Rhode Island General Laws Title 23. Health and Safety § 23-1.1-8. Report of violations by employees--Inspection

(a) Any employee or representative of employees who believes that a violation of a health code exists that threatens physical harm, or that an imminent danger exists, may request an inspection by giving notice to the director of the violation or danger. Any notice shall be presented in writing, shall set forth with reasonable particularity the grounds for the notice, and shall be signed by the employee or representative of employees. Upon receipt of the notification, the director shall provide a copy to the employer or the employer's agent not later than at the time of inspection, except that upon the request of the person giving the notice, his or her name and the name of the individual employee referred to in the notice shall not appear in the copy or in any record published, released, or made available. If, upon receipt of the notification, the director determines there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists, he or she shall make a special inspection in accordance with the provisions of this section as soon as practicable, to determine if a violation or danger exists. If the director determines that there are not reasonable grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists, he or she shall notify the employee or representative of the employees, in writing, of that determination.

(b) Prior to or during any inspection of a workplace, any employee or representative of employees employed in the workplace may notify the director, in writing, of any violation of this chapter which the employee or representative has reason to believe exists in the workplace. The director of labor and training shall, by regulation, establish procedures for informal review of any refusal by representatives of the director of health to issue a compliance order with respect to any alleged violation and the director shall furnish the employee or representative of employees requesting the review a written statement of the reasons for the director's final disposition of the case.

(c) A representative of the employer and a representative authorized by the employees shall be given the opportunity to accompany the compliance inspector during a physical inspection of the workplace for the purpose of aiding the inspection. Where there is no authorized employee representative, the compliance inspector shall consult with a reasonable number of employees concerning matters of health in the workplace.