Effective January 1, 2026: New Hampshire’s New Law Providing Leaves of Absence to Attend Medical Appointments for Childbirth, Po

Beginning January 1, 2026, employers covered by a new state statute, N.H. RSA 275:37-f (employers with at least 20 employees are covered), will be required to provide eligible employees with up to 25 hours of unpaid leave from work, within the first year of the child’s birth or adoption, to attend either (1) the employee’s own medical appointments for childbirth or postpartum care, or (2) the employee’s child’s pediatric medical appointments.

Where both parents of a child work for the same employer, the employer must provide only a total of 25 hours of unpaid leave collectively for both parents in their child’s first year.

While employers are not required to pay employees for this leave time, employers must allow (but not require) an employee to substitute any available paid leave for leave taken under this statute.

Prior to taking such leave, employees are required to provide their employer with reasonable notice, in addition to making a reasonable effort to schedule the leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. An employee may also be required to provide documentation to their employer to allow the employer to confirm that the leave is being utilized properly.

The employee’s original job must be made available to the employee when the employee returns from such leave.

This unpaid leave for new parents is in addition to other state and federal laws that may be implicated during or after the birth or adoption of a child, including NH RSA 354-A:7, VI(b) which requires employers to permit female employees to take an unpaid leave of absence for the period of temporary physical disability resulting from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions; NH RSA 275:78-83, which guarantees the right of nursing mothers to an unpaid break of 30 minutes to pump for every three hours of work; New Hampshire’s Paid Family and Medical Leave, which is a program that allows, but does not require, employers to offer paid family and medical leave; the federal PUMP Act; the federal Family and Medical Leave Act; and the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

If you are an employee with questions about your rights under any of these laws, or if you are an employer with questions about your obligations to employees who are currently pregnant, have recently given birth, or have recently become new parents, please reach out to an Upton & Hatfield employment attorney.