New Hampshire

Navy Relieves Commander of Reserve Center in New Hampshire

Published

10 months ago

May 2, 2025

Navy Relieves Commander of Reserve Center in New Hampshire

The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of its Navy Reserve Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to a statement released Friday.

Cmdr. Joseph Dearing was relieved from leadership of the reserve center by Capt. Christian Parilla, the commander of the Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Navy maintains 122 reserve centers around the country. They typically act as the first and primary point of contact between reservist sailors and the Navy for anything from administrative tasks to drill days.

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Dearing is the second reserve center commander to be relieved in the last six months. In December, the Navy also relieved the commanding officer of its reserve center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, over his personal conduct.

Dearing’s relief, which was officially over a “loss of confidence in his ability to command,” appears to be the Navy’s fourth firing of a commanding officer this year.

Loss of confidence is a boilerplate reason provided by the military services that can encompass anything from consistent poor performance by a commander on key evaluations to personal actions like drunken driving.

A Navy official told Military.com on condition of anonymity that the reason for the firing was over performance-based issues and not any misconduct on the part of Dearing. The official added he was not under investigation.

Based on public announcements, it appears that the Navy fired 14 commanding officers in 2024. In 2023, the official relief total was 15. There are currently around 1,600 commanding officers in the active-duty Navy across all communities.

According to Dearing’s service record that was provided to Military.com by the Navy, he began his Navy career as an enlisted sailor in 2000 when he reported to boot camp and then went on to work in the Navy’s aviation community, taking jobs at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9 in China Lake, California, and then Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 2 at Whidbey Island, Washington.

In 2008, Dearing was accepted into the Navy’s Seaman to Admiral-21 commissioning program, got his degree at Jacksonville University in Florida and became a reserve surface warfare officer in 2010.

As an officer, he was stationed on the destroyer USS Stethem for four years before attending the Naval War College and finally becoming the commander of the reserve center in Manchester in September.

According to records, Dearing was awarded the Surface Warfare Officer Insignia as well as the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist qualification.

His awards include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals and five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals as well as a Meritorious Unit Commendation, among other unit and campaign awards.

According to the Navy’s statement, Cmdr. Christopher Worthy will temporarily serve as the reserve center’s commanding officer until a permanent replacement is designated. Dearing has been temporarily reassigned to Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in Norfolk.

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

8 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

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New Hampshire

Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

Published

20 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim

New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.

Notice compliance

One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.

At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:

• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.

• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.

• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.

Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)

Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.

Salaried vs. hourly employees

Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.

Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.

Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.

Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.

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