Effective August 13, 2024, under HB182, employers are prohibited from retaliating against any employee who fails to report at the start of their work hours because they are responding as a voluntary member of a fire or ambulance department to an emergency they witnessed on the way to work.
Next Steps
As a reminder, employers in New Hampshire are required to provide time off to employees who are members of a fire department, rescue squad, or emergency medical services agency when they are called to respond to events declared an emergency by the governor or the general court. However, employers are not required to compensate non-exempt employees for the time missed.
Employers should update their leave policies to include provisions for protection against both discrimination and retaliation.
Additionally, employers should ensure that supervisors and managers are trained to recognize and avoid retaliatory actions, thereby minimizing the risk of discrimination or retaliation claims in the workplace.
