New Hampshire small business owners frequently report unfair treatment by state agencies. The complaints often involve state officials showing up unannounced for an inspection, investigation or other type of visit.

These visits can involve spending hours or days with state inspectors digging through records, sitting for interviews, and responding to other demands. That means time away from running the business, which means work isn’t getting done, customers aren’t getting served, and orders aren’t getting filled.

Many of the problems we hear about from our members stem from a lack of notice and guidelines built into the inspection process. When it comes to small businesses, state law is often silent about the conduct of routine inspections.

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Due Process for Small Business. For example, take the general inspection authority given to the New Hampshire Department of Labor. This law has not been updated since it was first enacted in 1911.

A bill sponsored by Representative Brian Labrie (Bedford) this year would finally modernize this section of law and create a fair process that’s understandable for businesses and regulators.

Most importantly, HB 1072 would require NH DOL to:

– provide notice at least 30 days before an inspection or visit

– state the lawful purpose of the visit and describe any alleged complaint

– allow at least 30 days to respond to a request for documents, interviews, or other demands

The bill establishes appropriate exemptions for emergency situations, enforcement related to boilers, elevators, and employment of children in hazardous conditions, and for repeat violators.

CLICK HERE to watch Rep. Labrie’s defense of small business owners in New Hampshire.

If enacted into law, we hope this bill will serve as a model for all other agencies with inspection powers.

HB 1072 passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.

Fairer Complaint Process. Another example of imbalance in New Hampshire law is the timeline for small employers to respond to unvetted wage complaints.

Workers have up to three years to file a complaint and the department has 30 days after a hearing to make a decision, but owners are expected to sort through the allegation within ten days.

This is an extremely tight deadline for small employers who are running the business and often working alongside their employees.

Wage complaints are often not cut and dry issues – they can require digging through old payroll files, job records, talking to other employees, and determining the right rate of pay for someone who might’ve worked in different capacities during a day or month.

HB 1168, also sponsored by Rep. Labrie, would change that. It would extend the response time for employers from 10 days to 20 days.

This gives small employers a more reasonable chance to sort through old records, determine if an error actually occurred, and consult legal help if necessary.

It also moves closer to the standard timeline for administrative and civil responses (30 days). The current law creates an absurd scenario where someone accused of defrauding a person out of $500,000 has 30 days to respond to a civil complaint but a person subject to a wage complaint over $500 has just ten days.

HB 1168 passed the House and is awaiting final action in the Senate.