Nebraska voters approve paid sick leave

Published: November 6, 2024 | by Michael Cardman, Senior Legal Editor at Brightmine

Nebraska is poised to join the growing list of states with paid sick leave laws.

Initiative Measure 436 to establish a new paid sick leave law effective October 1, 2025, has been approved by 74% of voters, according to unofficial results.

The Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to certify the election results on December 2.

The ballot initiative will allow eligible employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

Employees of small employers with fewer than 20 employees will be allowed to accrue and use up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year; employees of large employers with 20 or more employees will be allowed to accrue and use up to 56 hours of earned paid sick time per year.

Employers must provide employees paid sick leave for several reasons, including:

• The mental or physical illness of an employee or an employee’s family member.
• Preventative medical care for an employee or an employee’s family member.
• A public health emergency that results in the closure of the employee’s place of business or the employee’s child’s school or day care facility.

The law also includes retaliation protections and notice-and-posting requirements.

Supporters argued that Initiative 436 will help to create healthier workplaces, families and communities. Opponents said it will hurt small and medium-sized businesses by driving up their cost of doing business and making it harder for them to compete with large national and multinational corporations.