June 18, 2025

Nebraska Paid Sick Leave Updates: What Employers Need to Know

Employee Benefits

10 min read

Erica Honig, J.D., Senior Compliance Director, Employee Benefits

Nebraska Paid Sick Leave Updates: What Employers Need to Know

Summary: As we previously reported here, voters in Nebraska approved a November 2024 ballot measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees working in the state (NE PSL), effective October 1, 2025.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen subsequently signed legislation passed by the Nebraska Legislature on June 5, 2025, amending and clarifying certain provisions of the NE PSL ballot measure.

Read on for key details on NE PSL amendments and clarifications ahead of the October 1, 2025 effective dates, and employer next steps.

Nebraska Paid Sick Leave Background & Recent Amending Legislation

Voters in Nebraska approved Initiative Measure 436 on the November 5, 2024 ballot, requiring employers to provide paid sick leave (NE PSL) to employees working in Nebraska. NE PSL is officially referred to as the “Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act” on the ballot measure.

The Risk Strategies prior article here highlighted key details of the NE PSL ballot measure.

On May 28, 2025, the Nebraska Legislature passed Legislative Bill 415, amending and clarifying certain provisions of NE PSL, which was subsequently signed by Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen on June 5, 2025. Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Labor (NE DOL) recently published an FAQs document here with additional clarifying guidance.

Notably, these recent amendments include exempting employers with fewer than eleven employees and certain employees outlined below from NE PSL requirements, among other changes to the original NE PSL ballot measure.

The table below captures key details of the amended NE PSL requirements.

NE PSL Paid Sick Requirement	Amending Legislation Highlights
Effective Date	October 1, 2025
Covered Employers	All employers with eleven (11) or more employees, except for: the federal government, and the state government, including state agencies, departments, and political subdivisions. Employees with fewer than 11 employees are exempt from NE PSL requirements. For out-of-state employers, employers are required to only include individuals that worked at least 80 hours of consecutive employment in the state of Nebraska for the out-of-state employer in a calendar year. For purposes of calculating the 20-employee threshold for employers with multiple businesses in Nebraska, they will be reviewed by the NE DOL on a “case-by-case basis taking, into account whether each entity was considered a separate employer for other legal purposes including taxes, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation coverage as well as the relationship between the entities.”
Eligible Employees	All employees, including full-time, part-time, and temporary employees, working in Nebraska for at least 80 hours in a calendar year are eligible for NE PSL. The following employees are exempt from NE PSL: individual owner-operators, independent contractors, seasonal or temporary agricultural workers, employees subject to the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, individuals under age 16.
Qualifying Reasons	NE PSL may be taken for the following qualifying reasons: Absences due to an employee’s or their family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, including medical diagnosis, care and treatment, and preventive care, Absences due to attending a meeting at a child’s school or place of care related to the child’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, and Absences due to a public health emergency closure of an employee’s place of business or school/daycare of employee’s child, or exposure to a communicable disease.
Definition of Family Member	Family member is defined broadly under NE PSL to include an employee’s: A person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state, Child, including a stepchild, foster child, adopted child, legal ward, or a child to whom an employee stands in loco parentis, Parent, including parent of employee’s spouse, a foster parent, adoptive parent, legal guardian, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee or employee’s spouse was a minor child, Sibling, grandparent, grandchild of the employee or employee’s spouse, Any other individual related by blood to the employee or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Accrual & Use Limits	Employers with 20 or more employees: One hour of NE PSL for every 30 hours worked up to 56 hours. Employers with 11-19 employees (small business): One hour of NE PSL for every 30 hours worked up to 40 hours. For NE PSL purposes, an employer will be considered a small business if the employer maintained between 11 and 19 employees on its payroll in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Overtime-exempt employees (under the Fair Labor Standards Act) are assumed to work 40 hours per work week for NE PSL accrual purposes, unless their normal workweek is less than 40 hours. In that case, NE PSL accrues based upon an employee’s normal workweek schedule. An employer, at its discretion, may loan NE PSL time to an employee in advance of accrual.
Increments of Use	NE PSL may be used in hourly increments or in the smallest increment that an employer’s payroll system uses to account for other absences. Employers must permit at least hourly increments.
Waiting Period	Employees begin accruing NE PSL after 80 hours of consecutive employment. NOTE: Paid sick time provided to an employee on or after January 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2025 will be counted toward an employer’s obligations under NE PSL requirements for calendar year 2025.
Carryover/Frontloading	Unused, accrued NE PSL must be carried over to the following year with no maximum carryover. Employers may pay out unused, accrued NE PSL at the end of the year as an alternative to carryover requirements. In this instance, employers must frontload the full amount of annual NE PSL time at the beginning of the following year and it must be available for immediate use. Frontloading of NE PSL is generally permitted.
Rate of Pay	When using their NE PSL time, employees must be paid their regular hourly rate of pay with the same benefits, including health care benefits, that they receive when working, which cannot be less than the state minimum wage. For employees paid on a commission, mileage, piece-rate, or fee-for-service basis, NE PSL means time that is compensated at an hourly rate determined by the employer using the average weekly rate calculation under applicable state wage laws, which shall then be reduced to an hourly rate based on a forty-hour workweek.
Payout Upon Termination	Employers are not required to pay out accrued, unused NE PSL to employees upon termination of employment. NOTE: Employers with a combined PTO policy (including vacation and sick) should be mindful that all accrued but unused paid time off are considered wages due upon termination, in accordance with the Nebraska Wage Payment & Collection Act.
Rehires	If a terminated employee is rehired within 12 months by the same employer, then previously accrued, unused NE PSL that has not been paid out to the employee must be reinstated and available for use at the time of rehire.
Transfers	Employers who are transferred to a separate division, entity, or location, but remain employed by the same employer, must retain and be able to use their NE PSL accrued at the prior division, entity, or location.
Notice	NE PSL must be provided upon the request of an employee and, when possible, include the expected duration of the absence. Employers that require employees to provide notice of their need to use NE PSL must provide a written policy detailing procedures for employees to provide notice. Employers may not require an employee to search for or find a replacement worker to cover their hours while using NE PSL.
Documentation	Employers may require employees to provide reasonable documentation to support an employee’s use of NE PSL for more than three consecutive workdays. Reasonable documentation may include: health care provider documentation, or an employee’s written statement confirming their use of NE PSL was for a qualifying reason. Documentation received from employees requesting and using NE PSL must be maintained on a separate form and in a separate file from other personnel information, and treated as confidential medical records.
Existing Employer Leave Policies	Employers with existing policies that provide an amount of paid time off that meets or exceeds the NE PSL requirements and covered reasons under the same terms and conditions are not required to provide additional paid time off and are not required to permit employees to accrue or carryover paid sick leave beyond the existing paid leave policies. Employers may adopt paid time off policies that are more generous than the NE PSL requirements.
Multiemployer Collective Bargaining Agreements	An employer signatory to a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may comply with NE PSL requirements by making contributions to a multiemployer paid sick leave fund based on the hours each employee accrues under NE PSL while working under the multiemployer CBA, if the fund enables employees to collect paid sick leave from the fund based on hours they have worked under the multiemployer CBA and for qualifying reasons.
Required Notice & Posting	Employers must provide a written notice to employees detailing their rights and protections under NE PSL law upon hire or by September 15, 2025, whichever is later. Employers must also display a poster containing the same information as the written notice above, and it must be conspicuously posted in an accessible worksite location. For remote employers or those who work through a web/app-based platform, the posting must be provided via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting in the web-based or app-based platform. The NE DOL will publish model written notices and posters before September 15, 2025.
Paycheck Requirements	Employee paychecks, or other equivalent wage statements, must reflect the following: the amount of NE PSL time available to the employee, the amount of NE PSL time taken by the employee to date in the year, and the amount of pay the employee has received as NE PSL. This requirement can be satisfied with an online system to which employees have access.
Prohibitions	Employers are prohibited from: taking retaliatory personnel action against employees for exercising their rights under NE PSL, including requesting or using NE PSL time. retaliatory personnel action includes any threat, discharge, suspension, demotion, reduction of hours or pay, or other adverse employment action. counting NE PSL absences against employees that may lead to or result in retaliatory personnel action. NOTE: After an employee has exhausted all their NE PSL time, an employer may then apply its normal absence control policy.
Enforcement	NE PSL will be implemented and enforced by the NE DOL. Employees may file a complaint with the NE DOL. alleging NE PSL violations. Employers found to have violated NE PSL requirements may be liable for administrative penalties.

Employer Next Steps

Employers with employees working in Nebraska should take note of these amended NE PSL requirements detailed above, which will be effective on October 1, 2025.

As the October 1, 2025 effective date approaches, employers with Nebraska-based employees should begin consulting with their employment and labor counsel to ensure compliance with the following items:

Review and update, as necessary, leave policies, procedures, and payroll/attendance systems
Train Human Resources team members and other employees who manage employee leaves
Communicate these upcoming NE PSL updates to eligible employees
Monitor the Nebraska Department of Labor webpage (here) for administrative guidance, regulations, and other materials related to NE PSL, including model notices and postings before September 15, 2025

Paid Sick Leave Reminder for Multistate Employers:

Nebraska joined Missouri and Alaska in passing November 2024 voter-approved paid sick leave ballot measures for 2025. However, Missouri recently repealed their paid sick leave requirement. Click here to learn more. Click here for more details of the Alaska paid sick leave requirements, effective July 1, 2025.

As the paid leave landscape around the country continues to rapidly change and evolve, Risk Strategies is committed to informing employers with the latest developments. Contact your Risk Strategies account team with any questions or contact us directly here.

The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and Risk Strategies Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein. Any recommendations contained herein are intended to provide insight based on currently available information for consideration and should be vetted against applicable legal and business needs before application to a specific client.

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