Overview
New Hampshire requires covered employers to provide up to 25 hours of unpaid, job-protected leave (NH-APPOINTMENTS) for qualifying medical appointments related to childbirth, postpartum care, and infant pediatric care within the first year of a child's birth or adoption.
For detailed legislative requirements, see our Legislative Guidance.
How to Use
Throughout this guidance, look for these labels to quickly identify what actions may be needed:
✅ Automatic: System handles this automatically, no action needed
📝 Configuration Note: How the policy is set up in the platform
💡 Best Practice: AbsenceSoft recommendation for optimal management
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required: User must complete this action or track elsewhere
How AbsenceSoft Manages New Hampshire Leave for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Appointments
AbsenceSoft uses a single policy to provide benefits under this law:
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Policy Name - New Hampshire Leave for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Appointments
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Policy Code - NH-APPOINTMENTS
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Policy Type - Other
📝 Configuration Note: The policy is configured with three absence reasons to address the different qualifying leave scenarios under this law.
Employer Coverage Requirements
Refer to Legislative guidance for details.
Employee Count Thresholds
The law covers employers with 20 or more active employees.
📝 Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's policy is configured with an eligibility rule requiring a minimum of 20 active employees at the employer.
Employee Eligibility
Refer to Legislative guidance for details.
Work State Requirements
📝 Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's policy applies to all employees in work state New Hampshire by default.
Leave Entitlements and Duration
Refer to Legislative guidance for details.
Entitlement Overview
All absence reasons available in this policy draw from a single shared 25-work-week entitlement bank to be used within 12 months from the date of birth or adoption of the child.
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Appointment (Routine pediatric appointments or the employee's own pregnancy/childbirth appointments that are non-FMLA qualifying)
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Entitlement - Up to 25 hours; shares combined pool with all other absence reasons
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Period - Rolling back 12 months
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Family Health Condition (Pediatric serious health conditions that qualify for FMLA)
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Entitlement - Up to 25 hours; shares combined pool with all other absence reasons
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Period - Rolling back 12 months
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Pregnancy/Maternity (Prenatal and postpartum appointments that qualify for FMLA)
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Entitlement - Up to 25 hours; shares combined pool with all other absence reasons
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Period - Rolling back 12 months
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✅ Automatic: AbsenceSoft automatically calculates entitlement based on the above 25-hour maximum entitlement when using the core policy.
📝 Configuration Note: This policy is configured for intermittent and reduced case types only and shares the 25-hour entitlement across all absence reasons. A rolling back 12-month period is configured to ensure entitlement decrements correctly, reducing the possibility of over-entitlement that could occur through use of the Per Case Period type.
💡 Best Practice: Make sure the segment you want to take this policy under has an intermittent (or reduced) case type. Employers with different interpretations of the Period type should review with their resources. Clients who wish to use a 'per case' Period type should note that configuration will not limit to 25 hours per pregnancy/birth/adoption and will require manual review if multiple cases are opened for the same event.
Entitlement Rules
12-Month Eligibility Window
Leave must be taken within 12 months of the child's birth or adoption date.
📝 Configuration Note:
For the Pregnancy/Maternity absence reason, the system is configured with a policy event that ends the policy 12 months from the Delivery Date. This is automated for that absence reason.
For the Appointment and Family Health Condition absence reasons, the system cannot fully automate the 12-month cutoff because both adoption dates and birth of a child dates cannot both be captured within a single absence reason. Instead, a manual eligibility rule is configured to ensure the situation is within the 12-month period allowable.
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required: At case intake for Appointment and Family Health Condition absence reasons:
Confirm the child's date of birth or adoption/placement date with the employee
Verify that the leave is being requested within 12 months of that date
If the leave completely falls outside the 12-month window, override eligibility to ineligible
If the leave falls partially inside and outside the 12-month window, manually deny the dates beyond the 12 months
Document the birth/adoption date and verification in case notes
💡 Best Practice: Note the child's birth or adoption date in case notes at intake for all absence reasons under this policy to support future audit and compliance verification.
Interaction with Other Policies
Refer to Legislative guidance for details.
Shared Entitlement — Two Parents at the Same Employer
When both parents of the same child are employed by the same employer, the employer may limit entitlement to a single 25-hour bank shared between the two employees.
📝 Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft does not enforce the shared entitlement across two separate employee cases.
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required: If the employer enforces this rule, when both parents work for the same employer and both take leave under this policy for the same child:
Identify that both employees share entitlement for the same child
Track combined usage manually (e.g., a shared tracking log or case notes on both records)
Alert both employees and their managers that combined leave may not exceed 25 hours total
When one parent's usage is approved, note the remaining shared balance in case notes on both cases
Deny or limit approval when combined usage would exceed 25 hours
💡 Best Practice: Document on each employee's case, cross-referencing the other employee's case number and the shared entitlement arrangement. Example note: "Shared 25-hour entitlement with [Employee Name], Case #XXXXX. Combined usage as of [date]: X hours. Remaining balance: X hours."
Managing In-Flight Cases
Cases Spanning Jan 1, 2026
For leaves that began before but continue on or after Jan 1, 2026, manual intervention is required.
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required: Review all active New Hampshire cases to identify those that:
Were open before Jan 1, 2026
Continue on or after Jan 1, 2026
Meet qualifying criteria for New Hampshire Leave for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Appointments
💡 Best Practice: Proactively communicate with employees about their new benefit eligibility. Many may not be aware.
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required: Create a list of all potentially eligible in-flight cases before Jan 1, 2026 to ensure none are missed.
Adding the Policy to Existing Cases
For cases that are open and span Jan 1, 2026:
❌ Manual Action or Tracking Required:
Manually add the New Hampshire Leave for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Appointments policy (if applicable/eligibility criteria are met)
This policy should automatically start on (or after) Jan 1, 2026
✅ Automatic: The policy is configured to start on or after Jan 1, 2026 when manually added to qualifying cases that start before Jan 1, 2026.
Documentation Requirements
💡 Best Practice: Document in case notes:
"New Hampshire Leave for Childbirth, Postpartum Care, and Infant Appointments policy added for in-flight case effective 01/01/2026"
Need Help?
For questions about policy configuration or case management, contact your AbsenceSoft support team or consult the Legislative Guidance for compliance details.