Employee leasing rules eased

From now on, if you sign a contract with a New Hampshire employee leasing company, you might want to pay a little extra attention to the fine print.

Until today, the state Department of Labor would go after the leasing company if there was a violation of any one of the state’s labor laws. But that changed, thanks to Senate Bill 167, a bill that updated the laws regulating leasing companies for the first time since 1994.

Now the agency will look at the contract, and if it says you are responsible, guess what? You are.

The new law also allows leasing companies to get two workers’ compensation carriers, which should give them more flexibility in which occupations to place their workers. The bill does require leasing companies to file audited financial statements with the state.

Meanwhile, another new law, SB 65 — which would allow developers whose projects have an impact on wetlands to pay a mitigation fee to the state Department of Environmental Services rather than actually restore wetlands.

The fee would be based on the price of $200 per square foot of wetlands affected. The law goes into effect today, but NHBR could not learn by deadline if the in-lieu-of-payment program is ready to go yet. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW