The Legislature this year considered and passed LB415, which clarified many aspects of the ballot initiative approved by voters this past November that granted Nebraska employees the ability to earn and use paid sick leave. The ballot initiative allowed workers to earn up to 40 hours of paid leave each year if they work for an employer with fewer than 20 employees and up to 56 hours of paid sick leave if they work for a larger employer.
While the Nebraska Constitution allows ballot initiatives approved by a majority of voters to become law, it also allows the Legislature to repeal or amend that law if at least 2/3rds of the elected members vote in favor of doing so. This takes at least 33 votes of the 49 Senators to change or repeal a ballot measure. While the repeal of a voter-approved ballot measure is so rare that I’ve not been able to find an example in our history where this has happened, it is not uncommon for the Legislature to adjust legislation passed on the ballot.
LB415 was introduced by Senator Ballard to provide clarification on several aspects of the voter-approved sick leave. LB415 stipulates that in order to be eligible to earn sick leave, an employee must first work at least 80 hours annually. LB415 also exempts individuals who are owner-operators or independent contractors from this new law. This bill also clarifies that businesses with paid sick leave policies that meet or exceed the requirements of this new law are not required to increase the amount of sick leave they already provide. LB415 further stipulates that employers are not required to pay out for any unused sick leave when an employee leaves. However, LB415 does require that if the employee leaves and is rehired within 12 months, all their prior earned and unused sick leave will be reinstated.
The Legislature approved an amendment to LB415 brought by Senator Strommen to expand the list of exempted workers from the paid sick leave requirement. Temporary and seasonal workers, workers younger than 16 years of age, and businesses with less than 10 employees were exempted after this amendment was adopted. While this change does not require businesses to provide these categories of workers with paid sick leave, it does not prevent employers from doing so if they choose to.
Senator Strommen’s amendment also removed the so-called “private cause of action” provision from LB415. This provision would have allowed workers to seek the remedy of the courts if their employer fails to provide the sick leave they have earned. Unless this is changed, workers will only be able to rely on enforcement by the Nebraska Department of Labor to ensure that their rights are protected. I strongly believe that workers need the added option to protect their rights via the courts. Without this, a bad actor could simply find that paying the fine to the Department of Labor is less burdensome than paying for a worker’s paid sick time. Their employee would receive nothing and have no other recourse to receive the pay they are required to receive under this law. I will work with my colleagues to ensure that their private cause of action is reinstated next year.
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
