relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Regina Birdsell (R)
Last action
2026-07-09
Official status
SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
Effective date
Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
What This Bill Does
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
Limits and Unknowns
This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Introduced 01/07/2026 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; SJ 1
Official Summary Text
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
CHAPTER 266
SB 569 - FINAL VERSION
14May2026... 1869h
2026 SESSION
26-2186
06/05
SENATE BILL
569
AN ACT
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
SPONSORS: Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires hearing officers at the department of labor to be graduates of an accredited law school and directs the labor commissioner to give a hiring preference to licensed attorneys who have workers' compensation experience or who have administrative adjudication experience.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14May2026... 1869h 26-2186
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT
relative to the qualifications for hearings officers within the department of labor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
266:1 Hearing Officers. Amend RSA 281-A:42-b to read as follows:
281-A:42-b Hearing Officers. The commissioner shall appoint as many individuals as necessary to carry out the department's responsibilities under this chapter. Such individuals [
shall have experience in workers' compensation and
] shall hear workers' compensation cases before the commissioner. The commissioner shall set forth the job qualification necessary to [
insure
]
ensure
that each hearing officer is qualified to hear workers' compensation cases.
Individuals employed as hearing officers shall have graduated from an accredited law school. The commissioner shall give a hiring preference to licensed attorneys who have workers' compensation experience or who have administrative adjudication experience.
The
hearing officer
salary shall be commensurate with the responsibilities and experience required. The commissioner shall, by rules adopted under RSA 541-A, strengthen the reporting structure and the role of a hearing officer; develop a code of ethics for hearings and hearing officers; develop and require at least 15 hours of continuing education on an annual basis for hearing officers; and require a minimum of an additional 15 hours of annual training and briefing with the attorney general's staff.
266:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 02, 2026
Effective Date: August 31, 2026