Leave - New Hampshire

Jury duty

New Hampshire law doesn't require private employers to pay employees for jury duty.

Voting

New Hampshire doesn't have a time-off-for-voting provision.

Crime victim

New Hampshire law provides that employers must allow employees who are victims of a crime to leave work so that they may attend court or other legal or investigative proceedings associated with the prosecution of the crime.

Employers must not discharge an employee who is a victim of a crime because the employee exercises his or her right to leave work. Employers need not compensate an employee who is a victim of a crime and who takes leave to attend court or other legal or investigative proceedings. Employers must maintain the confidentiality of any written documents or records submitted by an employee relative to the employee's request to take leave.

Employer must not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against any employee regarding such employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment because the employee has exercised his or her right to take leave.

Employees who take such leave may elect to use, or an employer may require the employee to use, the employee's accrued paid vacation time, personal leave time, or sick leave time. Employees must not lose seniority while absent from his or her employment.

Before an employee may take leave, he or she must provide his or her employer with a copy of the notice of each scheduled hearing, conference, or meeting that is provided to the employee by the court or agency responsible for providing notice to the employee.

An employer may limit the leave provided if the employee's leave creates an undue hardship to the employer's business. "Undue hardship"' means a significant difficulty and expense to a business, and includes the consideration of the size of the employer's business, the employee's position and role within the business, and the employer's need for the employee.

Emergency service workers

When the governor or the general court declares a state of emergency, a member of a fire department, rescue squad, or emergency medical services agency who is called into service of the state or a political subdivision shall have the right to take leave without pay from his or her place of employment to respond to the emergency. No employer shall require an employee to use or exhaust his or her vacation or other accrued leave for the period of emergency service. The employee may choose to take vacation or other accrued leave for the period of emergency service.

A firefighter, rescue squad member, or emergency medical services member shall be called into service of the state or a political subdivision when his or her services are requested in writing by the director of emergency services, communications, and management or by the head of a local organization for emergency management. The request shall be directed to the chief of the member's fire department, rescue squad, or emergency medical services agency and a copy shall be provided to the member's employer.

An employer may certify to the director of emergency services, communications, and management or to the head of the local emergency management agency that the employee is essential to the employer's own emergency or disaster relief activities. Such certification shall exempt an employee from the provisions allowing leave.