Committee compromises on wage-claim timing, extending employer response window to 20 days

The Committee on Commerce adopted a committee amendment to House Bill 1168 that extends the employer response time to a wage claim from 10 calendar days to 20 calendar days and then voted to move the bill out of committee.

Representative Brian Labrie introduced HB1168, saying 10 days is insufficient for employers, especially small businesses, to retrieve archived payroll records and that 30 days is a reasonable expectation. Supporters including Aubrey Friedman and the National Federation of Independent Business urged extended timelines to give smaller employers a fair chance to respond; opponents, including the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire, argued additional delay would harm employees awaiting wages.

Danielle Albert, Deputy Commissioner at the New Hampshire Department of Labor, said the department is neutral and clarified that the bill would change the employer response time to 30 calendar days as originally proposed; the committee ultimately compromised on 20 days. The committee adopted the committee amendment (20 days) and then approved the bill by voice vote, moving it forward with the amendment.