March 28, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

Legislature Advances Paid Sick Leave Reform

The Legislature adjourned at noon following contentious debate on LB 415. Debate on the bill began last Thursday and lasted for the vast majority of floor debate throughout the week. LB 415, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln), has been labeled the "clean-up bill" for the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, also known as Initiative 436 or the Paid Sick Leave Ballot Initiative. However, the Business and Labor Committee advanced LB 415 with a committee amendment that combines the bill with LB 698, introduced by Senator Paul Strommen (Sidney). As combined, the bill would do the following: (a) Exempt businesses with 10 or fewer employees from being required to comply with the Act: (b) Exempt owners, independent contractors, temporary and seasonal agricultural workers, and employees under 16 years old from accruing paid sick time, or counting towards the number of employees; (c) Provides a method for providing paid sick leave to employees who are paid by commission, mileage, or fee-for-service rather than hourly; (d) Clarifies that existing vacation time and paid time off programs could be used as sick leave under the Act; (e) Provides that employees do not begin accruing paid sick time until after 80 hours of consecutive employment rather than immediately; (f) Provides that paid sick time provided to an employee on or after January 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2025, shall be counted toward an employer's obligations under the Act for calendar year 2025; (g) Clarifies that an employer is not required to pay an employee for unused paid sick time upon the employee's separation from employment; and (h) Provides additional flexibility for employers to direct how requests for paid sick leave should be made. After a Motion to Invoke Cloture, the bill advanced to Select File on a vote of 34-15.

This week also marks the last week of committee hearings. Most committees wrapped up hearings last week, with only a handful of committees meeting this week. The Judiciary Committee was the only regular committee to still consider bills this afternoon.

All-day floor debate will begin on Monday with Senators taking up floor debate on Senator priority bills. Overall, there are 106 priority bills, which means it is unlikely that all will get heard on the floor of the Legislature.

Dates of Importance

March 28: Last day of public hearings
March 31: Full day floor debate begins
June 9: Day 90 of the legislative session

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