Legislative Bill Seeks to Accelerate Collection of Online Sales Taxes

Measures on minimum wage, paid leave, unlawful employment practices on the move

State Director Bob Hallstrom reports from Lincoln on the legislative week ending March 8

Lawmakers adjourned for a long, four-day weekend on Thursday. The pace of floor debate slowed considerably this week, as the body encountered some contentious bills involving prolonged debate, including a bill (Legislative Bill 627), to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Upcoming Floor Action

The following bills, opposed by NFIB, have surfaced on the General File agenda and could be debated on the floor of the Legislature early next week:

Legislative Bill 217 – Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act
Introduced by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks (Lincoln), LB 217, pursuant to the provisions by an amendment proposed by the Business and Labor Committee, would establish an unlawful employment practice for an employer who discriminates against any of his or her employees or applicants for employment, because he or she has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed information regarding employee compensation. The bill would not apply to instances in which an employee who has authorized access to the wage information of other employees as a part of such employee’s job functions discloses the wages of such other employees to an individual who does not otherwise have authorized access to the information, unless such disclosure is in response to a charge or complaint or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or other action, including an investigation conducted by the employer.

Legislative Bill 400 – Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees
LB 400, introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt (Omaha), would increase the state minimum wage for “tipped” employees from the current rate of $2.13 per hour to $3.60 on August 1, 2019, and to $4.50 on January 1, 2020. The bill would also require the summary of the Wage and Hour Act posted by employers to include a summary of the minimum wage amounts in effect under the Act.

Paid Leave Bills Moved to the Floor

The Business and Labor Committee has advanced the following two “paid leave” bills to the floor of the Legislature for consideration by the full body:

Legislative Bill 305 – Healthy and Safe Families and Workplace Act
Introduced by Sen. Sue Crawford (Bellevue), LB 305 would allow employees to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, with a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick time accrued in a calendar year. Under the measure, employees would be entitled to use accrued paid sick time beginning on the 60th calendar day following commencement of employment. Paid sick leave would be authorized for:

an employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition

an employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition

an employee’s need for preventative medical care

care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition

care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition

care of a family member who needs preventative medical care

absence necessary due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.

(NFIB Position – Oppose)

Legislative Bill 311 – Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Act
Introduced by Senator Crawford, LB 311, beginning July 1, 2021, would establish a statewide paid family medical leave insurance program similar to Nebraska’s unemployment insurance system and managed by the state Department of Labor. Employers would be required to contribute up to one percent of gross wages paid to covered employees to pay for the family medical leave benefit, to pay all other benefits to which an employee would have been entitled in the absence of the leave, as well as all other benefits offered to the employee (vacation, sick leave, etc.) and to allow the employee to return to his or her position after exercising the right to family medical leave.

(NFIB Position – Oppose)

Committee Action

State Director Bob Hallstrom presented testimony this week on the following series of workers’ compensation bills heard by the Business and Labor Committee:

Legislative Bill 408 – Workers’ Compensation – Death Benefits
Sen. Dan Quick (Grand Island) is the sponsor of LB 408, which would provide, upon the death of an employee, if there is no spouse, child, or other dependent entitled to benefits, that $25,000 is to be paid to the personal representative of the estate of the decedent. (NFIB Position – Opposed)

Legislative Bill 448 – Workers’ Compensation – Burial Benefits
Sen. Mike McDonnell (Omaha) has introduced legislation LB 448, which would revise the manner in which an employer’s responsibility for burial expenses is determined by setting the burial expense at 14 times the state’s average weekly wage, to be automatically adjusted annually. (NFIB Position – Opposed)

Legislative Bill 526 – Workers’ Compensation – Temporary Disability
Introduced by Senator McDonnell, LB 526 would provide that temporary disability shall continue until the later of (a) any permanent disability, as measured by permanent impairment for a scheduled member injury, has been determined or, in the event of a claim payable under loss of earning capacity, until a loss of earning capacity evaluation has been issued or (b) 30 days after the employee has been given notice of termination of temporary disability benefits. Upon termination of temporary disability benefits, the employer would be required to provide copies of all evidence relied upon in making the determination to cease benefit payments and if evidence from outside of the treating physician has been relied upon, the employee shall be entitled to seek a medical finding by an independent medical examiner to be paid for by the employer, with such independent medical examiner to be chosen by the employee. (NFIB Position – Opposed)

Legislative Bill 487 – Workers’ Compensation – Evidenced-Based Drug Formulary
Sen. Andrew La Grone (Gretna) has introduced legislation that would establish an evidence-based drug formulary consisting of Schedule II, III, IV and V prescription drugs in connection with workers’ compensation claims with a date of injury on or after January 1, 2020. Over-prescribing of opioids is an epidemic which brings about delays in the ability of employees to return to work as a result of addiction and dependencies resulting from over-utilization of pain killers. (NFIB Position – Support)

NFIB also submitted testimony in opposition to the following mandated benefits bill that was heard by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee:

Legislative Bill 501 – Mandated Benefits
Introduced by Senator Hunt, LB 501 would require insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization procedures for any insurance plan that provides coverage for pregnancy-related procedures. (NFIB Position – Oppose)

Amended “Ban the Box” Bill Advances

Legislative Bill 254 – Fair Chance Hiring Act/Ban the Box
Legislation (LB 254) introduced by Sen. John McCollister (Omaha) was advanced to Final Reading during the past week. As originally introduced, LB 254 would have prohibited private employers (with 15 or more employees) from asking an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning the applicant’s criminal record or history, including any inquiries on any employment application, until the employer or employment agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications.

As amended, employers may ask applicants for employment to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning the applicant’s criminal record or history, including any inquiry on any employment application, and must afford the applicant an opportunity to explain the information and the circumstances regarding any convictions or other criminal history, including the applicant’s rehabilitation. (NFIB Position – Watch as Amended)

Online Sales Tax Collection Bill Advances

The Legislature has given second–round approval to Legislative Bill 284 providing for collection of already–owed state sales taxes for online purchases beginning April 1, 2019. Nebraska sales taxes are already being collected by some online settlers, including Amazon.

In order to accelerate the collection of revenue from other online sellers, the operative date contained within the bill was moved up from July 1, 2019, to April 1, 2019. Estimates of online sales tax revenue to be derived from LB 284 have ranged from $30 million to $40 million annually or more. (NFIB Position – Watch)