Revision: Jan. 22, 2019, 11:10 a.m.
HB 724-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0716
04/01
HOUSE BILL 724-FN
AN ACT relative to certain rights of employees.
SPONSORS: Rep. Read, Rock. 17; Rep. Josephson, Graf. 11; Rep. Schultz, Merr. 18; Rep. Vann, Hills. 24; Rep. Horrigan, Straf. 6; Rep. King, Hills. 33
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
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ANALYSIS
This bill bans credit checks for any employment-related decision, requires employers to allow a certain amount of rest between work shifts, gives employees advance notice of work schedules, and increases the minimum hourly rate of tipped employees to the minimum hourly rate for all employees.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0716
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT relative to certain rights of employees.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Sections; Labor; Advance Notice of Work Schedule; Use of Credit History Prohibited. Amend RSA 275 by inserting after section 30-a the following new sections:
275:30-b Advance Notice of Work Schedule.
I. An employer with 10 or more employees in this state or 2 or more locations in this state shall provide an employee with a work schedule in writing at least 7 calendar days before the first day of the work schedule. The employer shall notify an employee at the time of hiring of the requirement under this section.
II. The employer shall post the written work schedule in a conspicuous and accessible location, in English and in at least one other language, if not English, that the employer typically uses to communicate with employees.
III. The employer shall provide a written work schedule that runs through the last date of the posted work schedule in effect at the time of delivery to:
(a) A new employee on or before the employee’s first day of work; or
(b) An existing employee on the employee’s first day of work after a leave of absence.
IV. The written work schedule shall include all work shifts and on-call shifts for the work period.
V. If the employer requests changes to the written work schedule after the advance notice required in this section:
(a) The employer shall provide the employee with timely notice of the change by in-person conversation, telephone call, electronic mail, text message or other accessible electronic or written format; and
(b) The employee may decline any work shifts not included in the employee’s written work schedule.
VI. At any time after the advance notice of written work schedule required in this section, an employee may request in writing that the employer add the employee to one or more work shifts or on-call work shifts. Any changes to the employee’s written work schedule resulting from such employee-requested work schedule changes are not subject to the advance notice requirements of this section.
275:30-c Use of Credit History Prohibited. No employer, labor organization, or employment agency shall use or request information in the credit history of a job applicant or employee in connection with or as a criterion for employment decisions related to hiring, termination, promotion, demotion, discipline, compensation, or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment unless the employer is required by state or federal law to use individual credit history for employment purposes, or the employer has a bona fide purpose for requesting or using information in the credit history report that is substantially related to the employee’s current or potential job and the employer complies with the notice and consent requirements of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. section 1681 et seq.
2 Labor; Day of Rest. Amend RSA 275:33 to read as follows:
275:33 Day of Rest; Rest Between Shifts.
I. No employer shall operate any such business on Sunday unless he or she has posted and made available to employees a schedule containing a list of employees who are required or allowed to work on Sunday and designating the day of rest for each. No employee shall be required to work on the day of rest designated for him or her.
II.(a) No employer with 10 or more employees in this state or 2 or more locations in this state shall schedule or require an employee to work during the following rest periods, unless the employee requests or consents to work such hours:
(1) The first 10 hours following the end of the previous calendar day’s work shift or oncall shift; or
(2) The first 10 hours following the end of a work shift or on-call shift that spanned 2 calendar days.
(b) An employer shall compensate an employee for each hour or portion of an hour that the employee works during a rest period described in subparagraph (a) at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.
(c) An employer shall notify an employee of the provisions of this section on the employee's first day of work.
3 Minimum Wage Law; Minimum Hourly Rate. Amend the introductory paragraph in RSA 279:21 to read as follows:
Unless otherwise provided by statute, no person, firm, or corporation shall employ any employee or tipped employee at an hourly rate lower than that set forth in the federal minimum wage law, as amended.
[Tipped employees of a restaurant, hotel, motel, inn or cabin, or ballroom who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips directly from the customers will receive a base rate from the employer of not less than 45 percent of the applicable minimum wage.] If an employee shows to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the actual amount of wages received at the end of each pay period did not equal the minimum wage for all hours worked, the employer shall pay the employee the difference to guarantee the applicable minimum wage. The limitations imposed hereby shall be subject to the following exceptions:
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
19-0716
Revised 1/22/19
HB 724-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to certain rights of employees.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ X ] Highway [ X ] Other - Various Government Funds | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill bans credit checks for any government-related decision, requires employers to allow a certain amount of rest between work shifts, gives employees advance notice of work schedules, and increases the minimum hourly rate of tipped employees to the minimum hourly rate for all employees.
The Department of Labor indicates the proposed bill is unlikely to have an impact on state, county or local revenues. However, there could be additional state revenue attributable to increased fines resulting from compliance inspections, but it is not possible to quantify any potential increase. To the extent government employers have less flexibility in scheduling, it is possible additional staffing costs would be incurred. Also paying a premium to individuals to work during rest periods, or hiring additional staff to cover such periods could result in additional expenditures. The Department has no credible way to quantify such costs. The Department does not anticipate the bill would impact it operations and assumes the additional requirements would be reviewed in conjunction with ongoing compliance inspections and not require additional staff.
The Department of Employment Security indicates the statutory provisions cited within the bill fall within the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and would have no fiscal impact on the Department of Employment Security.
The Department of Administrative Services reports it cannot determine the fiscal impact to state, county, and local government expenditures. Under the assumption the state is an employer required to adhere to this bill, the Department reports it is unknown how many employees may be asked and consent to working during “‘rest periods.” Consequently, the Department reports it cannot ascertain how many hours at the “one and one-half times” pay rate would be paid. The Department also estimates this bill may increase the workload of human resource professionals in government entities, in order to address the schedule notification requirements of this bill.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of Labor, Employment Security and Administrative Services