2017 Rhode Island Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2017 Rhode Island Tipped Minimum Wage is $3.89.
Effective 2017-01-01Source: A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Wait staff and other tipped employees in Rhode Island whose employer counts tips toward the state minimum wage.
What changed this year, and why
Rhode Island's minimum cash wage for wait staff has been $3.89 per hour since January 1, 2017. Tips have to bring the total up to the full state minimum wage for every hour worked.
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum wage in Rhode Island in 2017?
- Rhode Island's minimum cash wage for wait staff was $3.89 per hour, effective January 1, 2017. The employee's tips had to bring total pay up to the full state minimum wage.
- Who sets the Rhode Island tipped cash wage?
- The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training administers the state's wage and hour laws and publishes the wait staff cash wage in its guidebook to Rhode Island's wage and workplace laws.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Rhode Island, you count as a tipped employee if you work in an occupation where it is customary to receive gratuities. This typically includes wait staff, bus persons, and other service workers who regularly receive tips from customers. Once you meet this definition, your employer may pay you the minimum cash wage of $3.89 per hour and claim a tip credit, as long as certain conditions are met. However, you must still receive enough in tips plus the cash wage to reach the full minimum wage for all hours worked.
An employee working in an occupation where it is customary to receive gratuities must be paid the stated minimum rates.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Rhode Island, the tip credit is the amount your employer can count your tips toward meeting the minimum wage obligation. For 2017, the minimum cash wage is $3.89 per hour, and the employer may credit tips up to 50% of the applicable minimum wage. This means your employer pays you at least $3.89 in cash wages, and your tips make up the rest to reach the full minimum wage. The maximum tip credit varies by year as shown in the wage tables, but the cash wage remains at $3.89 per hour. Your employer must keep signed statements from you certifying the tips received as part of permanent payroll records.
The amount of gratuities credited may not exceed 50% of the applicable minimum wage.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
If your tips plus the $3.89 minimum cash wage do not equal the full minimum wage in Rhode Island, your employer must make up the difference. This ensures you always receive at least the full minimum wage for every hour worked, regardless of how much you earn in tips on any given day or week. The employer cannot use a bad week to justify paying you less than minimum wage overall.
An employee working in an occupation where it is customary to receive gratuities must be paid the stated minimum rates.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before taking a tip credit in Rhode Island, your employer must have received and kept as part of permanent payroll records a statement signed by you certifying the amount of gratuities credited has been received. The employer must maintain these signed statements as part of the payroll records. This requirement protects you by ensuring there is documentation of what you actually received in tips.
The employer must have received and kept as part of permanent payroll records for that week a statement signed by the employee certifying the amount of gratuities, as credited, has been received.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When both Rhode Island and federal law apply to tipped employees, the higher or more restrictive standard takes precedence. This means if one law provides better protections for you as a worker, your employer must follow that more protective rule. For example, if the state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum, or if state law requires better tip protections, the employer must comply with whichever standard benefits you more.
Where there is coverage under both state and federal law the higher or more restrictive standard takes precedence.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In Rhode Island, gratuities are defined as voluntary monetary compensation received by you for services rendered. This means all tips you receive belong to you as the employee. Your employer cannot keep any portion of your tips, whether directly or through managers or supervisors. The only exception is when you voluntarily participate in a valid tip pool with other employees who customarily receive tips.
Gratuities shall mean voluntary monetary compensation received by the employee for services rendered.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Rhode Island, tip pooling arrangements are limited to employees who work in occupations where it is customary to receive gratuities. This means your employer can require you to participate in a tip pool only with other workers like wait staff, bus persons, and other traditionally tipped positions. Non-tipped workers such as cooks or dishwashers cannot be included in the tip pool, even if the employer wants to share tips more broadly.
An employee working in an occupation where it is customary to receive gratuities must be paid the stated minimum rates.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
Doing two jobs for one employer
When you perform both tipped and non-tipped work for the same employer in Rhode Island, you are considered a tipped employee only with respect to your tipped occupation. For time spent on non-tipped duties, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage without claiming any tip credit. This ensures you receive proper compensation for all types of work you perform, not just the work that generates tips.
An employee working in an occupation where it is customary to receive gratuities must be paid the stated minimum rates.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
A Guidebook to Rhode Island's Wage and Workplace Laws (Rev. 12/2024) (Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training)
- Minimum cash wage
Commencing January 1, 2017, wait staff must be paid at least $3.89 per hour and the number of tips received must bring this amount to $14.00 as of January 1, 2024, for all hours worked.
Other years
Every Rhode Island Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state