Rhode Island issues incorrect W-2s listing “State of Rhode Island Umbrella Company” as employer

The State of Rhode Island issued W-2 forms to government employees incorrectly listing the employer as the “State of Rhode Island Umbrella Company.”

This is the latest misstep tied to the state’s troubled rollout of its centralized payroll and human resources system, Workday.

Rhode Island state employees are still reporting extensive issues with the state’s new payroll system, which launched in mid-November 2025. Since its rollout, workers have encountered numerous problems, such as inaccurate paychecks, mistakes in holiday and overtime compensation, incorrect Paid Time Off calculations, and payroll deductions that were not properly deposited into their investment accounts.

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system took six years to design and implement, with the objective of updating state operations by bringing payroll, human resources, and other internal IT functions into a single unified system across state government.

The ERP initiative originated during the administration of Governor Gina Raimondo, who unveiled the plan in December 2019. Since then, project expenses have risen significantly, increasing from an estimated $69 million in 2021 to about $91 million in 2025.

As payroll problems continue, Rhode Island Council 94, the state’s largest public workers union, has representatives meeting with unions in Oregon to review potential legal approaches and learn how Oregon addressed similar challenges.