by Nicole D. Spaur, Esq.

Employment laws in New Hampshire are a source of continuing change.  Employers should keep an eye out for bills that, if passed, may directly impact an employer’s practices or policies.  Employment-related bills that have been introduced during this session include the following:

Senate Bill 316, An Act relative to the payment of salaried employees. Under current law, employers are permitted only to prorate a salaried employee’s wages to a daily basis in two circumstances: (1) when a salaried employee is hired after the beginning of a pay period; and (2) when a salaried employee terminates of his own accord.  If the New Hampshire Legislature adopts Senate Bill 316, an employer will also be able to prorate a salaried employee’s salary when the employer terminates the employee for cause.  At this time, the Senate has passed Senate Bill 316.

House Bill 1278-FN-L, An Act relative to the applicable minimum wage for hourly employees.  The issue of whether to raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage is often debated in the New Hampshire Legislature.  House Bill 1278-FN-L proposed to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $6.65 by July 1, 2006.  The House voted House Bill 1278-FN-L inexpedient to legislate. 

House Bill 1344-FN-A, An Act allowing a deduction against the business profits tax for employer-paid insurance premiums.  Early in this legislative session, the House voted House Bill 1344-FN-A inexpedient to legislate.  Had this bill passed, however, it would have allowed businesses to take a deduction against the business profits equal to the total amount of health insurance premiums paid by the taxpayer business for its employees.  The Departments of Revenue Administration and Insurance believed this bill, if enacted, would decrease the State’s unrestricted general fund revenue by undeterminable amounts.

Senate Bill 431, An Act prohibiting the waiver of workers’ compensation subrogation rights and prohibiting certain indemnification provisions in construction-related contracts.  The New Hampshire Legislature passed Senate Bill 431, which amends RSA 281-A:13 of the Workers’ Compensation Act to prohibit any provision in any agreement that requires employers or their insurance carriers to waive any rights of subrogation.  In addition, the bill amends RSA 338-A, governing prohibited contracts, to include a new section that voids “[a]ny provision for or in connection with a contract for construction, reconstruction, installation, alteration, remodeling, repair, demolition, or maintenance work which requires any party to indemnify any person or entity for injury to persons or damage to property not caused by the party or its employees, agents, or subcontractors.”