee's internal harassment complaint (§ 28-5-7(1)(v)), and an employer may not require a civil-rights nondisclosure or non-disparagement agreement as a condition of employment (§ 28-5-7(1)(vi)). For other states, see workplace harassment laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Rhode Island state law on workplace harassment by employers, supervisors and coworkers under the Fair Employment Practices Act (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 28-5, chiefly §§ 28-5-6, 28-5-7, 28-5-17 and 28-5-24.1), the sexual harassment policy law (chapter 28-51) and the workplace violence protection law (§ 28-52-2). It does not cover wrongful firing or the full charge and lawsuit procedure (see Rhode Island wrongful termination), damages estimates, criminal harassment or stalking, harassment outside employment, or federal-employee procedure.

Rhode Island harassment rules at a glance

What Rhode Island law prohibits

Chapter 28-5 does not contain a stand-alone harassment prohibition or a definition of harassment. Harassment is reached through the general employment clause. Section 28-5-7(1) makes it an unlawful employment practice for any employer:

"(ii) Because of those reasons, to discharge an employee or discriminate against him or her with respect to hire, tenure, compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, or any other matter directly or indirectly related to employment." (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(1)(ii))

A protected trait need not be the only reason. Under § 28-5-7.3, an unlawful employment practice may be established when the complainant shows that a protected trait "was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though the practice was also motivated by other factors."

The statutory definition of sexual harassment

The statutory definition of sexual harassment is in the policy chapter, chapter 28-51, and it applies "As used in this chapter." Under § 28-51-1(b), sexual harassment means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

• submission is made, explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of employment;
• submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual; or
• "The conduct or advances or requests have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment."

The commission's regulation, 515-RICR-10-00-1, § 1.3.1(B), uses the same three-part definition for the Fair Employment Practices Act, and § 1.3.1(C) says the commission looks "at the record as a whole and at the totality of the circumstances" and decides each case on its facts.

Neither chapter 28-5 nor chapter 28-51 states a "severe or pervasive" test, and neither rejects one.

Which Rhode Island employers are covered

Section 28-5-6(9)(i) provides that "Employer" includes "the state and all political subdivisions of the state and any person in this state employing four (4) or more individuals, and any person acting in the interest of an employer directly or indirectly."

Two exclusions apply:

• Religious organizations: the definition does not apply "to a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of its religion to perform work connected with the carrying on of its activities" (§ 28-5-6(9)(ii)).
• Family employment: "Employee" does not include "any individual employed by their parents, spouse, or child" (§ 28-5-6(8)).

Until June 10, 2026, the definition of employee also excluded individuals "in the domestic service of any person." P.L. 2026, ch. 066 (H 8504), effective on passage on June 10, 2026, removed that exclusion. The online text of § 28-5-6 may still show the older wording.

By comparison, Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act applies to employers with "fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year." The separate written-policy duty in chapter 28-51 has its own, higher threshold of 50 employees (see below).

Protected traits in Rhode Island

Section 28-5-7(1) protects against discrimination because of:

• race or color;
• religion;
• sex;
• sexual orientation;
• gender identity or expression;
• disability;
• age; and
• country of ancestral origin.

Section 28-5-6 defines several of these terms:

• Age: "anyone who is at least forty (40) years of age" (§ 28-5-6(1)).
• Race: "traits historically associated with the race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles" (§ 28-5-6(18)).
• Sex: the definition of "because of sex" includes pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions.
• Disability: defined by reference to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-87-1.

Internal harassment complaints: the written-disposition rule

Section 28-5-7(1)(v) gives an employee who complains internally a right to learn the result. It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

"When an employee has presented to the employer an internal complaint alleging harassment in the workplace on the basis of race or color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or country of ancestral origin, to refuse to disclose in a timely manner in writing to that employee the disposition of the complaint, including a description of any action taken in resolution of the complaint; provided, however, no other personnel information shall be disclosed to the complainant;" (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(1)(v))

This duty sits in chapter 28-5, so it applies to employers covered by the Act (four or more individuals, plus the State and its political subdivisions), not only to the larger employers covered by the policy chapter.

Employer responsibility and the individual harasser

Chapter 28-5 has no stand-alone harassment section, but the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights' regulation, 515-RICR-10-00-1, § 1.3, sets the rules the commission applies. It states that "Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of the Fair Employment Practices Act" (§ 1.3.1(A)) and applies the same principles to harassment based on any protected class, "as adapted to the circumstances of the particular law" (§ 1.3.2(A)). Under § 1.3.1:

• Agents and supervisors: the employer "is responsible for its acts and those of its agents and supervisory employees with respect to sexual harassment, regardless of whether the specific acts complained of were authorized or even forbidden by the employer and regardless of whether the employer knew of their occurrence" (§ 1.3.1(D)).
• Tangible employment action: "An employer is liable for sexual harassment by a supervisor that results in a tangible employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, or loss of wages" (§ 1.3.1(G)).
• Supervisor-created hostile environment: the employer can avoid liability for that environment if it proves that it "reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior" and that the employee "unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer" (§ 1.3.1(H)).
• Coworkers: the employer is responsible "where the employer (or its agents or supervisory employees) knows or should have known of the conduct, unless it can show that it took immediate and appropriate corrective action" (§ 1.3.1(E)).
• Non-employees: the employer may be responsible where it knew or should have known of the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action; the commission considers the extent of the employer's control (§ 1.3.1(F)).

On individual liability, § 28-5-7(6) makes it an unlawful employment practice "For any person, whether or not an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or employee, to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful employment practice." In Mancini v. City of Providence, 155 A.3d 159 (R.I. 2017), the Rhode Island Supreme Court answered a certified question about that clause: "G.L. 1956 § 28-5-7(6) does not provide for the individual liability of an employee of a defendant employer."

Retaliation for complaining

Section 28-5-7(5) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization or other listed entity "to discriminate in any manner against any individual because he or she has opposed any practice forbidden by this chapter, or because he or she has made a charge, testified, or assisted in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter." Firings after a complaint, and how they fit with the state's default employment rule, are covered on the Rhode Island at-will employment and Rhode Island wrongful termination pages.

Deadlines and where to file

The Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights (RICHR) takes charges under chapter 28-5.

• Commission deadline: one year. The commission states: "Persons who feel they have been discriminated against have one (1) year from the date of alleged harm to file their charge with the Commission." Section 28-5-17(a) allows a preliminary investigation where the unlawful employment practices "have occurred, have terminated, or have been applied to affect adversely the person aggrieved, whichever is later, within one year."
• Right to sue: a complainant may ask for a right to sue in state court "if not less than one hundred and twenty (120) days and not more than two (2) years have elapsed from the date of filing of a charge," if the commission has been unable to secure a settlement or conciliation agreement and has not begun a hearing. The commission "shall grant the right to sue within thirty (30) days after receipt of the request," and suit in Superior Court must be commenced "within ninety (90) days after the granting of the request." Any party may claim a jury trial (§ 28-5-24.1(a)).
• Federal charge: the EEOC states that its "180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis." The RICHR notes that the EEOC filing period "is shorter" than its own and that "Many of the cases with the Commission are automatically filed with the federal agency responsible for enforcing the federal anti-discrimination laws." The EEOC's Boston Area Office gives 300 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge against an employer with 15 or more employees in Rhode Island (20 or more for age).

The remaining steps and the remedies available are on the Rhode Island wrongful termination page. The Rhode Island employment discrimination settlement calculator is an estimating tool, not a prediction of any outcome.

Harassment policies, training and posters

Written policy: employers with 50 or more employees

For chapter 28-51, "Employer" means "any entity employing fifty (50) or more employees" (§ 28-51-1(a)). Under § 28-51-2(b), every such employer must:

1. Adopt a policy against sexual harassment that includes: a statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful; a statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a sexual harassment complaint or cooperating in an investigation of one; a description and examples of sexual harassment; a statement of the range of consequences for employees found to have committed sexual harassment; a description of the internal complaint process, with the work addresses and telephone numbers of the people to whom complaints should be made; and the identity of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies, with directions on how to contact them.
2. "Provide to all employees a written copy of the employer's policy against sexual harassment; provided, that a new employee shall be provided such a copy at the time of his or her employment."

Training: encouraged in chapter 28-51

"Employers are encouraged to conduct an education and training program for new employees and members, within one year of commencement of employment or membership" (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-51-2(c))

Chapter 28-51 uses "encouraged" for training; sections 28-51-1 through 28-51-3 contain no training mandate for private employers.

Workplace poster

Every employer subject to chapter 28-5 "shall post in a conspicuous place or places on the employer's ... premises a notice to be prepared or approved by the commission" setting out excerpts of the chapter. Refusing to comply is punishable by "a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500)" (§ 28-5-37).

NDAs and non-disparagement agreements

Section 28-5-7(1)(vi) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

"To require an employee as a condition of employment, to execute a nondisclosure agreement that requires alleged violations of civil rights remain confidential, or a non-disparagement agreement concerning alleged violations of civil rights or alleged unlawful conduct, or any agreement with a clause that requires alleged violations of civil rights remain confidential. Any contract provision in violation of this subsection shall be void as a violation of public policy;" (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(1)(vi))

The clause is written about agreements required "as a condition of employment"; on its face it does not address confidentiality terms in a settlement of a dispute.

Federal law adds limits for sexual harassment disputes: the Speak Out Act makes nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses agreed to before a dispute arises judicially unenforceable where the conduct is alleged to violate federal, tribal or state law, and the Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets the person alleging sexual harassment elect court over a predispute arbitration agreement. Both are explained on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Workplace violence orders

Chapter 28-52 gives employers, not employees, a court route. Under § 28-52-2(a), if an employer, or its employees or invitees, have suffered unlawful violence by an individual, received a threat of violence that can reasonably be construed as one that may be carried out at the worksite, or "Been stalked or harassed at the worksite," the employer may seek a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction and an injunction in Superior Court "prohibiting further unlawful acts by that individual at the worksite," in addition to or instead of filing criminal charges.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Rhode Island?

Chapter 28-5 reaches harassment because of the traits it lists. Chapters 28-5, 28-51 and 28-52 contain no provision on general workplace bullying by private employers that is not tied to one of those traits.

Documenting harassment and workplace monitoring

The rules on recording a conversation at work, including a conversation with a harasser, are on the Rhode Island workplace recording laws page. Employer monitoring of email, devices and workspaces is covered on the Rhode Island employee monitoring laws page.

Recent changes to Rhode Island harassment law

• 2017: in Mancini v. City of Providence, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that § 28-5-7(6) does not provide for the individual liability of an employee of a defendant employer.
• 2026: P.L. 2026, ch. 066 (H 8504) removed the domestic-service exclusion from the definition of employee in § 28-5-6(8), effective June 10, 2026.

Related pages

• Workplace harassment laws by state
• Rhode Island wrongful termination
• Rhode Island at-will employment laws
• Rhode Island employee monitoring laws
• Rhode Island workplace recording laws

This article provides general legal information about Rhode Island workplace harassment law under R.I. Gen. Laws chapters 28-5, 28-51 and 28-52 as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island or the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is workplace harassment illegal in Rhode Island?

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(1)(ii) bars an employer from discriminating with respect to the terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race or color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age or country of ancestral origin. Chapter 28-5 has no separate harassment section; harassment falls under that clause, and the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights' regulation (515-RICR-10-00-1, § 1.3) states that harassment based on a protected class violates the laws the commission enforces.

Does Rhode Island harassment law apply to small employers?

The Fair Employment Practices Act covers any person in Rhode Island employing four or more individuals, plus the State and its political subdivisions (§ 28-5-6(9)). The written sexual harassment policy duty in chapter 28-51 applies only to employers with 50 or more employees.

How long do you have to file a harassment charge in Rhode Island?

The Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights allows one year from the date of alleged harm (§ 28-5-17(a)). A right to sue may be requested between 120 days and two years after the charge, and suit must be filed within 90 days of the grant (§ 28-5-24.1(a)).

Does my employer have to tell me the outcome of my harassment complaint in Rhode Island?

Under § 28-5-7(1)(v), when an employee makes an internal complaint of harassment on a protected basis, the employer must disclose in writing, in a timely manner, the disposition of the complaint and any action taken; no other personnel information is disclosed.

Can you sue a coworker or supervisor personally for harassment in Rhode Island?

In Mancini v. City of Providence (2017), the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that the aiding-and-abetting clause, § 28-5-7(6), does not provide for the individual liability of an employee of a defendant employer.

Does Rhode Island require sexual harassment training?

Chapter 28-51 does not require it. Section 28-51-2(c) says employers are encouraged to train new employees within one year of the start of employment. Employers with 50 or more employees must adopt a written sexual harassment policy and give each employee a copy (§ 28-51-2(b)).

Can a Rhode Island employer make you sign an NDA about harassment?

Section 28-5-7(1)(vi) bars an employer from requiring, as a condition of employment, a nondisclosure agreement requiring alleged civil-rights violations to remain confidential or a non-disparagement agreement about them, and voids such provisions. The clause addresses agreements required as a condition of employment.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Rhode Island?

Chapter 28-5 reaches harassment tied to the traits it lists. Chapters 28-5, 28-51 and 28-52 contain no provision on general workplace bullying by private employers that is unconnected to those traits.