SB618 (2020) Detail

Requiring employers to provide access to a sufficient space for nursing mothers and reasonable break time.


SB 618-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

 

03/05/2020   0780s

2020 SESSION

20-2764

04/08

 

SENATE BILL 618-FN

 

AN ACT requiring employers to provide access to a sufficient space for nursing mothers and reasonable break time.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Rep. Butler, Carr. 7

 

COMMITTEE: Commerce

 

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires certain employers to provide access to a sufficient space and a reasonable break period for nursing mothers to express milk during working hours.  The bill also provides for a nursing employers tax credit against the business profits tax and the business enterprise tax for expenses incurred by an employer to make sufficient space available for nursing 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/05/2020   0780s 20-2764

04/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT requiring employers to provide access to a sufficient space for nursing mothers and reasonable break time.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Subdivision; Policies Relating to Nursing Employees.  Amend RSA 275 by inserting after section 77 the following new subdivision:

Policies Relating to Nursing Employees

275:78  Policies Relating to Nursing Mothers.  In this subdivision:

I.  "Employee" shall mean a person who may be permitted, required, or directed by an employer in consideration of direct or indirect gain or profit but shall not include any individual who volunteers services for a public, charitable, or religious facility without expectation or promise of pay.

II.  "Employer" shall mean a person, partnership, association, corporation, or legal representative of a person, partnership, association, or corporation, or the state or any of its political subdivisions, which has 6 or more employees working in the state.

III.  "Expression of milk" means the initiation of lactation by manual or mechanical means but shall not include breastfeeding.

IV.  "Reasonable break period" shall mean an unpaid break of no less than 30 minutes for every 3 hours of work performed for a nursing employee for the purpose of expressing milk.

275:79  Notification of Policies.  

I.  Every employer shall adopt a policy to address the provision of sufficient space and reasonable break periods for nursing employees that need to express milk during working hours.

II.  Every employer shall, at the time of hire, make available to its employees the employer's policy related to expression of milk during working hours.

III.  A nursing employee shall notify its employer at least 2 weeks prior to needing reasonable break periods and sufficient space for expression of milk during work hours.

275:80  Sufficient Space.

I.  Every employer shall provide access to reasonable, sufficient space, either temporary or permanent in nature, for the use of an employee to express milk for a nursing child for a period of one year form the date of birth of the child.

II.  The location of the reasonable space provided shall be within close proximity to the employees worksite, unless otherwise mutually agreed to by the employer and employee.

III.  Sufficient space provided in accordance with this section shall not be a bathroom, and shall be a private, secure, sanitary space shielded from view and intrusion.

(a)  If the private space is not solely for the use of employees expressing milk it shall be made available when requested to comply with the requirements set forth in this subdivision.

(b)  If feasible, the room shall have, at a minimum, an electrical outlet and a chair.

275:81  Reasonable Break Period.

I.  Every employer shall provide reasonable break periods to employees who need to express milk for a child for a period of one year from the date of birth of the child.  Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from providing reasonable break periods to express milk in excess of this requirement.

II.  Nothing under this subdivision shall preclude an employee from taking a reasonable break period contemporaneously with break or meal periods already provided to the employee by the employer.

III.  An employer shall not require an employee to make up time related to use of unpaid reasonable break periods.

275:82  Penalties.  Any employer who violates any provision of this subdivision shall be subject to a civil penalty pursuant to RSA 273:11-a.

275:83  Hardship Exemption.  An employer may be exempted from this subdivision if providing reasonable break time and sufficient space for expressing milk would substantially disrupt the employer's operations.

275:84  Tax Credit for Employers of Nursing Employees.

I.  There shall be a tax credit allowed for expenses incurred by an employer to make sufficient space available for nursing employees as required in this subdivision.  

II.  The amount of the tax credit shall be the lesser of:

(a)  The expenses incurred by the employer in the taxable period to make sufficient space available for nursing employees as provided in RSA 275:80;

(b)  The employer's proportional share of the maximum aggregate tax credit amount allowed in paragraph III; or

(c)  $5,000.   

III.  The aggregate of all tax credits shall not exceed $250,000 in any state fiscal year, except that any amount less than $250,000 that is not awarded in such fiscal year may be awarded in the next fiscal year.  In the case in which the aggregate tax credits claimed during the state fiscal year exceed the amount available, each employer shall receive a tax credit for the proportional share of the maximum aggregate tax credit amount.

IV.  An employer shall apply for the tax credit on forms provided by the commissioner of the department of labor, accompanied by information or records required by the commissioner, in accordance with rules adopted under RSA 541-A.  Such application shall be postmarked no later than January 31 following the taxable period in which the expenses were incurred.

V.  A determination on the final amount of the tax credit awarded by the commissioner of the department of labor to each employer claiming the tax credit shall be made no later than March 31 of each year.  The commissioner shall certify to the commissioner of the department of revenue administration the tax credit awarded to each employer.  

VI.  The tax credit or any unused portion thereof may be carried forward for 5 taxable periods from the taxable period in which the expenses were incurred.  

VII.  For the purpose of RSA 77-A:5, X, the tax credit allowed under this section shall be considered taxes paid under RSA 77-E.

2  New Section; Business Enterprise Tax Credit; Nursing Employees Tax Credit.  Amend RSA 77-E by inserting after section 3-d the following new section:

77-E:3-e  Nursing Employees Tax Credit.  The nursing employees tax credit as computed in RSA 275:84 shall be allowed against the tax due under this chapter.  

3  New Paragraph; Business Profits Tax; Credits; Nursing Employees Tax Credit.  Amend RSA 77-A:5 by inserting after paragraph XVI the following new paragraph:

XVII.  The unused portion of any tax credit awarded by the commissioner as computed in RSA 275:84.  

4  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 120 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

20-2764

Amended 3/9/20

 

SB 618-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2020-0780s)

 

AN ACT requiring employers to provide access to a sufficient space for nursing mothers and reasonable break time.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

Indeterminable Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [ X ] Other - Various Government Funds

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires certain employers to provide access to a sufficient space and a reasonable break period for nursing mothers to express milk during working hours.  The bill also provides for a nursing employers tax credit against the business enterprise tax for expenses incurred by an employer to make sufficient space available for nursing employees.

 

The Department of Administrative Services, Division of Personnel identified the following  provisions of this bill that may have an impact on state expenditures:

  • The bill would require a minimum break of 30 minutes for every 3 hours of work performed.  Although the break is unpaid, the impact on productivity and the potential cost are indeterminable.
  • The costs to create and publish a policy, educate employees about the policy, and enforce the policy are indeterminable.
  • The cost to provide private, secure and sanitary space in close proximity to the employee's work site is also unknown.  Some employers may already have such space  and others may need to make modifications to existing space.

 

The Department of Labor indicates, apart from the tax credit,  the bill is unlikely to have any impact on state, county or local revenue.  The Department assumes state county and local governments would incur costs to achieve compliance with the requirements of the bill.  The Department does not have information relative to current government facilities or capacity of governments to make the separate space available.  The Department would create forms and processes for the receipt, review and approval or rejection of applications for the tax credit.  The Department is not able to estimate the cost to administer a process for reviewing the tax credit applications.  In addition, the Department assumes it would need to review whether employers are in compliance with mandates of the bill.  The Department does not expect it would need additional staff for compliance review.

 

The Department of Revenue Administration states the bill provides for a Nursing Employees Tax Credit (NETC) of up to $5,000 for an employer's cost to make sufficient space available for nursing employees.  The NETC must first be applied to the Business Enterprise Tax and any unused portion against the Business Profits Tax.  The NETC, or any unused portion, may be carried forward for 5 taxable periods from the period in which the expenses were incurred.  Employers must apply for the NETC to the Department of Labor by January 31st following the taxable period in which the expenses were incurred.  By March 31st, the Department of Labor would certify the total amount of the NETC awarded and the amount awarded to each employer to the Department of Revenue Administration.  The aggregate of all credits awarded shall not exceed $250,000.  If the total credits exceed $250,000, employers would receive a proportional share.  The Department indicates the bill would decrease business tax revenue by an indeterminable amount beginning in FY 2021.  The Department does no know to what extent employers would incur costs to make space available for nursing employees or whether they would be awarded NETCs.  Although the aggregate credit amount is limited to $250,000, taxpayers can carry forward unused credits for up to 5 taxable periods.  The Department assumes it could administer the provisions of the bill without incurring additional expenditures.  

 

The New Hampshire Municipal Association indicates the required break period is not likely to affect municipal expenditures.  The requirement to provide a separate space is likely to require additional expenditures for those workplaces that do not have existing space for such use or space which could easily be converted.  The Association indicates it is unclear how employer exemptions would be determined and granted.  There would be no impact on municipal revenues.

 

The New Hampshire Association of Counties indicates this bill would not result in additional cost to the counties.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Departments of Administrative Services, Labor and Revenue Administration, New Hampshire Municipal Association and New Hampshire Association of Counties

 

Links


Date Body Type
Jan. 22, 2020 Senate Hearing
March 5, 2020 Senate Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

SB618 Revision: 8220 Date: March 9, 2020, 2:23 p.m.
SB618 Revision: 7950 Date: Jan. 14, 2020, 12:29 p.m.

Docket


June 16, 2020: Pending Motion Interim Study; 06/16/2020; SJ 8


June 16, 2020: Placed on Laid on Table Consent List and Laid on Table, MA, VV; 06/16/2020; SJ 8


March 19, 2020: Committee Report: Referred to Interim Study SC 11


March 5, 2020: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2020-0780s, MA, VV; Refer to Finance Rule 4-5; 03/05/2020; SJ 5


March 5, 2020: Committee Amendment # 2020-0780s, AA, VV; 03/05/2020; SJ 5


March 5, 2020: Sen. D'Allesandro moved to Refer to Finance Rule 4-5; 03/05/2020; SJ 5


March 5, 2020: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2020-0780s, 03/05/2020; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 9


Jan. 22, 2020: Hearing: 01/22/2020, Room 100, SH, 01:15 pm; SC 3


Jan. 8, 2020: Introduced 01/08/2020 and Referred to Commerce; SJ 2