New Hampshire Law Alert

New Hampshire Adds Protections for Volunteer Firefighters and EMTs Effective August 13, 2024, employers of all sizes will be prohibited from taking adverse action against volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) for reporting late to work...

What do we do if we find a discrepancy in a background check?

It depends on the seriousness of the discrepancy, whether the information is pertinent to the job itself, and whether the candidate would be ineligible for the position. You probably don’t need to make an issue of a minor variance like a candidate telling you they...

We have a longtime employee who’s no longer meeting expectations. The owner is afraid to hold them accountable because they’re over 40 and therefore in a protected class. What can we do?

In general, you shouldn’t let an employee’s protected class status deter you from holding them accountable to your performance expectations. After all, everyone belongs to protected classes. Being in one simply means you can’t be treated differently because you’re in...

Are there questions or topics we should avoid during the hiring process? How can we be sure we don’t accidentally get into one of those topics?

Answered by the HR Experts You should avoid asking questions that could be viewed as discriminatory or that infringe on a candidate’s privacy. Essentially, you want to avoid any questions that are not directly related to the candidate’s ability to perform the job....

Do we need to pay summer interns?

Answered by the HR Experts Generally, yes, though it depends on who benefits most from their work. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted the “primary beneficiary test” to determine whether a worker is an employee (who must be paid in accordance...

Does the National Labor Relations Act apply to my business if we don’t have a union?

Answered by the HR Experts It does! Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to limit certain labor and management practices that can harm the general...