Gov. Dan McKee took to the Rhode Island State House Wednesday afternoon for a ceremonial signing of two bills he approved nearly two months ago that will expand Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) — the state’s form of paid family leave.
McKee may have waited to celebrate the bills, but Rhode Islanders will also have to wait to enjoy the new law’s benefits, as they don’t kick in until Jan. 1, 2027. The perks include gradually raising TCI’s weekly income replacement from 60% to 70% of a worker’s usual wages. The wage replacement will rise again to 75% of full weekly income on Jan. 1, 2028.
The legislation also increases the taxable wage base for Temporary Disability Insurance — TCI’s funding source — from $38,000 to $100,000 to boost the program’s solvency.
The new law builds on legislation approved last year that lengthened paid family leave from six to seven weeks. That law went into effect on Jan. 1, and starting Jan. 1, 2026, qualifying workers will be eligible for a full eight weeks. By the time the 2025 legislation goes into effect, workers will be able to enjoy a full eight weeks of benefits, with the income replacement calculated by a formula based on a worker’s highest quarter of earnings.
“By expanding paid family leave, we are reinforcing the message that workers in Rhode Island should not have to choose between their paycheck and their family,” McKee said in a statement. “This expansion of the wage replacement rate helps us stay competitive and a national leader on this issue.”
McKee first OK’d the legislation on June 26, shortly after the end of the 2025 legislative session, when the bills sponsored by Senate President Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, and Rep. Joshua Giraldo, a Central Falls Democrat, passed both chambers. Lawson and Giraldo joined McKee, advocates, and labor leaders Wednesday for the signing ceremony.
In 2013, Rhode Island became the third state in the nation to offer paid parental leave — an amenity that’s common in other wealthy countries, but not in the United States. Neighboring states Connecticut and Massachusetts both provide benefits for longer than Rhode Island does — up to 12 weeks — but use more complex payment formulas.
Connecticut benefits are tied to the state minimum wage and max out at $981 a week, replacing up to 95% of weekly pay for lower earners. Massachusetts calculates benefits based on the “state average weekly wage” for a maximum benefit of around $1,170 a week. In Rhode Island, benefits are currently capped at $1,103 weekly.
Lawson echoed McKee and said in a statement the legislation will help Rhode Island catch up in temporary leave benefits after having “fallen behind other states.”
“A society in which people have the time to bond with their babies and care for their loved ones is a healthier society, in every sense of the word,” Lawson said. “This proven program is funded not through employers but through a modest assessment on the workers themselves.”
Giraldo said in his own statement that “the gift of time that TCI provides is priceless,” given his own experiences caring for his prematurely born daughter.
Lawson and Giraldo also sponsored the bills approved last year that expanded the amount of time workers were eligible for paid leave. The successful versions of these bills followed an initial push for 12 weeks of benefits, which was eventually whittled down to the model now in effect.
The newly approved legislation does, however, accomplish a goal left unfulfilled from last year’s efforts by adding siblings to the roster of eligible family members for whom workers can take paid leave.
Rhode Island’s paid family leave is funded entirely through payroll deductions and allows workers to take time to bond with a new child or care for an ill family member, such as a parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, sibling, or in-law. Eligible workers include people who earn their income in Rhode Island, pay into the TDI fund, and make at least $18,000 annually, or meet an alternate threshold.
According to a legislative press release, when the bills passed in June, workers making up to $89,200 will see no increase in contributions. A person making a salary of $100,000 would see a weekly increase of about $2.70 a week.
Full details about the program, including applications, are available on the Department of Labor and Training’s website.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
