R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-3-11 (2026)

Hours of work for children

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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(a) No children under sixteen (16) years of age shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work more than forty (40) hours in any one week in any business or mercantile establishment within this state, and in no case shall the hours of labor exceed eight (8) hours in any one day. No child under eighteen (18) years of age shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any factory, manufacturing, mechanical, business, or mercantile establishment within this state more than forty-eight (48) hours in any one workweek. In no case shall the hours of labor exceed nine (9) hours in any calendar day, except when forty-eight (48) hours are worked in five (5) days, in which case the hours of labor shall not exceed nine and three-fifths (9⅗) hours in any calendar day. There shall be an interval (or period of cessation from work) of not less than eight (8) hours between the ending of the period of work on one calendar day and the beginning of a period of work on the subsequent consecutive calendar day.

(b) No minor between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) years of age regularly attending a public or approved private day school or institution of higher learning shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any factory, manufacturing, mechanical, business, or mercantile establishment within this state before 6:00 a.m. or after 11:30 p.m. of any one day preceding a regularly scheduled school day, except that the minor may be employed or permitted or suffered to work until 1:30 a.m. of any nonregularly scheduled school day.

(c) Any minor between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) may be employed during school vacations without limitation as to the total hours to be worked in a given week or calendar day provided the provisions of all other applicable federal and state laws and regulations are complied with. This provision applies as long as it continues to be permitted by federal law and/or regulation.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1965–2006 · leading case: Deignan v. Cowan Plastic Prods. Corp., 206 A.2d 534 (R.I. 1965).
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Deignan v. Cowan Plastic Prods. Corp., 206 A.2d 534 (R.I. 1965). · cites it 3× “Notwithstanding that the employment of a minor under the age of eighteen is prohibited by §28-3-11, “before 6 o’clock in the morning or after 11 o’clock' in the evening of any day” respondent contends that petitioner is not entitled to 'compensation under §28-33-22 because he…”
Trant v. Lucent Tech., 896 A.2d 710 (R.I. 2006). “1956 § 28-3-12 ("The employment of any minor for a longer time in a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive hours than so stated shall be deemed a violation of § 28-3-11.”) (emphasis added); G.L.1956 § 28-11-2 ("A day's work for all conductors and operators * * * in this state…”
Le Blanc v. Balon, 242 A.2d 295 (R.I. 1968). · cites it 6× “in violation of §28-3-11, as amended: that the accident occurred after 11 p.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.