Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the United States:
Nebraska
Updated on November 8, 2024
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| Nebraska | |
| Who is covered? Note: City/county paid sick time laws cannot cover state government workers, and city, county, and state paid sick time laws cannot cover federal government workers. | Workers who are employed in Nebraska for 80 hours or more in a calendar year are covered. Certain railroad employees and federal, state, and local government employees are exempted. |
| Can sick time be used to care for loved ones? | Yes: child; spouse; parent or legal guardian of the employee or employee’s spouse; a person who stood in loco parentis to the employee or employee’s spouse when the employee or spouse was a minor child; grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee or employee’s spouse; any individual related by blood to the employee or whose close relationship to the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. |
| How is “child” defined? | A biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. |
| Can sick time be used for specific “safe time” purposes (related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking)? | No. |
| Can sick time be used under the law to bond with a new child and/or deal with a family member’s death? Note: It is possible that other laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act or a state equivalent, could provide eligible workers with unpaid leave for these purposes. | No. |
| Can sick time be used when a worker’s place of work or child’s school/place of care is closed by public health officials for a public health emergency? | Yes. |
| Rate at which workers earn paid sick time? | 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. |
| Do workers have different sick time-related rights based on the size of their employer? If so, based on what employer-size threshold(s)? | Yes. Workers in businesses with 20 or more workers can earn and use up to 56 hours of paid sick time per year. Workers in businesses with fewer than 20 workers can earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year. |
| Amount of paid sick time that can be earned under the law per year? (Note: All of these paid sick time laws make it clear that these laws establish a minimum requirement, and employers can provide greater or more generous paid sick time benefits to their workers.) | Workers in businesses with 20 or more employees: up to 56 hours of paid sick time a year. Workers in businesses with fewer than 20 employees: up to 40 hours of paid sick time a year. |
| When do workers begin to earn paid sick time? | At the commencement of employment or October 1, 2025, whichever is later. |
| Does unused sick time carry forward to the subsequent year? | Workers are entitled to carry forward unused paid sick time but employers are not required to allow use of more than 56 hours per year (for businesses with 20 or more workers), or 40 hours per year (for businesses with fewer than 20 workers). In lieu of carrying forward unused paid sick time from one year to the next, an employer may pay a worker for unused paid sick time at the end of a year and provide the worker with an amount of paid sick time that meets or exceeds the law’s requirements that is available for the worker’s immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year. |
| Private Right of Action to go to Court? | Yes. |
| Are there waivers/ exemptions for workers covered by a valid Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)? | An employer signatory to a multi-employer CBA may fulfill the law’s obligations by making contributions to a multi-employer paid sick time fund/plan/program based on the hours of paid sick time each of its workers accrue under the law while working under the multi-employer CBA, as long as the fund/plan/program allows workers to collect paid sick time from it based on hours worked under the CBA and for the purposes specified in the law. |
| What Agency or Official Enforces the Law? | The Nebraska Department of Labor. |
| For the statewide paid sick time laws: can cities in the state pass paid sick time laws that are broader than the state law? | Not explicitly addressed in the paid sick time law. |
| Statutory Citation(s) | To be codified. For the text of this statute, see https://paidsickleavefornebraskans.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PSLFN-Proposed-Ballot-Language_Redacted.pdf |
| Additional Notes | This law was passed by voters on November 5, 2024. Workers will be eligible to begin earning and using paid sick time on October 1, 2025. |
