Rice Law Office Blog

QUESTION:

I live in NH and work in Massachusetts. I understand there is a new law that will allow employees to earn up to 40 hours of sick leave each year. Is that true and how does that work?

ANSWER:

It’s true; the law goes into effect July 1^st of this year, 2015. As of that date, all employees in Massachusetts will be able to earn sick leave, however not all employees will earn paid sick leave. Only where the employer has 11 or more employees, will employees be entitled to paid leave time. Employers with 10 or fewer employees will have to provide earned sick leave, but this time will be unpaid.

QUESTION:

Not surprising to those of us who proudly call New Hampshire home, our great state was ranked number one in the nation according to Politico Magazine.

Politico averaged state rankings from 14 different categories, drawing from "reputable" sources like the census bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI, and considering factors such as high school graduation rates, per capita income, life expectancy and crime rate. The result was a master list ranking of all 50 states, and NH sits at the top of the list with the #1 ranking.  The article can be found on Politico's website.

Our neighbors also fared well with Vermont at #3, Massachusetts at #5 and Maine coming in at #4 in the nation.