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R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-50-3

Protection

Known as the Rhode Island Whistleblowers’ Protection Act

The act spans §§ 28–28 (9 sections).

Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case Malone v. Lockheed Martin Corp. (2010)

Most recently applied in Dacier v. Anchor Med. Assocs. (August 2018)

P.L. 1995, ch. 308, § 2; P.L. 1999, ch. 104, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 190, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 50, § 1; P.L. 2021, ch. 393, § 1, effective July 13, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 394, § 1, eff…

How often courts cite this section

199620002010201810
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

An employer shall not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee regarding the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment nor shall an employer report or threaten to report an employee’s immigration status to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or any other immigration agency or law enforcement agency including local and state police:

(1) Because the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, reports or is about to report to a public body, verbally or in writing, a violation, that the employee knows or reasonably believes has occurred or is about to occur, of a law or regulation or rule promulgated under the law of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or the United States, unless the employee knows or has reason to know that the report is false; or

(2) Because an employee is requested by a public body to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry held by that public body, or a court action; or

(3) Because an employee refuses to violate or assist in violating federal, state, or local law, rule, or regulation; or

(4) Because the employee reports verbally or in writing to the employer or to the employee’s supervisor a violation, which the employee knows or reasonably believes has occurred or is about to occur, of a law or regulation or rule promulgated under the laws of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or the United States, unless the employee knows or has reason to know that the report is false. Provided, that if the report is verbally made, the employee must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the report was made.

Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.