R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-29-6: Employers subject to law.

Every person, firm, and private corporation, including any public service corporation, including the state, that regularly employs employees in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, and a city or town in this state that votes to accept the provisions of those chapters in the manner provided shall constitute an employer subject to the provisions of chapters 29 — 38 of this title.