Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance: Employer Guide
Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) is a wage-replacement benefit built into the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance system. It lets workers take paid time away to care for a family member or bond with a new child. For an employer, taking part means signing up with the state, withholding the worker-funded premium and honoring the program’s notice and reinstatement requirements.
Below you will find eligibility, the length and amount of benefits, how the money moves through payroll, and a short employer checklist. Premium rates and maximum benefit amounts are reset on a regular schedule, so verify any figure with the state before relying on it.
Employers, employees and reasons for leave.
Who qualifies depends on three things: where the work is performed, wage history and the reason for the absence.
Employers. Most people working in Rhode Island, regardless of where they live. Federal, state and some municipal employees are exempt, as are partners and unincorporated self-employed people.
Employees. Wages in Rhode Island with Temporary Disability Insurance deductions in the base period (the first four of the last five completed quarters), meeting a total-wage test or an alternative test. The amounts reset each year.
Reasons for leave. Qualifying reasons include bonding with a new child (birth, adoption or foster placement) during the first year, or caring for a seriously ill family member: a child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, spouse or domestic partner. Beginning January 1, 2026, serving as a bone marrow or living organ donor also qualifies.
How long leave lasts and what it pays.
Benefits replace part of earnings and last for a capped number of weeks.
Duration. Eight weeks per benefit year from January 1, 2026. The limit was seven weeks in 2025.
Pay. Weekly benefits are figured as a percentage of earnings in the highest-paid quarter of the base period, subject to a ceiling of 85 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, plus an add-on for dependents. The numbers are reset annually.
Job protection. The Department’s employer guidance says employers must offer a comparable position after Temporary Caregiver Insurance leave.
How the program is paid for.
Payroll is the funding channel here, and the contribution details are described below.
Funding. Workers fund the program through deductions on Rhode Island wages. Employers remit what they withhold each quarter to the Department, and the agency describes no separate employer contribution. The rate and taxable wage base are published anew every year.
When it started. Temporary Caregiver Insurance benefits have been payable since January 2014.
Employer duties.
What follows is the employer to-do list drawn from agency guidance and the statute.
Core duties. Deduct the Temporary Disability Insurance tax and remit it quarterly, provide wage reports when the Department asks, and display the required notice. Out-of-state employers with Rhode Island staff register with the Employer Tax Unit.
If you are based elsewhere. Rules attach to the place the work is done. A company headquartered outside Rhode Island that has people working there should ask the agency whether registration is required. Michigan-headquartered employers with remote staff in Rhode Island should raise this early.
Check current figures. Premium rates, taxable wage bases and weekly maximums are revised periodically. The linked agency page lists what applies now.
Where this connects.
State programs sit alongside federal FMLA and company leave policy, so the three need to be coordinated.
State Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws
The full list of state programs with effective dates and employer requirements.
FMLA and Group Health Coverage
What FMLA means for keeping employees on the group health plan.
Benefits Compliance Alerts
What changed lately and why plan sponsors should care.
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training · R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 28-41
We map which state programs your employees fall under.
Our team reviews which state programs reach your workers, how withholding and filings flow through payroll, and how state leave coordinates with FMLA and your handbook.
Related pages.
State Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws
The complete list of state programs.
FMLA and Group Health Coverage
FMLA and group health coverage, explained.
USERRA and Employer Health Coverage
Group health rules when an employee is on military leave.
Federal Policy Tracker
A directory of federal benefits laws organized by employer obligation.
Benefits Compliance Alerts
What changed lately and why plan sponsors should care.
A Compliance Calendar for Your Plan Year
Calendar of plan filings, notices and deadlines.
Questions that come up.
Quick answers to common questions, each linking to a full page.
Which employers does Rhode Island’s program cover?
Most people working in Rhode Island, regardless of where they live. Federal, state and some municipal employees are exempt, as are partners and unincorporated self-employed people.
Does Rhode Island’s program protect an employee’s job?
The Department’s employer guidance says employers must offer a comparable position after Temporary Caregiver Insurance leave.
How is Rhode Island’s program funded?
Employees pay through payroll deductions on Rhode Island wages, which employers send quarterly to the Department. The agency describes no employer share. The rate and wage base are set each year.
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