Bi Weekly Payment Bond - Statewide in Rhode Island

Brief Summary

Rhode Island makes most employers pay weekly. If you want to move to a biweekly or twice monthly payroll, the Department of Labor and Training will only sign off once you post security equal to your largest biweekly payroll from the past year. A surety bond lets you meet that requirement without tying up a payroll's worth of cash for as long as the exemption lasts.

Under RIGL 28-14-2.2, a Rhode Island employer that wants to pay less often than weekly must petition the Director of Labor and Training and provide a surety bond or letter of credit equal to the highest biweekly payroll exposure in the preceding year. There is no fixed bond amount. The figure comes from your own payroll records, and the bond has to stay in place for as long as you pay less than weekly.

We can help with all Rhode Island bonds!

How to Apply for a Bi Weekly Payment Bond:

• Pull your payroll records for the preceding year and identify the highest biweekly payroll exposure. That number sets the bond amount.
• Decide which route applies: average payroll above 200 percent of the state minimum wage, or the good cause route for employers below that level.
• Obtain a surety bond or a letter of credit from a financial institution in the full amount.
• Get written consent from the collective bargaining representative if any affected employees are unionized.
• Complete the DLT Application Request for Employee Bi-Weekly Pay with original, notarized signatures.
• Mail the application, a copy of the bond, and the payroll summary to the DLT Labor Standards Unit (Bi-weekly pay), P.O. Box 20390, Cranston, RI 02920-0942.

Detailed Information About the Rhode Island Bi Weekly Payment Bond:

The amount is your payroll, not a set figure

This is the part most employers get wrong. There is no standard bond amount for the Rhode Island biweekly pay exemption. RIGL 28-14-2.2 requires a surety bond or other security equal to the highest biweekly payroll exposure in the preceding year. The Department of Labor and Training application asks for a summary of your payroll records showing that figure, plus a short statement explaining the numbers. A company with a large workforce can be looking at a very large bond.

Who has to petition

The default rule in RIGL 28-14-2.2(a) is weekly pay. It does not apply to employees of the state and its political subdivisions, employees of religious, literary or charitable corporations, or employees whose compensation is fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly or yearly rate. Everyone else needs the Director's permission to pay less often.

There are two routes. An employer whose average payroll exceeds 200 percent of the state minimum wage may petition under subsection (b). An employer below that level must show good cause under subsection (c) and supply more detail, including its payment method, payday, employee classifications and salary ranges, and must have no history of wage and hour violations. Both routes require payment on a predesignated date at least twice per month, the bond or security, and written consent from the collective bargaining representative where employees are unionized.

Bond or letter of credit

The regulation at 260-RICR-30-05-2 defines the other acceptable security as a letter of credit from a financial institution. Either way, the obligation is perpetual in nature and must be maintained for the duration of the exemption. The security runs to the State of Rhode Island through the Department of Labor and Training on behalf of the employees.

Keeping the exemption

Approval is valid for an indefinite period as long as the employer keeps a regular payroll and stays in compliance. Every four years from the original approval date, the employer must sign and submit a notarized Affidavit of Continued Compliance. The employer must also notify DLT in writing within 30 days if the circumstances supporting approval no longer apply. A violation, after notice and hearing, rescinds the exemption for one year, and a later violation rescinds it for two years.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Rhode Island Bi Weekly Payment Bond:

• Bond amount equal to the highest biweekly payroll exposure in the preceding year, per RIGL 28-14-2.2.
• State of Rhode Island, Department of Labor and Training, Labor Standards Unit, as the party protected on behalf of the employees.
• Wages paid on a predesignated date no less than twice per month.
• Security kept in force for the full time the employer pays less than weekly.
• Notarized Affidavit of Continued Compliance every four years from the original approval date.
• For employers below the 200 percent threshold, no history of wage and hour violations.

Rhode Island Bi Weekly Payment Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Rhode Island Bi Weekly Payment Bond: