Dear Reader,

On behalf of the dedicated staff at Rhode Island's Department of Labor and Training, I welcome you to our web site. Every year we assist thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals as they seek to reach their full potential.

One of our primary responsibilities is the protection and advancement of Rhode Island's workforce. We help connect people with meaningful employment (netWORKri Centers) when they are unemployed, underemployed, or simply want to change careers. We also provide income support through our Unemployment Insurance, Temporary Disability Insurance or Workers' Compensation programs to assist workers during difficult periods. Our goal is to facilitate a rapid return to work and to help Rhode Island employers remain competitive. Workers can be confident that we have their best interests in mind as we enforce rigorous safety regulations and monitor wage standards and employment practices.

The key to making Rhode Island a better place to live and work is economic vibrancy. Toward that end, we help create a business-friendly environment via: grants, specialized employee training, tax credits, assistance during temporary slowdowns, effective recruiting, planning information, and instruction on regulatory compliance. We've worked hard to strengthen partnerships (Employer Services) between the business community and state and local workforce systems and have fostered industry clusters to speed the development of promising growth sectors.

I thank you for visiting our web site and trust that it will provide answers to any questions you may have about our many programs and services. Our home page will guide you to the unit that can best meet your needs. I welcome any suggestions you may have on how to improve this web site to make it more useful to the public.

Sincerely,

Adelita S. Orefice
Director