(a)  Every employee who has been employed by the same employer for twelve (12) consecutive months shall be entitled, upon advance notice to his or her employer, to thirteen (13) consecutive workweeks of parental leave or family leave in any two (2) calendar years. The employee shall give at least thirty (30) days’ notice of the intended date upon which parental leave or family leave shall commence and terminate, unless prevented by medical emergency from giving the notice. The director shall promulgate regulations governing the form and content of the employee’s notice to the employer.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-2

  • Director: means the director of the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
  • Employee: means any full-time employee who works an average of thirty (30) or more hours per week. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
  • Employer: means and includes:

    (i)  Any person, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other business entity who or that employs fifty (50) or more employees;

    (ii)  The state of Rhode Island, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and any state department or agency that employs any employees;

    (iii)  Any city or town or municipal agency that employs thirty (30) or more employees; and

    (iv)  Any person who acts directly or indirectly in the interest of any employer. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1

  • Family leave: means leave by reason of the serious illness of a family member. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
  • Parental leave: means leave by reason of the birth of a child of an employee or the placement of a child sixteen (16) years of age or less with an employee in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-48-1
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Physician: means medical doctor, surgeon, dentist, licensed psychologist, chiropractor, osteopath, podiatrist, or optometrist, as the case may be. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2

(b)  Parental leave or family leave granted pursuant to this chapter may consist of unpaid leave. If an employer provides paid parental leave or family leave for fewer than thirteen (13) weeks, the additional weeks of leave added to attain the total of thirteen (13) weeks required by subsection (a) may be unpaid.

(c)  The employer may request that the employee provide the employer with written certification from a physician caring for the person who is the reason for the employee’s leave, which certification shall specify the probable duration of the employee’s leave.

History of Section.
P.L. 1987, ch. 366, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 380, § 2.