WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 6 REQUIREMENT TYPES
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
(a) As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: (1) "Authorized representativeAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1)" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representativeAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1)" shall not include a worker's employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13). (2) "Automated decision system (ADS)Automated decision system (ADS)"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons. "ADS" does not include a tool that does not assist or replace employment decision processes and that does not materially impact natural persons including, but not limited to, a junk email filter, firewall, antivirus software, calculator, spreadsheet, database, data set, or other compilation of data.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons. "ADS" does not include a tool that does not assist or replace employment decision processes and that does not materially impact natural persons including, but not limited to, a junk email filter, firewall, antivirus software, calculator, spreadsheet, database, data set, or other compilation of data. (3) "Automated decision system (ADS) outputAutomated decision system (ADS) output"Automated decision system (ADS) output" means any information, data, assumptions, predictions, scoring, recommendations, decisions, or conclusions generated by an ADS.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(3)" means any information, data, assumptions, predictions, scoring, recommendations, decisions, or conclusions generated by an ADS. (4) "Biometric informationBiometric information"Biometric information" means data generated by automatic measurements of an individual's biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint, a voiceprint, eye retinas, irises, gait, or other unique biological patterns or characteristics that can be used, singly or in combination with other data, to identify a specific individual. "Biometric information" does not include: (i) A digital or physical photograph; (ii) An audio or video recording; or (iii) Any data generated from a digital or physical photograph, or an audio or video recording, unless such data is generated to identify a specific individual.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(4)" means data generated by automatic measurements of an individual's biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint, a voiceprint, eye retinas, irises, gait, or other unique biological patterns or characteristics that can be used, singly or in combination with other data, to identify a specific individual. "Biometric informationBiometric information"Biometric information" means data generated by automatic measurements of an individual's biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint, a voiceprint, eye retinas, irises, gait, or other unique biological patterns or characteristics that can be used, singly or in combination with other data, to identify a specific individual. "Biometric information" does not include: (i) A digital or physical photograph; (ii) An audio or video recording; or (iii) Any data generated from a digital or physical photograph, or an audio or video recording, unless such data is generated to identify a specific individual.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(4)" does not include: (i) A digital or physical photograph; (ii) An audio or video recording; or (iii) Any data generated from a digital or physical photograph, or an audio or video recording, unless such data is generated to identify a specific individual. (5) "CandidateCandidate"Candidate" means any natural person or their authorized representative seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(5)" means any natural person or their authorized representativeAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1) seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state. (6) "Continuous incremental time-tracking toolContinuous incremental time-tracking tool"Continuous incremental time-tracking tool" means any system, application or instrument that continuously measures, records and/or tallies increments of time within a day during which an employee is or is not doing a particular activity or set of activities.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(6)" means any system, application or instrument that continuously measures, records and/or tallies increments of time within a day during which an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) is or is not doing a particular activity or set of activities. (7) "DepartmentDepartment"Department" means the department of labor and training.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(7)" means the department of labor and training. (8) "De-identified employee dataDe-identified employee data"De-identified employee data" means employee data that an employer has sought from their own electronic systems, from a vendor, or from a third-party source, aggregated, combined, or collected together, in a summary or other form so that the employee data cannot be identified as belonging to any specific employee.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(8)" means employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data that an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) has sought from their own electronic systems, from a vendorVendor"Vendor" means any person or entity who sells, distributes, or develops for sale an automated decision system to be used in an employment decision made by an employer in the state. "Vendor" includes any of the vendor's agents, contractors, or subcontractors.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(20), or from a third-party source, aggregated, combined, or collected together, in a summary or other form so that the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data cannot be identified as belonging to any specific employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11). (9) "Egregious misconductEgregious misconduct"Egregious misconduct" means intentional or grossly negligent conduct that creates an imminent and substantial risk of serious physical harm to the individual, co-workers, customers, or other persons, or that results in significant, demonstrable harm to the employer's or customers' property or business interests, including discrimination against or harassment of co-workers, customers, or other persons, or involves criminal conduct directly related to the employee's job duties.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(9)" means intentional or grossly negligent conduct that creates an imminent and substantial risk of serious physical harm to the individual, co-workers, customers, or other persons, or that results in significant, demonstrable harm to the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s or customers' property or business interests, including discrimination against or harassment of co-workers, customers, or other persons, or involves criminal conduct directly related to the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)'s job duties. (10) "Electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10)" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data from a third-party. (11) "EmployeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3. (12) "Employee informationEmployee information"Employee information" (also referred to as "information" or "employee data") means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular employee, regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained. "Employee information" includes, but is not limited to, the following: personal identity information, including the individual's name, contact information, government-issued identification numbers, financial information, criminal background, or employment history; biometric information, health, medical, lifestyle, and wellness information, including the individual's medical history, physical or mental condition, diet or physical activity patterns, heart rate, medical treatment or diagnosis by a healthcare professional, health insurance policy number, subscriber identification number, or other unique identifier used to identify the individual; related to workplace activities, including the following: (i) Human resources information means the contents of an individual's personnel file including performance evaluations; (ii) Work process information, such as data relating to an individual employee's performance or productivity including, but not limited to, the quality and quantities of tasks performed, quality and quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks; (iii) Device usage and data including, but not limited to, key stroke recording, website, software, and application utilization, calls placed or geolocation information; (iv) Audio, photo, or video data or other information collected from sensors, including movement tracking, thermal sensors, voiceprints, or facial recognition, emotion, and gait recognition; (v) Inputs to or outputs generated by an automated decision system (ADS) that are linked to the individual; (vi) Data collected through electronic monitoring or continuous incremental time-tracking tools; and (vii) Data collected or generated on workers to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, or to comply with public health measures.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(12)" (also referred to as "information" or "employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data") means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11), regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained. (13) "EmployerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13), directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization. (14) "Employment-related decision" means a decision made by the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) that affects wages, benefits, other compensation, hours, schedule, performance evaluation, hiring, recruitment, discipline, promotion, termination, duties, assignment of work, access to work opportunities, productivity requirements, workplace health and safety, or other terms or conditions of employment. For persons classified as independent contractors or for candidatesCandidate"Candidate" means any natural person or their authorized representative seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(5) for employment, this means the equivalent of these decisions based on their contract with or relationship to the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13). (15) "Essential job functionsEssential job functions"Essential job functions" means the fundamental duties of a position, based upon work duties actually performed over the duration of employment, as revealed by objective evidence, including the amount of time workers spend performing each function, the consequences of not requiring individuals to perform the function, the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, workers' past and present work experiences and performance in the position in question, and the employer's reasonable, nondiscriminatory judgment as to which functions are essential. Past and current written job descriptions may be evidence as to which functions are essential for achieving the purposes of the job, but may not be the sole basis for this determination, absent the objective evidence described in this subsection.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(15)" means the fundamental duties of a position, based upon work duties actually performed over the duration of employment, as revealed by objective evidence. (16) "Impact assessmentImpact assessment"Impact assessment" means an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor that complies with § 28-5.2-2.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(16)" means an impartial evaluation by an independent auditorIndependent auditor"Independent auditor" means a person or entity that conducts an impact assessment of an automated decision system in a manner that exercises objective and impartial judgment on all issues within the scope of such evaluation or assessment. A person is not an independent auditor of an automated decision system if they currently or at any point in the five (5) years preceding the impact assessment: (i) Are or were involved in using, developing, offering, licensing, or deploying the automated decision system; (ii) Have or had an employment relationship with a developer or deployer that uses, offers, or licenses the automated decision system; or (iii) Have or had a direct financial interest or a material indirect financial interest in a developer or deployer that uses, offers, or licenses the automated decision system.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(17) that complies with § 28-5.2-2. (17) "Independent auditorIndependent auditor"Independent auditor" means a person or entity that conducts an impact assessment of an automated decision system in a manner that exercises objective and impartial judgment on all issues within the scope of such evaluation or assessment. A person is not an independent auditor of an automated decision system if they currently or at any point in the five (5) years preceding the impact assessment: (i) Are or were involved in using, developing, offering, licensing, or deploying the automated decision system; (ii) Have or had an employment relationship with a developer or deployer that uses, offers, or licenses the automated decision system; or (iii) Have or had a direct financial interest or a material indirect financial interest in a developer or deployer that uses, offers, or licenses the automated decision system.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(17)" means a person or entity that conducts an impact assessment of an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2) in a manner that exercises objective and impartial judgment on all issues within the scope of such evaluation or assessment. (18) "Meaningful human oversightMeaningful human oversight"Meaningful human oversight" means a process that includes, at a minimum: (i) The designation of at least one internal reviewer with sufficient expertise in the operation of automated decision systems, sufficient familiarity with the results of the most recent impact assessment of the employer's system, and sufficient understanding of the outputs of the employer's system to identify potential biases, errors, discrepancies, or inaccuracies produced by the tool; (ii) That sufficient authority and discretion be granted to the designated internal reviewer to dispute, rerun, or recommend the rejection of an output suspected to be invalid, inaccurate, or discriminatory; and (iii) That the designated internal reviewer has the time and resources available to review and evaluate the tool output in accordance with § 28-5.2-2.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(18)" means a process that includes, at a minimum: (i) The designation of at least one internal reviewer with sufficient expertise; (ii) That sufficient authority and discretion be granted to the designated internal reviewer to dispute, rerun, or recommend the rejection of an output suspected to be invalid, inaccurate, or discriminatory; and (iii) That the designated internal reviewer has the time and resources available to review and evaluate the tool output. (19) "Periodic assessment of worker performancePeriodic assessment of worker performance"Periodic assessment of worker performance" means assessing worker performance over the course of units of time equal to or greater than one calendar day.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(19)" means assessing worker performance over the course of units of time equal to or greater than one calendar day. (20) "VendorVendor"Vendor" means any person or entity who sells, distributes, or develops for sale an automated decision system to be used in an employment decision made by an employer in the state. "Vendor" includes any of the vendor's agents, contractors, or subcontractors.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(20)" means any person or entity who sells, distributes, or develops for sale an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2) to be used in an employment decision made by an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) in the state.
Section 28-5.2-1 establishes the definitional framework for the chapter. Key defined terms include Automated decision system (ADS), Electronic monitoring tool, Employer, Employee information, Employment-related decision, Independent auditor, and Meaningful human oversight. The ADS definition is broad, covering any computational process using ML, AI, or statistical modeling that issues outputs used to assist or replace human decision-making on issues impacting natural persons, but carves out non-employment tools like spam filters and calculators. The definition of Employee information is exceptionally expansive, covering biometric data, health data, device usage, ADS inputs/outputs, and sensor data including facial recognition and emotion recognition.
(a) 1 It shall be unlawful for an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) to use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) to collect employee informationEmployee information"Employee information" (also referred to as "information" or "employee data") means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular employee, regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained. "Employee information" includes, but is not limited to, the following: personal identity information, including the individual's name, contact information, government-issued identification numbers, financial information, criminal background, or employment history; biometric information, health, medical, lifestyle, and wellness information, including the individual's medical history, physical or mental condition, diet or physical activity patterns, heart rate, medical treatment or diagnosis by a healthcare professional, health insurance policy number, subscriber identification number, or other unique identifier used to identify the individual; related to workplace activities, including the following: (i) Human resources information means the contents of an individual's personnel file including performance evaluations; (ii) Work process information, such as data relating to an individual employee's performance or productivity including, but not limited to, the quality and quantities of tasks performed, quality and quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks; (iii) Device usage and data including, but not limited to, key stroke recording, website, software, and application utilization, calls placed or geolocation information; (iv) Audio, photo, or video data or other information collected from sensors, including movement tracking, thermal sensors, voiceprints, or facial recognition, emotion, and gait recognition; (v) Inputs to or outputs generated by an automated decision system (ADS) that are linked to the individual; (vi) Data collected through electronic monitoring or continuous incremental time-tracking tools; and (vii) Data collected or generated on workers to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, or to comply with public health measures.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(12) unless: (1) The electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) is primarily used to accomplish any of the following legitimate purposes: (i) Allowing a worker to accomplish or facilitating the accomplishment of an essential job function; (ii) Ensuring the quality of goods and services; (iii) Conducting periodic assessment of worker performancePeriodic assessment of worker performance"Periodic assessment of worker performance" means assessing worker performance over the course of units of time equal to or greater than one calendar day.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(19); (iv) Ensuring or facilitating compliance with employment, labor, or other relevant laws; (v) Protecting the health, safety, or security of workers, or the security of the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s facilities or computer networks; or (vi) Administering wages and benefits. (2) The department of labor and training standards may establish additional exceptions under this subsection, pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 ("administrative procedures act.")
(b)(1)–(3) 2 The specific type and activated capabilities of an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) shall be narrowly tailored to accomplish the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s intended, legitimate purpose specified under subsection (a)(1) of this section; (2) The electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) shall only be used to accomplish the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s intended, legitimate purpose specified in subsection (a)(1) of this section, and shall be customized and implemented in a manner ensuring that the execution of its duties are undertaken in the manner least invasive to employees of the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13), while still accomplishing the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s legitimate purposes as defined by subsection (a)(1) of this section; (3) The specific form of electronic monitoring is limited to the smallest number of workers, collection of the least amount of data which shall be collected no more frequently than is necessary to accomplish the purpose, and the data collected, shall be deleted once the purpose has been achieved;
(b)(4)–(6) 2 The employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall ensure that any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data that is collected utilizing an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) that is not necessary to accomplish the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s intended, legitimate purpose shall not be disclosed to the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) and shall be promptly disposed of by the vendorVendor"Vendor" means any person or entity who sells, distributes, or develops for sale an automated decision system to be used in an employment decision made by an employer in the state. "Vendor" includes any of the vendor's agents, contractors, or subcontractors.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(20); (5) The employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall ensure that employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data is not collected when the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) is off-duty; and (6) The employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall ensure that any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected utilizing an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) that is necessary to accomplish the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s intended, legitimate purpose, is stored consistent with the state's data and cyber privacy laws, promptly disposed of as soon as the data is no longer needed, and is not utilized by the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13), the vendorVendor"Vendor" means any person or entity who sells, distributes, or develops for sale an automated decision system to be used in an employment decision made by an employer in the state. "Vendor" includes any of the vendor's agents, contractors, or subcontractors.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(20) or any other third party for any reason except, as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) 3 Any employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) that uses an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) shall give prior written notice and shall obtain written acknowledgment from all candidatesCandidate"Candidate" means any natural person or their authorized representative seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(5) and employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) subject to electronic monitoring and shall also post said notice in a conspicuous place which is readily available for viewing by candidatesCandidate"Candidate" means any natural person or their authorized representative seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(5) for employment and employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11). Such notice shall include, at a minimum, the following: (1) A description of the purpose for which the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) will be used, as specified in subsection (a)(1) of this section; (2) A description of the specific employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data to be collected, stored, secured, and disposed of (and the schedule therefor), and the activities, locations, communications, and job roles that will be electronically monitored by the tool; (3) A description of the dates, times, and frequency that electronic monitoring will occur; (4) Whether and how any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected by the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) will be used as an input in an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2); (5) Whether and how any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected by the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) will alone or in conjunction with an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2) be used to make an employment decision by the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) or employment agency; (6) Whether and how any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected by the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) may be stored and utilized in discipline, in internal policy compliance, in administrative agency adjudications, in litigation (whether or not it involves the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) or not as a party); (7) Whether any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected by the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) will be used to assess employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)' productivity performance or to set productivity standards, and if so, how; (8) A description of where any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected by the electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) will be stored and the length of time it will be retained; (9) An explanation for how the specific electronic monitoring practice is the least invasive means available to accomplish the monitoring purpose; (10) That an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) is entitled to notice and maintains the right to refuse the sale, transfer, or disclosure of their employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this section; and (11) A clear and reasonably understandable description of how an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) can exercise the rights described in this chapter.
(d) 4 An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall establish, maintain, and preserve for five (5) years contemporaneous, true, and accurate records of data gathered through the use of an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) and used in a hiring, promotion, termination, disciplinary or compensation decision to ensure compliance with the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) or their authorized representativeAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1) or the departmentDepartment"Department" means the department of labor and training.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(7) requests for data. The employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall destroy any employee informationEmployee information"Employee information" (also referred to as "information" or "employee data") means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular employee, regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained. "Employee information" includes, but is not limited to, the following: personal identity information, including the individual's name, contact information, government-issued identification numbers, financial information, criminal background, or employment history; biometric information, health, medical, lifestyle, and wellness information, including the individual's medical history, physical or mental condition, diet or physical activity patterns, heart rate, medical treatment or diagnosis by a healthcare professional, health insurance policy number, subscriber identification number, or other unique identifier used to identify the individual; related to workplace activities, including the following: (i) Human resources information means the contents of an individual's personnel file including performance evaluations; (ii) Work process information, such as data relating to an individual employee's performance or productivity including, but not limited to, the quality and quantities of tasks performed, quality and quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks; (iii) Device usage and data including, but not limited to, key stroke recording, website, software, and application utilization, calls placed or geolocation information; (iv) Audio, photo, or video data or other information collected from sensors, including movement tracking, thermal sensors, voiceprints, or facial recognition, emotion, and gait recognition; (v) Inputs to or outputs generated by an automated decision system (ADS) that are linked to the individual; (vi) Data collected through electronic monitoring or continuous incremental time-tracking tools; and (vii) Data collected or generated on workers to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, or to comply with public health measures.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(12) collected via an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) no later than sixty-one (61) months after collection unless the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) has provided written and informed consent to the retention of their data by the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13). An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall establish, implement and maintain reasonable administrative, technical and physical data security practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data, appropriate to the volume and nature of the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data at issue. An employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) shall have the right to request corrections to erroneous employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data.
(e)(1)–(5) 5 Notwithstanding the allowable purposes for electronic monitoring described in subsection (a) of this section, an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall not: (1) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) in such a manner that results in a violation of labor, employment, civil rights law or any other law of the state; (2) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) or data collected via an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) in such a manner as to threaten the health, welfare, safety, or legal rights of employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) or the general public; (3) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) to monitor employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) who are off-duty or not performing work-related tasks; (4) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) in order to obtain information about an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)'s health, including health status and health conditions, the race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or a condition related to said pregnancy including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, ancestry or status as a veteran or membership in any group protected from employment discrimination under title 28 or any other applicable law; (5) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) in order to identify, punish, or obtain information about employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) engaging in activity protected under labor or employment law;
(e)(6)–(9) 6 Conduct audio or visual monitoring of bathrooms or other similarly private areas, including locker rooms, changing areas, breakrooms, smoking areas, employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) cafeterias, lounges, and areas designated to express breast milk, or areas designated for prayer or other religious activity, including data collection on the frequency of use of those private areas; (7) Conduct audio or visual monitoring of a workplace in an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)'s residence, an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)'s personal vehicle, or property owned or leased by an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11); (8) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) that incorporates facial recognition; (9) Use an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) that incorporates gait, voice analysis, or emotion recognition technology;
(e)(10)–(12) 7 Take adverse action against an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11), based, in whole or in part, on their opposition or refusal to submit to a practice that the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) believes in good faith violates this section; (11) Take adverse employment action against an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) on the basis of data collected via continuous incremental time-tracking toolsContinuous incremental time-tracking tool"Continuous incremental time-tracking tool" means any system, application or instrument that continuously measures, records and/or tallies increments of time within a day during which an employee is or is not doing a particular activity or set of activities.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(6), except in the case of egregious misconductEgregious misconduct"Egregious misconduct" means intentional or grossly negligent conduct that creates an imminent and substantial risk of serious physical harm to the individual, co-workers, customers, or other persons, or that results in significant, demonstrable harm to the employer's or customers' property or business interests, including discrimination against or harassment of co-workers, customers, or other persons, or involves criminal conduct directly related to the employee's job duties.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(9); or (12) Take adverse employment action against an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) based on any data collected via electronic monitoring, if such data measures an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)'s performance in relation to a performance standard that has not been previously, clearly, and unmistakably disclosed to such employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11), as well as to all other classes of employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) to whom it applies in violation of this section, or if such data was collected without proper notice to employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) or candidatesCandidate"Candidate" means any natural person or their authorized representative seeking employment through an application, or who is screened or evaluated for recruitment, for a position of employment by a business operating in this state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(5) pursuant to this section.
(f) 8 An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall not use employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected via an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) for purposes other than those specified in the notice provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(g) 9 An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall not sell, transfer, or disclose employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected via an electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) to any other entity unless it is required to do so under federal law or the laws of the state, or necessary to do so to comply with an impact assessment of an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2) used pursuant to this section.
(h) 10 An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall not require employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) to: (1) Physically implant devices that collect or transmit data, including devices that are installed subcutaneously or incorporated into items of clothing or personal accessories; (2) Install applications on personal devices that collect or transmit employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data or to wear or embed those devices; or (3) Carry or use any device with location tracking applications or services enabled, unless the location tracking is: (i) Conducted during work hours only; and (ii) Strictly necessary to accomplish essential job functionsEssential job functions"Essential job functions" means the fundamental duties of a position, based upon work duties actually performed over the duration of employment, as revealed by objective evidence, including the amount of time workers spend performing each function, the consequences of not requiring individuals to perform the function, the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, workers' past and present work experiences and performance in the position in question, and the employer's reasonable, nondiscriminatory judgment as to which functions are essential. Past and current written job descriptions may be evidence as to which functions are essential for achieving the purposes of the job, but may not be the sole basis for this determination, absent the objective evidence described in this subsection.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(15) and narrowly limited to only the activities and times required to accomplish essential job functionsEssential job functions"Essential job functions" means the fundamental duties of a position, based upon work duties actually performed over the duration of employment, as revealed by objective evidence, including the amount of time workers spend performing each function, the consequences of not requiring individuals to perform the function, the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, workers' past and present work experiences and performance in the position in question, and the employer's reasonable, nondiscriminatory judgment as to which functions are essential. Past and current written job descriptions may be evidence as to which functions are essential for achieving the purposes of the job, but may not be the sole basis for this determination, absent the objective evidence described in this subsection.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(15).
(i) 11 An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall not rely primarily on employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) data collected through electronic monitoring, when making hiring, promotion, disciplinary decisions up to and including termination, or compensation decisions. For an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) to satisfy the requirements of this subsection: (1) An employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) shall establish meaningful human oversight of such decisions that are based, in whole or in part, on data collected through electronic monitoring. (2) A human decision-maker shall review any information collected through electronic monitoring, verify that such information is accurate and up to date, review any pending employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) requests to correct erroneous data, and exercise independent judgment in making each such decision; and (3) The human decision-maker shall consider information other than information collected through electronic monitoring, when making each such decision including, but not limited to, supervisory or managerial evaluations, personnel files, employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) work products, or peer reviews.
(j) 12 When an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) makes a hiring, promotion, termination, disciplinary or compensation decision, based, in whole or in part, on data gathered through the use of electronic monitoring, it shall disclose to affected employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) and their authorized representativeAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1) within thirty (30) days of the decision being made or going into effect, whichever is sooner: (1) That the decision was based, in whole or in part, on data gathered through electronic monitoring; (2) The specific electronic monitoring toolElectronic monitoring tool"Electronic monitoring tool" means any system, application, or instrument that facilitates the collection of data concerning worker activities or communications by any means other than direct observation by a natural person including, but not limited to, the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, or obtaining employee data from a third-party.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(10) or tools used to gather such data, how the tools work to gather and analyze the data, and the increments of time in which the data is gathered; (3) The specific data, and judgments based upon such data, used in the decision-making process; and (4) Any information used in the decision-making process gathered through sources other than electronic monitoring.
(k) 13 It shall be unlawful for an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) to use electronic monitoring, alone or in conjunction with an automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2), unless the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s proposed use of electronic monitoring has been the subject of an impact assessmentImpact assessment"Impact assessment" means an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor that complies with § 28-5.2-2.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(16). Such impact assessmentsImpact assessment"Impact assessment" means an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor that complies with § 28-5.2-2.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(16) shall: (1) Be conducted no more than one year prior to the use of such electronic monitoring, or where the electronic monitoring began before the effective date of this section, within six (6) months of the effective date of this chapter; (2) Be conducted by an independent and impartial party with no financial or legal conflicts of interest; (3) Evaluate whether the data protection and security practices surrounding the electronic monitoring are consistent with applicable law and cybersecurity industry's best practices; (4) Identify the allowable purpose(s) as defined in this chapter; (5) Consider and describe any other ways in which the electronic monitoring could result in a violation of applicable law and, for any finding that a violation of law may occur, any necessary or appropriate steps to prevent such violation of law; (6) Consider and describe whether the electronic monitoring may negatively impact employeesEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11)' privacy and job quality, including wages, hours, and working conditions; and (7) Be disclosed in full, in plain language, to all affected workers and their authorized representativesAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1) within thirty (30) days of the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s receipt of the impact assessmentImpact assessment"Impact assessment" means an impartial evaluation by an independent auditor that complies with § 28-5.2-2.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(16). (i) Workers and their authorized representativesAuthorized representative"Authorized representative" means any person or organization appointed by the worker to serve as a representative of the worker including, but not limited to, a labor organization as defined in the Rhode Island labor relations act § 28-7-3, the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4), and 45 U.S.C. § 151. "Authorized representative" shall not include a worker's employer.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(1) shall have the right to comment on, challenge and bargain over the proposed monitoring based on the assessment's findings.
Section 28-5.2-2 is the core operative section of the bill, imposing a comprehensive framework on employer use of electronic monitoring tools. Subsection (a) establishes a purpose-limitation requirement: employers may use electronic monitoring only for six enumerated legitimate purposes. Subsection (b) imposes proportionality and data minimization requirements — monitoring must be narrowly tailored, least invasive, limited to the smallest number of workers, and data must be deleted once the purpose is achieved. Off-duty monitoring is prohibited.
Subsection (c) requires detailed prior written notice and acknowledgment from all candidates and employees subject to monitoring, with eleven mandatory disclosure elements covering purpose, data types, frequency, ADS usage, downstream uses, and employee rights. Subsection (d) mandates five-year recordkeeping, a 61-month data destruction deadline, data security practices, and employee data correction rights.
Subsection (e) contains twelve categorical prohibitions on employer monitoring conduct, including bans on facial recognition, gait/voice/emotion recognition, monitoring of private areas, and retaliation. Subsections (f)–(h) restrict secondary data use, data transfers, and compelled physical/device monitoring. Subsection (i) requires meaningful human oversight for employment decisions based on electronically monitored data. Subsection (j) requires post-decision disclosure to affected employees within 30 days. Subsection (k) requires an independent impact assessment before electronic monitoring may be used, with detailed content requirements and a 30-day worker disclosure obligation.
(a) 14 An employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) shall be protected from termination, disciplinary action, retaliation, or other adverse employment action for refusing to follow the output of an artificial intelligence system, automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2), algorithm, or other similar technology if the following conditions are met: (1) The employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) holds independent judgment and discretion in executing their work duties, or the work duties to be performed by the employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) require licensure or certification by the state, as a condition of employment, or independent accreditation by the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13); (2) The employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) has notified a supervisor, manager, or their employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) that the output from the artificial intelligence system, automated decision systemAutomated decision system"Automated decision system (ADS)" means any computational process, automated system, or algorithm utilizing machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or similar methods, that issues an output, including a score, classification, ranking, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human decision making, on issues that impact natural persons.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(2), algorithm, or other similar technology may, in their professional opinion and/or educational or work related- experience, lead to the harm of a natural person, damage to physical property, an illegal action, an action contrary to the licensure or certification requirements of the federal government, state, or an applicable private licensing or certifying authority, or an outcome contrary to the goal of the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13), and the employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) refused or otherwise failed to adjust the output; (3) The employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) has refused to follow the output in good faith and with the knowledge or reasonable belief, based upon training, education, or experience, that the output would cause harm or have an adverse impact; or (4) Due to the urgency of the potential harm or adverse impact, there is not enough time for the output to be corrected through departmentDepartment"Department" means the department of labor and training.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(7) action.
(b) The department of labor and training shall promulgate procedures, rules, or regulations regarding the implementation of this chapter.
(c)–(d) The office of the attorney general shall promulgate procedures, rules, or regulations necessary to further the state's interest in protecting consumers and the public good, from violations of privacy rights and harms, resulting from the use of artificial intelligence and automated-decision systems. (d) Such regulations shall consider, but are not limited to, bias testing, appropriate disclosures, clear, conspicuous, and reasonably understandable notice, whether there exists a client-professional relationship, best and current practices and models utilized by other states and the federal government, to ensure the regulations are responsive to emerging technologies, and appropriate additional documentation that is reasonably necessary to assist the office of the attorney general to evaluate the inputs and outputs and monitor the performance of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems, for the risk of bias or consumer harm.
Section 28-5.2-3 establishes anti-retaliation protections for employees who refuse to follow AI or ADS outputs. The protection is conditioned: the employee must hold independent judgment or be licensed/certified, must have notified the employer that the output may cause harm, must have acted in good faith, or must face urgency precluding departmental resolution. Subsections (b)–(d) delegate rulemaking authority to the Department of Labor and Training and the Attorney General, with the AG's rules specifically addressing bias testing, disclosures, and AI system monitoring for consumer harm.
(a) 15 No employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) shall be penalized by an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) in any way as a result of any action on the part of an employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) to seek their rights under the provisions of this chapter.
(b) 15 Any employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13) who discharges or in any other manner discriminates against any employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) because such employeeEmployee"Employee" shall have the same meaning as contained in § 28-7-3.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(11) has made a complaint to the attorney general or any other departmentDepartment"Department" means the department of labor and training.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(7), agency, or person, or assists in any investigation under this chapter, or has instituted, or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceedings, commits a violation of this section and shall be subject to penalties as provided in title 28.
(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to diminish an employerEmployer"Employer" means any person acting on behalf of or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or without their knowledge, but a labor organization or any officer or its agent, shall only be considered an employer of individuals employed by the organization.R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.2-1(a)(13)'s obligations under state or federal law.
Section 28-5.2-4 establishes enforcement protections for employees exercising their rights under the chapter. Subsection (a) prohibits any employer penalty against an employee for seeking their rights. Subsection (b) makes it a violation for an employer to discharge or discriminate against any employee who files a complaint with the attorney general or other agency, assists in an investigation, institutes proceedings, or testifies — with penalties as provided in Title 28. Subsection (c) is a savings clause preserving existing employer obligations under state and federal law.