After eight hours of debate over four days, Nebraska lawmakers on Friday amended and advanced a bill that would modify the state’s newly adopted paid sick leave mandate.
The successful ballot initiative, passed last November, provides eligible Nebraska employees the right to earn and use paid sick leave for family health needs based on the size of their employer — up to 40 hours annually for employers with fewer than 20 employees and 56 hours for businesses with more than 20 employees.
LB415, as introduced by Lincoln Sen. Beau Ballard, would exempt individual owner-operators, independent contractors and individuals who work fewer than 80 hours annually from the provisions of the initiative, known as the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act. Under the bill, employers who have paid leave policies that equal or exceed the amount of paid sick leave required by the initiative would not be required to provide any additional paid sick leave.
The measure also would clarify that employers are not required to pay out employees for unused paid sick time when they leave their place of employment. Employees who are rehired within 12 months would have their unused sick time reinstated. Lastly, LB415 clarifies that employees would begin to accrue paid sick leave after 80 hours of consecutive employment. The measure would take effect Oct. 1, 2025.
Ballard said the bill seeks to address the concerns of local businesses on the proper implementation of mandated paid sick leave in the state and was not opposed by any of the ballot initiative sponsors.
A Business and Labor Committee amendment would provide that employees paid on a commission, piece-rate, mileage or fee-for-service basis would accrue paid sick leave based on an average weekly rate of pay calculation already outlined in state law.
The amendment also includes LB698, sponsored by Sen. Paul Strommen, which would exempt several groups from the ballot initiative, including temporary and seasonal agricultural employees, workers under age 16 and businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
Debate focused on the provisions of LB698, which also would remove protections for workers who face retaliation from their employer for using paid sick leave and the ability for employees to seek restitution for earned sick leave that was not granted.
Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha made a motion to consider the provisions of LB698 separately from the rest of the committee amendment. The motion was successful.
Strommen said many small businesses struggle to absorb the increased costs associated with providing paid sick leave and are forced to reduce employee hours, cut wages or eliminate positions altogether. The proposal is not an attempt to undermine the ballot initiative, he said, but rather to protect small businesses, workers and the local economy from the detrimental effects of mandated paid sick leave.
“While the idea of paid sick leave is appealing, government mandates on businesses can create unintended negative consequences for employees,” Strommen said.
Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt opposed the amendment, calling the exemptions “troubling” and “cruel.” Regardless of a person’s age or the type of job they have, she said, no one should have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their health.
“[Employees] deserve the basic dignity of a paid sick day if they need it,” Hunt said.
Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney introduced a series of unsuccessful procedural motions to extend discussion of the measure, saying Strommen’s proposal disrespects the will of nearly 75% of the state’s voters who chose to grant all working Nebraskans the right to earn paid sick leave.
He also noted that businesses in states where similar paid sick leave laws have been implemented have not reported a need to change their hiring or employment practices nor experienced negative economic impacts as a result of the policies.
McKinney said research from the Center for American Progress indicates that employers could actually save over $1 billion annually through implementation of paid sick leave.
“We should not erode what the people wanted,” he said. “These worker and family-friendly policies support businesses and local economies by decreasing costly turnover, saving on health care costs and boosting productivity.”
Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln supported the motions, saying Nebraska has the highest number of residents in the country who work full-time while still living in poverty. She said there currently are 250,000 full-time employees in the state with no access to paid sick leave.
Lincoln Sen. Jane Raybould opposed the procedural motions and supported LB415 and the amendment, saying the Nebraska Constitution clearly grants legislators the authority to make necessary modifications to ballot initiatives.
After eight hours of discussion, Ballard offered a motion to invoke cloture. The motion, which ends debate and forces a vote on the bill and any pending amendments, was adopted on a 34-15 vote. Thirty-three votes were needed, the same number that will be required to pass LB415. Laws that would alter voter-approved initiative measures require a two-thirds majority for final approval.
Following the successful cloture motion, lawmakers voted 34-15 to adopt the committee amendment before advancing LB415 to select file on a vote of 34-14.
In the technically nonpartisan legislature, lawmakers largely voted along party lines, with all 33 Republicans supporting the measure. Democratic Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln broke ranks, giving the bill it’s 34th vote.