New Childbirth-Related Leave Entitlement for Many Granite State Employees in 2026

Many New Hampshire employers may be surprised to learn that a new leave law was buried in HB 2, a bill “relative to state fees, funds, revenues, and expenditures” signed into law on June 27, 2025. Starting January 1, 2026, New Hampshire employers with 20 or more employees will be required to provide employees with up to 25 hours of unpaid leave from work to attend:

• the employee’s own medical appointments for childbirth or postpartum care; or
• the employee’s child’s pediatric medical appointments within the first year of the child’s birth or adoption. 

If both parents of the child work for the same employer, the parents can be required to “share the leave” and may collectively take a total of 25 hours of unpaid leave in that first year. 

An employer is not required to pay an employee when leave is taken under the new law. However, the employee must be allowed to use any accrued vacation or other appropriate paid leave when absent pursuant to the new law. When the employee returns from taking leave, the employer must restore the employee to their original job. 

An employee wanting to use this leave must provide reasonable advance notice to the employer of their need for leave. The employee must also make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. An employer may ask the employee for documentation that demonstrates that leave is being used for its intended purpose, although the law does not provide any details on what type of documentation may be sufficient or requested. 

Covered employers will want to ensure that they are ready to provide this leave to their employees starting January 1, 2026.