Rhode Island Updates to the Whistleblower Protection Act
The state of Rhode Island protects whistleblowers from retaliation through certain protections, relief and available damages for improper discharge or other discriminatory acts. Rhode Island has amended the state’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act in several ways.
First, the term employee has been expanded to include both applicants and prospective employees. Second, the law now specifies that an employer shall not report or threaten to report an employee’s immigration status to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or any other immigration agency or law enforcement agency including local and state police. Third, the Relief & Damages section has been updated to change damages from actual to treble damages allowed. Finally, a notice requirement had already existed but now it has been specified that the notice must be posted in all languages known to be spoken by employees.
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