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Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Granite State employers with at least 20 employees must provide employees with up to 25 hours of unpaid leave to attend medical appointments associated with childbirth, postpartum care, and their infant’s medical appointments within the first year of the child’s birth or adoption. This new leave obligation appears in a broader piece of legislation, HB 2, an act “relative to state fees, funds, revenues, and expenditures,” which was signed into law on June 27, 2025. Subject to the 25-hour limit, covered employers may not deny employees’ leave requests to attend their “own medical appointments for childbirth, postpartum care, or the employee’s child’s pediatric medical appointments within the first year of the child’s birth or adoption.” The law allows an employee to substitute any accrued vacation time or other appropriate paid leave for unpaid childbirth-related leave. Employees must provide reasonable notice to the employer prior to the leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. Covered employers may ask the employee for documentation to ensure leave is used for a covered purpose. The law, however, does not indicate what type of documentation is sufficient to verify the use of the leave. Upon return from a covered appointment, the employer must return the employee to the employee’s original job. The law does not address any minimum or maximum increments for use of the leave. If the parents of a child are employees of the same employer, they collectively may take a total of 25 hours of childbirth-related leave in their child’s first year. The new law will appear as NH RSA 275:37-f (“Leave of Absence to Attend Medical Appointments for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Pediatric Medical Appointments”). Covered employers should ensure their leave policies comply with this new law. If you have questions, please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney.…

Continue Reading New Hampshire’s Unpaid Childbirth-Related Leave Law Goes Into Effect 2026

The Puerto Rico Secretary of Health issued Administrative Order No. 2024-589, declaring a public health emergency due to the prevalence of cases of dengue fever on the Island. Administrative Order No. 2024-589, signed on March 25, 2024, went into effect immediately and will last for 90 days or until June 23, 2024, unless its duration…

On October 4, 2023, California’s Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 616, which increases the amount of paid sick leave employers are required to provide to California employees.

Beginning on January 1, 2024, employers must increase the amount of sick leave provided to California employees from three days/24 hours to five days/40 hours.

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Citing legislative “sleight of hand,” the Michigan Court of Claims has held that the Michigan legislature violated the state’s Constitution when, in 2018, it adopted and then immediately amended ballot initiatives to increase the state’s minimum wage and to require employer-paid sick leave. Mothering Justice v. Nessel, No. 21-000095-MM (July 19, 2022). Therefore, the…

Both Maryland and Virginia have joined the District of Columbia in enacting laws relating to paid family and medical leave for private-sector workers.

Following in the footsteps of the District of Columbia, the Maryland law will create a mandatory statewide benefit that will be funded by payroll taxes. In contrast, the Virginia law will create…

The Washington State Legislature has again amended the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act.  This amendment is effective June 9, 2022.  Here is a list of the most significant changes to the law:

  • First six weeks of postnatal leave for incapacitated employee is presumptively medical leave. During the six-week postnatal period, any

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The Connecticut Department of Labor has released proposed regulations for the amended Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act, which was effective January 1, 2022. The proposed regulations will be subject to a 30-day comment period, ending on February 28. A virtual hearing on the proposed regulations will take place on February 17.

Importantly, these…