Hours Worked in New Hampshire: What Time Is Paid in New Hampshire?

All employees need to be compensated for their work on the job. There are even circumstances where certain hours must be paid even when job-related duties are not performed. As the employer, it is crucial to understand when employee time should be paid so your business can accurately process payroll and maintain compliance in New Hampshire.

Hours Worked in New Hampshire

When it comes to New Hampshire Payroll Laws, a good starting point is to understand what is considered "hours worked" and when employees need to be compensated. This is crucial for compliance, and accurate paychecks. 

Here is everything you need to know about what is considered  “hours worked” and paid time in New Hampshire:

What Are Hours Worked?

“Hours worked” is defined as any time spent on the work premises or any time that the employee must be on duty. 

However, there are many instances where hours worked can include off-premises or inactive duties such as travel time, sleep time, or other specified periods of inactivity. Many of these exceptions vary according to the job’s needs. These exceptions may also have specific requirements that need to be met for these hours to be considered “hours worked”, and ultimately be compensated.

Typically, employees must at least be compensated at the New Hampshire minimum wage rate. They must also receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for "hours worked" over 40 each workweek under New Hampshire overtime laws.

It is key for all employers to track all instances of “hours worked” to ensure proper and accurate pay is provided to the workforce. These earnings must be distributed as itemized paychecks to the employee. 

Hours Worked Definitions in New Hampshire

Aside from New Hampshire’s Required Pay Law, and mandated meal breaks, the state has no definitions or requirements around hours worked and compensation. As such, New Hampshire employers must adhere to the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the following scenarios:

• Employee Compensation for Waiting
• Employee Rest Breaks
• Compensation for On-Call Time
• Compensation for Sleep Time
• Compensation for Travel
• Compensation for Training Sessions

Compensation for Meal Breaks

New Hampshire law requires employers to provide an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes for all employees working over 5 consecutive hours. 

However, if an employer can not allow for a thirty-minute break, then the employee must be paid if they are eating and working at the same time.

New Hampshire Required Pay Law

According to New Hampshire labor laws, any employee who is requested to work by their employer must be compensated for at least 2 hours worked at his or her regular rate of pay, regardless of how long they actually worked. 

However, some employees are exempt from this condition, including:

• Employees of counties or municipalities
• Ski and snowboard instructional employees at ski resorts provided that these employees receive other compensation that is at least equal to their rate of pay 
• Employers who make a good-faith effort to notify an employee not to report to work

Get Help with Managing New Hampshire Payroll Compensation

Knowing the ins and outs of “hours worked” is the foundation of the payroll process. New Hampshire employers should be aware of all employee activities that are counted as paid hours to avoid payroll errors and maintain compliance by compensating their workforce appropriately. Additionally, employers need to understand New Hampshire paycheck timing requirements, so that when hours worked are collected, payments are made on-time.

Modern payroll software can help strengthen workplace compliance, sustain payroll accuracy, and allow employees access to paychecks and pay history at any time and place. Learn more about how Trivantus can help New Hampshire businesses boost their payroll capabilities and contact us today.