NEW HAMPSHIRE - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• For the purposes of the state’s Unemployment Compensation statute “agricultural labor”  is defined at N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 282-A:19.

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• There is a state minimum wage law. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 279:21.
• Minimum wage rate is the same as the federal minimum wage.
• Current minimum wage is $7.25/hr.
• Agricultural workers are excluded from the state minimum wage. (N.H. REV. STAT. Ann. § 279:21(I)) – “shall not apply to employs engaged in . . . farm labor[.]”

Overtime

• There is a state law regarding overtime pay. (N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 279:21).

• Agricultural workers are not covered by the state overtime law.(N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 279:21(I), (VII)).

• Additional exception: seasonal employees whose employers operate less than 6 months. (N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 279:21(VII)(b))

State Enforcement Agency

New Hampshire Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Administrator
Website: https://www.nh.gov/labor/forms/wage-claim.htm

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law. (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 281-A:5-f)

State Enforcement Agency:
New Hampshire Department of Labor, Workers Compensation Division 

Website: https://www.nh.gov/labor/workers-comp/index.htm
Relevant Forms: https://www.nh.gov/labor/workers-comp/forms.htm

Field Sanitation

• There is no state law regarding field sanitation.

Federal Enforcement Agency:
US DOL, New Hampshire OSHA Office

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/NH/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• •There is a state law regarding pesticide use and safety in agriculture (registration, license and use). (N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 430:28 – 430:49)
• New Hampshire regulations require compliance with the federal WPS. (N.H. CODE ADMIN. R. ANN. Pes 1101.01–1103.05)
• Pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness. (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 140:5) Physicians are required to report within 48 hours.

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Division of Pesticide Control

Website: https://www.agriculture.nh.gov/divisions/pesticide-control/index.htm

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• There is no state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation (such as being fired, demoted, or disciplined) or to engage in collective bargaining with agricultural employers.

State Legal Services Organizations

New Hampshire Legal Advice and Referral Center
http://www.nhlegalaid.org

Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc. (based in Maine) 
http://www.ptla.org