NH SB664

Hospitals in economically distressed communities that lay off more than 10 employees in a single department within 6 months must freeze all C-suite executive compensation for 18 months

The compensation freeze applies to salary, bonuses, incentive pay, severance packages, deferred compensation, fringe benefits, and any other remuneration for executives including CEO, CFO, COO, and chief medical/nursing officers

Affected hospitals must file notice with the NH Attorney General's Charitable Trust Unit within 10 days, including details on employees affected and executive compensation for the prior 18 months

The Charitable Trust Unit can impose civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, order restitution or clawback of improperly awarded compensation, and refer matters for civil or criminal enforcement

Hospitals cannot offset the compensation freeze by further reducing frontline staffing or patient-care expenditures