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New Hampshire Governor Vetoes Paid Family Leave Bill


Last Thursday, New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu vetoed a paid family leave bill that was approved by the New Hampshire Legislature.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1, would have required employers in the state to provide paid family leave insurance to all employees, whether through employers' own efforts or a statewide program that would require 0.5% of weekly wages to be paid to the Department of Employment Security.  That 0.5% deduction could have been covered by employers or been deducted from employees' wages.  As for the specifics of the paid leave itself, employees could have received up to 12 weeks of paid time off at 60% of wages.  The paid leave could have been used for births, adoptions, non-employment related health emergencies, or family illness.  If employers chose to offer an alternative paid family leave plan, they had the ability to do so, so long as it would have provided employees the equivalent of what Senate Bill 1 offered.

Now readers are likely asking themselves:  Ok, what now?  Well, there are a few possibilities here.  1) Democrats, which have majority control in the New Hampshire Legislature could seek to override Governor Sununu's veto.  However, many observers question whether Democrats have the votes to do so.  At this point, short of some Republicans jumping across the aisle, it looks like a veto would not be possible.  2) There is a competing paid leave proposal that Governor Sununu and Vermont Governor Phil Scott have proposed.  That proposal, the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan, would provide voluntary paid family and medical leave to employees in New Hampshire and Vermont.  The funding of it is a bit more complex than Senate Bill 1, although the key takeaway is the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan would not impose a "tax"...which was how Governor Sununu labeled the funding source for Senate Bill 1.

As Governor Sununu has torpedoed the paid leave plan proposed by Democrats in the state, it would not surprise me if Democrats turned around and torpedoed the Governor's plan.  And for workers in New Hampshire, they continue to sit idly by, waiting for paid leave to become a reality in the state.


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