R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-41-2
Notwithstanding any provisions of chapters 39 - 41 of this title to the contrary, "wages" as used in the phrase "wages for employment from employers" means, with reference to the benefits provisions of chapters 39 - 41 of this title, only those wages which are paid subsequent to the date upon which the employing unit, by whom those wages were paid, has satisfied the conditions of § 28-39-2(12) with respect to becoming an employer subject to those chapters. No individual shall be denied benefits under chapters 39 - 41 of this title because his or her employer continued to pay to that individual his or her regular wages, or parts of them, while he or she was sick and unable to perform his or her regular or customary work or services. The amount of any payments, whether or not under a plan or system, made to or on behalf of an employee by his or her employer after the expiration of six (6) calendar months following the last calendar month in which the employee performed actual bona fide personal services for that employer, shall not be deemed to be wages for the purpose of being used as a basis for paying benefits under chapter 41 of this title.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-41-2