On November 5, 2024, Nebraskans showed overwhelming support for paid sick time, with nearly 75% of votes approving Initiative 436 to enact the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (the “Act”), requiring most private employers to provide paid sick time to their employees beginning October 1, 2025.

Overview of Nebraska’s Paid Sick Time Law

The Act largely resembles paid sick time laws enacted in other states over recent years. In addition to payment for time off for health conditions of the employee, the Act also allows the use of paid sick time for caring for an employee’s family member’s health condition. The Act also permits employers to continue using their existing paid leave policies, rather than providing additional paid sick time, as long as their existing policies are at least as generous as the Act’s minimum requirements.

Eligibility and Accrual Requirements for Paid Sick Time

Once effective, the Act will entitle eligible full-time and part-time employees to accrue at least one hour of paid sick time for every thirty hours worked (exempt employees will be presumed to work forty hours per week, unless their typical workweek is less than forty hours), and new employees must begin accruing paid sick time immediately upon commencing employment. Employees are considered “eligible” if they work at least eighty hours in Nebraska during a calendar year.

Eligible employees who work for a small business—defined as an employer with fewer than twenty employees—will be entitled to earn and use forty hours of paid sick time per year. All other eligible employees will be entitled to earn and use fifty-six hours per year.

Existing Paid Leave Policies and Required Notices/Postings

Employers wishing to use their existing policies should pay particular attention to the Act’s provisions regarding permitted uses, employer-required notices of leave, employer-required doctor’s notes, and reinstatement of leave for rehired employees, as modifications to existing policies may be necessary. Employers should also note the Act’s notice and posting requirements, which will require employers to provide all employees with a notice of their rights under the Act by September 15, 2025.

How Paid Sick Time Can Be Used

Under the Act, paid sick time may be used for:

• an employee’s, or a family member’s, mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, including the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment thereof;
• an employee’s, or a family member’s, need for preventive medical care;
• in the case of an employee’s child, to attend a meeting necessitated by the child’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, at a school or place where the child is receiving care;
• closure of the employee’s place of business, or their child’s school or place of care, by order of a public health official due to a public health emergency; or
• an employee’s need to self-isolate or care for a family member when it is determined by competent health authorities that the employee’s or family member’s presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of exposure to a communicable disease.

Employer Requirements for Paid Sick Time Use

Employers must allow employees to use their paid sick time upon an employee’s verbal request which should, when possible, include the expected duration of the absence. Employers who require employees to provide notice of the need to use paid sick time must provide all employees with a written policy containing reasonable procedures for employees to provide such notice. Employers may not require employees to find a replacement to cover their shift as a condition of taking paid sick time. Employers may only require a doctor’s note or similar documentation to support the employee’s use of paid sick time if the employee takes three or more consecutive days off from work.

Carryover and Reinstatement of Paid Sick Time

Paid sick time may be used as it is accrued, and accrued but unused paid sick time must be carried over into the following year. Employers may still limit annual usage of paid sick time to forty or fifty-six hours, as applicable. A noteworthy omission from the Act’s proposed language is an express statement that employers are not obligated to pay out the value of accrued but unused paid sick time upon separation from employment. However, the Act does specify that after a separation from employment occurs, if the employee is rehired within twelve months, they are entitled to reinstatement of any previously accrued paid sick time that had not been used.

Preparing for the Paid Sick Time Law’s Implementation

As we await more detailed guidance from the Nebraska Department of Labor on this new law, employers should prepare for the October 1 effective date by reviewing their current policies to determine if changes are needed, and training managers, HR staff, and payroll personnel regarding the Act’s requirements and any changes to existing policies.

Koley Jessen will continue to monitor developments related to Nebraska’s new paid sick time law. We encourage you to contact a member of our Employment, Labor, and Benefits practice group with any questions regarding the Act, or if you would like assistance in strategizing how your business can prepare for the new requirements taking effect next year.

_{This content is made available for educational purposes only and to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this content, you understand there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the publisher. The content should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.}