relative to employer discretion in offering minimum payment options to employees.
HB 1043 allows employers to create their own pay policies for employees who report to work at the employer's request, making the existing statutory minimum pay requirement (2 hours' pay at regular rate) apply only if the employer has no alternative policy. It directly affects most private-sector employees who report to work, excluding county/municipal employees and ski resort instructors who receive equivalent alternative compensation. The bill does not change the minimum pay standard but gives employers flexibility to set higher or different policies that meet or exceed the baseline. Employers who make a good-faith effort to notify employees not to report to work are not liable for pay under this section. The bill amends RSA 275:43-a and takes effect 60 days after passage.
Bill status
passed both
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Governor
Introduced Nov 7, 2025
Last action May 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
As Amended by the House
·
1 edit
MINOR
The House amendment adds a single but significant word: 'written' before 'policy' in the required pay provision. Employers who want to set a different minimum pay policy (potentially less than 2 hours) must now have that policy in writing, rather than being able to rely on an informal or verbal arrangement. This makes it harder for employers to claim they had an alternative policy in place.
REQUIREMENT
Employers who want to deviate from the default 2-hour minimum pay rule must now have a 'written' policy, not just any policy. Previously, an informal or verbal policy could satisfy the exception; now it must be documented in writing.
Floor votes · House Mar 12, 2026
How they voted
104–93
Passed · 25 other
Total votes 222
Mar 12, 2026
D
Democratic107
86% Nay
I
Independent2
50% Yea
R
Republican113
91% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
14
Key actions
6
Committee
5
Amendments
1
May 7, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass: DIV 9Y-12N, MF; 05/07/2026; SJ 11
upper
Apr 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/07/2026, Vote 3-2; SC 17
upper
Mar 17, 2026
Introduced
Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Commerce; SJ 7
upper
Mar 12, 2026
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (104-93-25)
house
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0386h: MA RC 189-155 03/12/2026 HJ 8 P. 14
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Introduced
Amendment # 2026-0386h: AA DV 341-4 03/12/2026 HJ 8 P. 14
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0386h 02/03/2026 (Vote 11-9; RC) HC 10 P. 60
lower
Nov 7, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services HJ 1 P. 3
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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