NH Legal Perspective: Time for New Hampshire employers to focus on new policies
This article, written by attorney Liz Bailey, was originally published by the NH Union Leader and can be found here.
Now is an opportune time for New Hampshire employers to update their employment policies to reflect recent employee-friendly legal protections.
Nursing employee protections
As of July 1, 2025, employers with six or more employees must comply with RSA 275: 78-83. This law, which the New Hampshire Department of Labor (NH DOL) enforces, requires covered employers to:
1. Adopt a policy which addresses:
The provision of sufficient space and reasonable break periods for nursing employees who need to express milk.
How the employee notifies the employer about the need for sufficient space and reasonable break periods.
2. Provide all current employees with the policy, and provide the policy to new hires.
3. Provide access to reasonable, sufficient space for an employee to use to express milk during working hours. This space can be temporary or permanent.
A “reasonable, sufficient space” is within a reasonable walk of the employee’s worksite, unless the employer and employee mutually agree otherwise. The space must: not be a bathroom, be clean, and shielded from view and free from intrusion. If feasible, at minimum the space should have an electric outlet and a chair. If not solely for the use of employees expressing milk, the space must be available when requested in compliance with this law. The employer must make this space available to the nursing employee for a period of one year from the date of birth of the child.
A ”reasonable break period” means an unpaid break of approximately 30 minutes for every three hours of work performed by the nursing employee, for the purpose of expressing milk. This reasonable break period must be provided for a period of one year from the date of birth of the child; however, an employer may negotiate with an employee for different reasonable break periods to express milk. The employee may take a reasonable break period contemporaneously with the break/meal periods the employer already provides. The employer shall not require the employee to make up time related to the employee’s use of unpaid, reasonable break periods.
An employer may be exempted from this law if the employer can demonstrate an “undue hardship” to its operations. However, this undue hardship standard may be difficult for most employers to meet. If a covered employer violates this statute, the employer could be fined up to $2,500.
Parental medical leave protections
Effective Jan. 1, 2026, New Hampshire employers with 20 or more employees will be covered by RSA 275:37-f, also administered by the NH DOL.
Eligible employees may take up to 25 hours of unpaid leave during the first year after the birth/adoption of a child to:
Attend the employee’s own childbirth-related medical appointments.
Attend post-partum care appointments.
Attend the child’s pediatric medical appointments.
If both parents of the child work for the same employer, they are limited to a total of 25 hours.
Employees requesting this leave must provide reasonable advance notice and make reasonable efforts to schedule appointments to minimize workplace disruption. Employers may ask for documentation to verify proper use of the leave.
Although this leave is unpaid, employees “shall be permitted to substitute any accrued vacation time or other appropriate paid leave for any leave taken.”
This new leave law also provides reinstatement rights.
Other legal protections
Employers should remember New Hampshire’s existing maternity leave protections, and that federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the PUMP Act may also apply.
New Hampshire employers should supplement employment policies before the start of 2026 to address these legal developments.