Last November the voters of Nebraska approved a ballot measure, Initiative 436, to require businesses to offer employees paid sick leave. Initiative 436 passed with a vote of 75% for to 25% against. This ballot measure entitled employees of businesses with fewer than 20 employees to allow employees to accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Initiative 436 similarly requires businesses with more than 20 employees to allow workers to earn up to 56 hours of sick leave annually.
Once a ballot measure like Initiative 436 passes, it is the responsibility of the Nebraska Legislature to formally enact the voter-approved proposal into law. LB415 was introduced by Senator Beau Ballard to place Initiative 436 into law. LB415 includes some minor changes to clarify some items that were not included in the ballot measure. These changes include: clarifying certain definitions and their application to independent contractors, owner-operators and employees who work less than 80 total hours a year. LB415 also reconciled what was approved by the voters and what many existing businesses currently offer their employees in terms of paid sick leave. Finally, LB415 clarifies that paid sick leave is not required to be paid out by the employer upon separation from employment. All these changes and clarifications were the result of negotiations between businesses and the advocates for mandatory paid sick leave.
LB415 was amended on its first round of debate by AM545. AM545 contained several different bills that update and amend related sections of Nebraska law. One component of AM545 was more controversial. The controversial component was the language of LB698 as introduced by Senator Paul Strommen. LB698 exempts temporary or seasonal agricultural workers, employees younger than 16 years of age, and businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
Opponents of these changes stated that they undermined the will of the voters who overwhelmingly approved Initiative 436. I met with the group that gathered the signatures to place Initiative 436 on the ballot. They shared their main focus was to require large companies like Amazon that hired a lot of part-time laborers but did not offer paid sick leave, to do so. I support the changes to exempt businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Our small businesses are struggling to increase overall wages to attract employees and are dealing with the dual challenges of ongoing inflation and increased regulatory requirements.
I also supported exempting younger workers and those working seasonally in agriculture. In District 24 these two groups converge in the summer as large groups of teenagers working in the fields detasseling and roguing seed corn. Teenagers working seasonally and part-time, as all three of my children did, have no expectation of earning paid sick leave. Mandating this requirement on small, family-owned agricultural businesses that seasonally employ our youth doesn’t fit with the intent of the ballot measure.
The final change included in AM545 as part of LB698 that I do not support was the elimination of a private cause of action for individuals under this new law. Individuals should have the right to pursue legal action if their employer prohibits or impedes them from earning and/or using paid sick leave. I gave my support of AM545 during the first round of debate on LB415 after receiving the assurance that the private cause of action for employees would be reinstated by an amendment on the next round of debate on LB415. I know that many of my colleagues voted as I did, with our next votes contingent on this right to pursue legal action being reinstated into LB415.
As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members – Matt and Katie – are available to assist you with your needs and they pass along messages, so if you’d like a call back, please let them know!
Email: jhughes@leg.ne.gov
Phone: 402-471-2756
Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes
