New Hampshire ties its minimum wage to the federal rate, but its wage payment rules are more detailed than many employers expect. A meal period after five hours, strict final pay deadlines, two-hour reporting pay and parental permission forms for teen workers all apply. Here is the short version.
EZTime labor rule alerts flag overtime and missed rest periods before payroll.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum (NH Department of Labor) |
| Tipped employees | Base rate of at least 45% of the minimum wage for qualifying tipped staff (RSA 279:21) |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week; no daily overtime |
| Meal break | 30 minutes after 5 consecutive hours, unless the employee may eat while working (RSA 275:30-a) |
| Reporting pay | At least 2 hours' pay when an employee reports to work at the employer's request (RSA 275:43-a) |
| Paid leave | No state sick leave mandate; optional state paid family and medical leave plan (NH PFML) |
| Paydays | Weekly (within 8 days) or biweekly (within 15 days) (RSA 275:43) |
| Final pay | Discharged: 72 hours. Quit: next regular payday, or 72 hours with one pay period's notice (RSA 275:44) |
The New Hampshire Department of Labor states that employers may not pay an hourly rate below the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour. Because the state law in RSA 279:21 is tied to the federal rate, New Hampshire's minimum changes only if Congress raises the federal minimum. The U.S. DOL state table also lists New Hampshire at $7.25. Some workers are excluded from the state minimum wage law, including household and domestic workers, farm labor, outside salespeople, summer camp staff for minors, newspaper carriers, non-professional ski patrol and golf caddies.
Tipped employees of a restaurant, hotel, motel, inn, cabin or ballroom who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips directly from customers may be paid a base rate of not less than 45 percent of the applicable minimum wage. If base pay plus tips falls short of the full minimum for the hours worked, the employer must make up the difference. Keep tip declarations for every pay period so you can show the credit was earned.
New Hampshire's minimum wage law requires time and one-half for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The state overtime provision does not apply to employees of employers already covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or to certain seasonal and recreational businesses, so in practice most New Hampshire businesses calculate overtime under federal rules: one and one-half times the regular rate after 40 hours in the workweek, with no daily overtime. Review the exemption tests in our FLSA overtime guide, and use the overtime calculator to check paychecks.
Under RSA 275:43-a, an employee who reports to work at the employer's request must be paid at least two hours at the regular rate. An employer that makes a good-faith attempt to tell the employee not to come in is not liable for this pay. Limited exceptions apply to county and municipal employees and certain ski and snowboard instructors.
RSA 275:30-a provides that an employer may not require an employee to work more than five consecutive hours without a half-hour lunch or eating period. The exception: when it is feasible for the employee to eat while working and the employer allows it. The U.S. DOL meal break table lists the same standard. New Hampshire does not require separate paid rest breaks; the state is not listed in the DOL's rest period table. If you do offer short breaks, federal hours-worked rules treat breaks of usually 20 minutes or less as paid time.
New Hampshire does not set a statewide paid sick leave accrual requirement for private employers. What the law does require, under RSA 275:49, is that employers make their policies on vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits available to employees in writing or through a posted notice. Once you publish a policy, follow it consistently. Our PTO accrual calculator can help you design an accrual schedule.
The state also offers the New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave program, a voluntary insurance plan. It provides 60 percent wage replacement, up to the Social Security wage cap, for up to six weeks per benefit year, and a 12-week plan option is available. Employers are not required to purchase it.
Under RSA 275:43, employers must pay all wages within eight days after the end of the workweek for weekly pay, or within 15 days for biweekly pay, on regular paydays set in advance and at no cost to the employee. The labor commissioner may approve less frequent pay on written petition, but pay must still be at least monthly. The U.S. DOL payday table notes that semi-monthly or monthly pay requires written permission from the department.
Under Lab 803.03 and RSA 275:49, employers must tell employees in writing, at hire and before any change, their rate of pay and the day and place of payment, keep a copy of the signed notice, and give each employee a statement of deductions for every pay period in which deductions are taken.
Final pay deadlines in RSA 275:44 are short:
Employers that willfully and without good cause miss these deadlines can owe liquidated damages to the employee.
RSA 276-A:4 sets New Hampshire's youth employment limits:
| Age | Key rules |
|---|---|
| Under 16 | No work before 7 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Up to 3 hours on a school day and 23 hours in a school week; up to 8 hours on a non-school day and 48 hours a week during vacations. A youth employment certificate is required, with limited exceptions such as work for a parent or guardian, casual work and farm labor. |
| 16 and 17 | For enrolled students, no more than 35 hours in the employer's work week when school is in session 5 days; during school vacations, no more than 6 consecutive days or 48 hours a week. Employers must keep a signed parent or guardian permission form on file unless the teen has graduated or earned a GED. |
Federal limits for 14- and 15-year-olds are stricter in some respects, such as 18 hours in a school week and a 7 p.m. evening limit during the school year, so apply whichever rule is more protective. The U.S. DOL child labor table compares state and federal rules.
Under Lab 803.03, records of hours worked for non-exempt employees must be preserved for at least three years, and RSA 275:49 also requires employers to keep wage and hour records for three years. Our time card calculator can help you total hours quickly.
RSA 275:49 also requires employers to keep posted the abstract of the wage payment law furnished by the labor commissioner, which includes the criteria for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors, and to post the state's equal pay statement with the department's contact information. Contact the New Hampshire Department of Labor for current copies of required state notices.
EZTime gives New Hampshire businesses one place to capture time and keep the records these rules depend on. Employees clock in with the GPS mobile time clock and geofencing, NFC tags, a shared tablet kiosk or biometric clocks. Managers build rosters with shift templates and approve shift swaps in the scheduling software, while overtime and break alerts flag problems before a shift ends. Meal-break alerts fire before the fifth consecutive hour, and final timesheets are ready in minutes when a 72-hour deadline starts running. PTO and sick-leave balances update automatically, and payroll-ready Excel and PDF exports work with any payroll software. Plans start from $2 per employee per month, with a 14-day trial.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the New Hampshire Department of Labor or an employment attorney. Last reviewed November 2026.
New Hampshire follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The rate changes only if the federal minimum changes.
Qualifying tipped employees who receive more than $30 a month in tips can be paid a base rate of at least 45% of the minimum wage. Employers must make up any shortfall if tips do not bring pay to the full minimum.
Yes. Employees cannot be required to work more than five consecutive hours without a 30-minute meal period, unless it is feasible for them to eat while working and the employer allows it.
A discharged employee must be paid within 72 hours. An employee who quits must be paid by the next regular payday, or within 72 hours if at least one pay period’s notice was given.
No statewide paid sick leave mandate applies to private employers. Employers must make their sick leave and vacation policies available in writing or by posted notice, and a voluntary state paid family and medical leave plan is available.