This bill, sponsored by Sen. Dominick Ruggerio and which went into effect on May 17, 2019, makes firefighters who average 42-hour workweeks eligible for overtime pay.

Why it matters to working people.

The erosion of overtime protections has denied millions of people overtime pay and time away from work to spend with their families, and has weakened the incentive for employers to hire more people to spread the work. The new law brings Rhode Island firefighters’ overtime protections more in line with other industry workers and will provide relief from burdensome shift scheduling practices.