Nebraska Statewide Rule
Nebraska Paid Sick Leave Initiative 436 and Local Authority
Key Facts
- Initiative
- 436 (2024), amended by LB415
- Effective date
- October 1, 2025
- Accrual rate
- 1 hour per 30 worked
- Cap
- 56 hrs (20+); 40 hrs (11-19)
- Small business (<=10 employees)
- Exempt (LB415)
Summary
Nebraska voters approved Initiative 436 in 2024, creating statewide paid sick leave effective October 1, 2025. The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act sits in Neb. Rev. Stat. chapter 48 and does not expressly preempt local paid leave ordinances.
48-3810. No effect on more generous paid sick time policies or laws; nonwaiver of rights and remedies. (1) The Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act provides minimum requirements pertaining to paid sick time, and nothing in the act shall be construed to: (a) Prohibit an employer from the adoption or retention of a paid sick time policy more generous than the one required by the act; (b) Diminish the obligation of an employer to comply with any contract, collective-bargaining agreement, employment benefit plan, or other agreement providing more generous paid sick time to an employee than required by the act; (c) Diminish the rights of public employees regarding paid sick time or use of paid sick time as provided in state or local law; or (d) Preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or standard that provides for a greater amount, accrual, or use by employees of paid sick time or that extends other
Full Breakdown
Initiative 436 (2024) became the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, requiring paid sick time to accrue at one hour per 30 hours worked beginning October 1, 2025. LB415 (2025) amended it: businesses with 10 or fewer employees are exempt; those with 11-19 employees allow up to 40 hours per year, and employers with 20 or more allow up to 56 hours. LB415 also exempts owner-operators, independent contractors, seasonal agricultural workers, and anyone under 16, and lets accrual begin after 80 hours of employment. Permitted uses include the employee's illness, family care, and public-health closures. The Nebraska Department of Labor administers the Act.
Violations & Penalties
Employers who deny accrual, retaliate against users of leave, or fail to post notices face Department of Labor enforcement, civil penalties, and may be liable to affected employees for back pay, restoration of leave, and attorney's fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nebraska have paid sick leave?
Can a Nebraska city require more paid leave?
Sources
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