Mandatory Pay Cut New Hampshire

[NHcurious]

Is it legal for a company to cut your pay?

A friend of mine works for a company that gave out raises at the beginning of the year. A few weeks later they received a pay cut by 5 - 8 %. Is this legal in the state of New Hampshire?

[Betty3]

Yes, it's legal on a go forward basis (as long as they were given advance notice) unless there is a bona fide employment contract or CBA to the contrary.

P.S. As long as the pay cut doesn't take the employees below minimum wage.

[cbg]

There is no state where wage decreases are illegal in and of themselves.

There can be limitations on them such as Betty described (only going forward, cannot be below minimum wage, in some states only with a certain amount of knowledge) but there is no state where a wage decrease is prohibited by law.

[Morgana]

Not illegal at all as long as it is going forward.

I worked for a state govt one time where we got a pay raise, then a pay cut and would up making less than if we have never gotten the raise!

[Pattymd]

And, as I just responded on a similar thread (for another state), sometimes the alternative is to lay people off altogether.

[Betty3]

Yep - the alternative can be worse.