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Employees in Rhode Island now have 3 years to file a suit under the state Civil Rights Act, instead of one. Earlier this year, the General Assembly overrode a July 2009 veto from Governor Donald Carcieri, to revise the statute.

Rhode Island prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, color, age, disability or country of origin. The very broad Rhode Island Civil Rights Act simply entitles individuals to “enjoy equal benefits of the law.” This is usually interpreted to mean protection from employment discrimination and retaliation, among other rights. Until recently, this law had no statute of limitations on lawsuits.

A second law, the Fair Employment Practices Act or FEPA, specifically includes a one-year statute of limitations. In 2007, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled in Horn v. Southern Union that the two laws must be consistent. Therefore, the court imposed a one-year statute of limitations on the Civil Rights Act.

The state legislature decided that the one-year statute of limitations was too narrow, and specifically passed a law giving an employee (more…)

A recent change to the Rhode Island discrimination law means that an employer can be sued three years later, if an employee feels he or she has been the victim of discrimination. The new law goes into effect immediately.

Under the previous law, there was a one-year statute of limitations on employment discrimination.

The Rhode Island legislature passed the amendment over Governor Donald Carcieri ‘s veto.

The Rhode Island Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on color, race, religion, disability, sex, age or national origin. It outlaws employment discrimination and retaliation.

This extension overturns a Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling in Horn v. Southern Union, which established a (more…)

A number of states require employers to give workers time off to vote, including voting in the presidential election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

According to CCH, a nationwide leader in labor and employment information, more than half of the U.S. states have laws that mandate time off to vote. Employers who do not comply face fines and even jail time.

The states that do not require employers to give workers time off to vote are: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Hersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

In many states, (more…)