HB 1515-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1515-FN
AN ACT prohibiting “at will” employment and creating a database of employee terminations.
SPONSORS: Rep. Mickelonis, Straf 1
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
This bill prohibits “at will” employment and creates a database of employee terminations.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2420
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT prohibiting “at will” employment and creating a database of employee terminations.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Termination Database. Amend RSA 282-A by inserting after section 180 the following new subdivision:
282-A:181 Database Established. The department of employment security shall establish a statewide database of all employee terminations. No person, except employees of the department of employment security, shall have access to the database.
282-A:182 Employee Terminations; Filing of Reports.
I. No employer, private or public, shall terminate an employee without just cause.
II. Within 30 days of the termination of an employee, an employer shall file with the department of employment security a statement explaining the cause for termination.
III. Any employer who fails to file a report within 30 days of the termination of an employee shall be penalized by a $2,000 fine.
IV. Any employer who fires an employee without just cause shall be penalized by a $2,000 fine.
282-A:183 Rulemaking. The commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A for the administration of this subdivision.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
LBAO
08-2420
11/30/07
HB 1515-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT prohibiting “at will” employment and creating a database of employee terminations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Employment Security states this bill may increase state general fund expenditures by $6,353,865 in FY 2009, $11,079,737 in FY 2010, $11,458,153 in FY 2011, and $11,841,217 in FY 2012. The Department states this bill will increase state revenue and county and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county or local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Employment Security states this bill prohibits both public and private employers from terminating an employee without just cause, imposes a $2,000 fine for each instance an employer fails to report the discharge of an employee to the Department, and imposes a $2,000 for each instance an employer discharges an employee without just cause. The Department states that without a definition of “just cause” or clear guidelines of prohibited conduct, it is unable to predict how much fine revenue would be collected or how much political subdivisions would be charged in fines.
The Department states it will be unable to administer this program without additional resources. The Department states its responsibilities related to this program will include gathering and reviewing information, issuing determinations in each case of whether the termination was for just cause, appeals at an initial and higher level, collection of fines, notice of obligation to employers on how to report, and enforcement. The Department states it will not be able to use federal funds, which are the primary funding source for the Department, to administer this program. Operating costs, including costs for personnel and proportionate costs for office space, utilities, and supplies, must be paid with state funds.
The Department developed an estimate of the number of annual determinations it will have to process, 150,000, using 2006 data from the Unemployment Insurance program. Determinations of a potentially adversarial claim are made by a Certifying Officer III, which is supervised by a Certifying Officer IV. The Department estimates it will need 90 Certifying Officers, six Supervisors, and five support staff for initial adjudication. The Department anticipates it will need additional staff for appeals, enforcement, and document processing as follows:
Salaries
FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012
Adjudication
75 Certifying Officer III (LG 20) $1,360,856 $2,721,713 $2,838,713 $2,954,250
15 Certifying Officer IV (LG 22) 295,425 590,850 616,298 641,160
5 Supervisor of Benefits (LG 24) 107,104 214,208 223,763 233,610
1 Supervisor V (LG 26) 23,361 46,722 48,770 50,915
5 Secretary II (LG 9) 59,280 118,560 123,143 127,920
Appeals Level 1
1 Administrator III (LG31) 28,967 57,935 60,684 63,531
4 Chairman II (LG 28) 101,829 203,658 212,550 221,988
25 Chairman I (LG 27) 609,619 1,219,238 1,272,863 1,328,438
3 Program Asst. II 44,577 89,154 92,957 96,701
3 Clerk II (LG 12) 39,809 79,619 82,544 85,937
3 Clerk I (LG 10) 36,943 73,886 76,752 79,619
3 Secretary II (LG 9) 35,568 71,136 73,886 76,752
Appeals Level 2 & 3
1 Attorney II (LG 29) 26,569 53,138 55,497 57,935
1 Legal Secretary III (LG 13) 13,757 27,515 28,646 29,718
1 Program Assistant I (LG 12) 13,270 26,540 27,515 28,646
Enforcement
1 Investigative Super. (LG 22) 19,695 39,390 41,087 42,744
5 Investigators (LG 21) 94,624 189,248 196,950 205,433
1 Program Tech. (LG 19) 17,433 34,866 36,290 37,850
1 Program Assistant I (LG 12) 13,270 26,540 27,515 28,646
1 Clerk (LG 9) 11,856 23,712 24,629 25,584
Processing
.5 Accountant III (LG 21) 9,462 18,925 19,695 20,543
1 Program Assistant I (LG 12) 13,270 26,540 27,515 28,646
Total, Salaries $2,976,544 $5,953,093 $6,208,262 $6,466,566
In addition to personnel costs, the Department anticipates costs related to equipment, computer programming, and mailings for determinations and appeals. Total estimated expenditures are as follows:
Total Estimated Expenditures
FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012
Salaries $2,976,544 $5,953,093 $6,208,262 $6,466,566
Benefits (.483%) 1,437,671 2,875,344 2,998,591 3,123,351
Office Setup 785,000 - - -
Office Overhead 659,400 1,318,800 1,318,800 1,318,800
Computer Programming 29,000 - - -
Computer Maintenance 5,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
Mailings 461,250 922,500 922,500 922,500
Total $6,353,865 $11,079,737 $11,458,153 $11,841,217
This bill does not establish additional positions at the Department of Employment Security and does not appropriate funds to the Department for the purposes of this bill.