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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Accrued Hours (Leave) Balances: Leave balances are printed on an employee's bi-weekly pay check or direct deposit receipt. Questions may be directed to your human resources office.
  • Available State Job Announcements: To see what state jobs are available, refer to the RI State Government Job Opportunities website.
  • Benefit Questions: For questions about your benefits, refer to the Office of Employee Benefits website.
  • Employment Verification: If you need verbal verification of your employment and income when applying for a mortgage, loan, leasing an apartment, applying for insurance or other similar situation, these inquiries must be directed to the Division of Human Resources at 401-222-2160. For basic employment inquiries over the phone, no written authorization from the employee is required and only a confirmation of whether the information is correct or incorrect is provided. We do not verbally provide any confidential employment information.

    If more detailed employment information is required, inquiries must be accompanied by written authorization signed by the employee that grants permission for the release of the requested information to the verifying organization(s). All written inquires can be directed to DOA.HRContact@hr.ri.gov.
  • Code of Ethics: Public officials and employees must abide by the standards of conduct as set out in the Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics is comprised of a set of statutory and regulatory provisions which regulate the ethical conduct of elected and appointed public officials as well as state and municipal employees. For more information, see the Guide to the State of Rhode Island Code of Ethics, State of Rhode Island Ethics Commission website and Executive Order 11-01.
  • Recusal: As the Rhode Island Ethics Commission explains, the Code of Ethics provides that public officials and employees must file a statement of conflict of interest, or recusal form, concerning matters where he or she may have a conflict of interest in the discharge of his or her official duties. A conflict of interest may exist if an official or employee can reasonably expect that his or her official conduct will directly result in a financial benefit to the official, his or her family, business associates, employers, or businesses that the official represents. The conflict need not be certain to occur, but the probability must be greater than "conceivably."
  • Hatch Act Information: The Federal Hatch Act restricts the political activities of certain employees in State government whose principal employment is in connection with an activity financed, in whole or in part by federal loans or grants. On December 19, 2012, Congress passed the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012. The Amendment allows most state and local government employees to run for partisan political office. Prior to this change, state and local government employees were prohibited from running for partisan office if they worked in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants. With the change, state and local government employees may now run for partisan office unless the employee’s salary is paid for completely by federal loans or grants. Please do not assume that either your job or your political activities are not subject to the Hatch Act. You should check with your agency's finance officer to see if your job is fully funded by the Federal Government. If you have any questions about whether the Hatch Act applies to you, please contact the United States Office of Special Counsel. For more information, see the Director of Administration's memorandum on Political Activities - RI State Law and Federal Hatch Act Restrictions, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel's Hatch Act Guidance Memo or go to the Office of Special Counsel website. In addition, Rhode Island General Laws prohibits classified employees from seeking the nomination of or being a candidate for any elective State Office and also contain prohibitions on classified employees regarding campaigning for public officials during working hours and soliciting political contributions for or being solicited for political campaigns (for example, see RIGL § 36-4-51 through § 36-4-54). Violations of these statutes can result in demotion or dismissal.