Does Rhode Island require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes. Rhode Island requires workers' compensation from the first employee: any business that regularly employs employees under a contract of hire is subject to the Act under R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-6, with no head-count floor. Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members, and corporate shareholders and directors are not employees unless they work under a contract of service, and corporate officers who work in the business are covered unless they file to opt out.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before Rhode Island requires workers' comp?
Rhode Island sets no minimum number of employees. Any person, firm, or corporation that regularly employs employees in the same business under any contract of hire, written or not, is an employer subject to Chapters 29 to 38, and the Act defines an employee as anyone working under a contract of service or apprenticeship (R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-2). Domestic workers are outside the Act, and farms are outside it until they employ 25 or more farm workers for 13 consecutive weeks (28-29-7 and 28-29-7.2).
Out-of-state employers count too. Under DLT rule 260-RICR-50-05-10, an employer based elsewhere that works in Rhode Island more than 180 days in a 12-month period, or hires anyone in Rhode Island, needs a policy with Rhode Island named in Part 3A. Shorter jobs still need a policy that responds to Rhode Island claims.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-6, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in Rhode Island?
Under R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-2, sole proprietors, general and limited partners, LLC members, and corporate shareholders and directors are not employees, so a business made up only of its owners needs no policy for them. That exclusion stops where the person works in the business under a contract of service. A corporate officer or LLC manager or member who is covered can step outside the Act by giving the employer written notice claiming the common-law right to sue and filing a copy with the Department of Labor and Training within ten days (28-29-17). The choice renews each year until withdrawn.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-2, checked .
What happens to a Rhode Island employer with no workers' comp?
Knowingly operating without coverage is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison, plus a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each day without coverage, under R.I. Gen. Laws 28-36-15. Corporate officers, LLC managers and managing members, and partners are personally liable for the penalty and for any benefits owed to a worker injured while the business was uninsured. The Director of Labor and Training must also suspend the business immediately until coverage is in place.
A lapse that DLT finds unintentional or clerical, under a year long, with no injured workers and no earlier findings, is handled administratively instead: a penalty between the estimated annual premium and three times that amount (28-36-15(g)). Separately, a worker injured while the employer was uninsured can choose to sue the employer for damages instead of taking workers' comp benefits (28-36-10).
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 28-36-15, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in Rhode Island?
The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training enforces the requirement. Under its rule 260-RICR-50-05-10, the Director serves a stop-work order on any employer working without the required coverage, lifts it once proof of coverage arrives, and asks the Workers' Compensation Court to enforce it if the business keeps operating. The Workers' Compensation Court hears appeals and civil penalty cases, and the Attorney General prosecutes the criminal charge (28-36-15).
Source: 260-RICR-50-05-10, DLT lack-of-insurance rules, checked .
Where do Rhode Island employers buy coverage?
Rhode Island has a competitive market with a state-created carrier in it. The state chartered the Workers' Compensation Insurance Fund in 1990; it was renamed The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company in 1992 and is owned by its policyholders, according to Beacon Mutual. Beacon competes with private stock and mutual carriers licensed in Rhode Island, which R.I. Gen. Laws 28-36-1 lets an employer buy from. Employers can instead self-insure with the Director of Labor and Training's approval or join an authorized group self-insurance fund.
Source: Beacon Mutual, Who We Are, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island is an NCCI state. Under R.I. Gen. Laws 27-7.1-9.1 the Director of Business Regulation appoints a licensed advisory organization, every workers' comp carrier must report its experience to it, and every carrier must follow the uniform classification system and experience rating plan it files. NCCI fills that role and publishes a state advisory report on each Rhode Island filing. Class codes and experience mods come from NCCI; each carrier files its own rates.
Source: NCCI, State Advisory Resources: Rhode Island, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in Rhode Island?
The filing Rhode Island law sets up is for independent contractors, not owners. A person is not treated as an independent contractor for workers' comp unless they file a Notice of Designation as Independent Contractor (form DWC-11-IC) with the Department of Labor and Training, on paper or online, once a year for each hiring entity (R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-17.1 and 260-RICR-50-05-2). Sole proprietors and partners are outside the Act by definition, and officers opt out with the common-law notice above.
A DWC-11-IC creates a presumption, not a guarantee. The Workers' Compensation Court can still find the worker is an employee and can vacate a designation that was improperly procured (28-29-17.1). DLT's rule tells hiring businesses to collect proof of coverage, a copy of the DWC-11-IC, or DLT's confirmation of the filing, and tells carriers to check DLT's designation records at audit. A sub with neither a policy nor a designation can land on your premium.
Source: 260-RICR-50-05-2, Notice of Designation as Independent Contractor, checked .
Sorting out Rhode Island workers' comp for your business
Tell Redoubt what the business does, who works in it, and what the Rhode Island requirement in front of you says. We will say whether a policy, a waiver, or an exclusion fits.
This is general insurance information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Statutes, agency instructions, policy forms, and the facts of the business control.
Workers’ comp requirements in every state
Each state page gives the employee threshold, the owner and officer exemptions, the penalty for going without, the rating bureau, the market, the enforcing agency, and the exemption filing, each with its statute or agency source.
- Alabama
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The hub, and the Rhode Island pages that go deeper
Rhode Island workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in Rhode Island with only one employee?+
Yes. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-6 applies to any business that regularly employs employees, with no minimum count, and 28-29-2 counts anyone working under a contract of service. Domestic workers and most small farm operations are the exceptions.
Can a Rhode Island corporate officer or LLC member opt out of workers' comp?+
Yes. A covered officer or LLC manager or member gives the employer written notice claiming the common-law right to sue and files a copy with the Department of Labor and Training within ten days (R.I. Gen. Laws 28-29-17). The opt-out renews yearly. Reversing it takes a written notice to DLT, the employer, and the carrier, effective five days after filing (28-29-19).
What should I get from a 1099 subcontractor in Rhode Island?+
Proof of the sub's own workers' comp policy, a copy of their DWC-11-IC Notice of Designation as Independent Contractor naming your business, or DLT's confirmation that they filed one (260-RICR-50-05-2). The designation has to be filed each year for each hiring entity, and carriers check DLT's records at audit.
My business is in another state. Do I need a Rhode Island policy for a job there?+
It depends on how long you are there and who you hire. Under DLT rule 260-RICR-50-05-10, work over 180 days in 12 months, or hiring anyone in Rhode Island, requires a policy with Rhode Island in Part 3A; shorter jobs need a policy that covers Rhode Island claims.