Rhode Island Poised to Raise Minimum Wage to $15.00 Over Next Four Years

UPDATE: Gov. McKee signed the bill into law on May 20, 2021.

Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor

May 19, 2021

Rhode Island's legislature has passed a bill that would gradually raise the state's minimum wage from $11.50 to $15.00 by 2025.

Gov. Dan McKee plans to sign the bill into law on May 20, according to a statement from one of the bill's sponsors.

The minimum wage "has not kept pace with inflation over the decades, and our neighboring states have already taken this step toward making it closer to a living wage," said Rep. David A. Bennett.

Once the bill is signed, Rhode Island will join California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and dozens of localities across the country that either have, or are on a path to have, a $15.00 minimum wage - a long-time goal of the "Fight for 15" movement that started in 2012.

Under the bill, the minimum wage will increase to:

  • $12.25 per hour, effective January 1, 2022;
  • $13.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2023;
  • $14.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2024; and
  • $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2025.