Hiring Employees for Your NH Business? Make Sure To File and Distribute the Correct Documents

Deciding to hire employees for your NH business is an exciting step, but can be overwhelming given the number of employee forms, documents and posters required by the NHDOL, NHES and NHCHR (not to mention Federal agencies). Here is a brief look at employer requirements with helpful links to the agency forms and posters you will need. Depending on the size of your business and the circumstances of an employee’s employment, all of these documents may not be required — ask an employment lawyer for advice and get off to the right start! 

NH Agency Reqirements and Forms
New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES) requires that businesses submit the following forms when hiring employees:

• Employer Status Report
• New Hire Report Form
• Wage and Tax Report (quarterly).  
• Links to these NHES forms.

Keep in mind that the term “New Hire” has legal meaning that can include services provided by a sole proprietor or independent contractor (see my independent contractor blog below). Therefore, businesses should consult with employment counsel to make sure that the correct documents and information are submitted in a timely manner (e.g., the New Hire Form must be submitted within 20 days of hiring an employee or of qualified services being provided).

Worker’s compensation insurance coverage is required for businesses employing one or more full- or part-time employees. Before deciding that your employees are independent contractors, consult with employment counsel because a misclassification can be costly: a daily fine per uninsured employee can be assessed. Your worker’s compensation insurance carrier is responsible for filing the notice of coverage with New Hampshire Department of Labor (NHDOL). However, businesses should double-check that has been done by going to the NHDOL website and entering the company’s name in the Verification of Coverage field.

Internal Documents
Businesses must complete a W-4 for each employee and a Form I-9 with correct supporting documentation. An incomplete or incorrect Form I-9 can result in NHDOL fines. Businesses are required to keep accurate, written, employment records such as:

• Written notice to employees about rate of pay, how they will be paid (hourly or salary, commissions, piece rate and/or flat rate), when they will be paid and whether and which benefits they will receive. Employees should sign the notice to minimize any disputes later on. The form should be updated and resigned by employees when there is a change to wages and/or benefits.
• Payroll deductions other than those for tax purposes must be in writing and signed by the employee.
• A written waiver signed by the employee must be on record, if an employee will be working through his or her lunch period.
• Employees must be paid weekly, unless a permission request is sought and received from NHDOL.
• Businesses are responsible for keeping track, in writing, of the hours employees work. Any changes to an employee’s time card should be acknowledged by the employee in order to minimize disputes about hours worked later on.
• If you are employing youths (aged under 18), make sure that you are keeping the correct forms on file: Parental Consent Form  and/or Employer’s Request for Child Labor. Both forms may not be required and remember that there are certain prohibitions about the number of hours youths of a certain age can work and about the type of work they can perform.
• NHDOL also provides a helpful New Hire Checklist as a guide. 

NH Employment Posters
In addition, there are state and federal employment rights posters that must be posted in a communal area. Here are the links to posters required by:

• DOL State and Federal posters 
• Employment Security posters
• NH Commission for Human Rights.

Hiring employees and complying with NH’s multiple employment laws can be challenging; however consulting with an experienced employment lawyer who is familiar with and practices before NH state agencies will get your business off to a great start.