NFIB-Crafted Amendments Adopted in Employee-Compensation Bill

Successful addressing of liability and privacy concerns removed small-business group’s opposition to LB 217

State Director Bob Hallstrom reports from Lincoln on the small-business agenda for the legislative week ending April 5

The point in the legislative session in which “late-night sessions” will be conducted is rapidly approaching. Speaker Jim Scheer (Norfolk) has announced that the late-night session schedule will be unveiled on April 11. Late-night session debate generally runs until 8:30 p.m. or later to allow sufficient time to process priority bills and to finalize the state budget.

Exchange of Employee-Compensation Information

Legislative Bill 217, introduced by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks (Lincoln), was significantly amended and advanced to Final Reading this week. The bill would make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to retaliate 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.

NFIB played a key role in crafting amendments adopted during Select File debate to address liability and privacy concerns raised by those in the business community. The amendment clarifies that employers with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the provisions of LB 217, and that there is no obligation for any employer or employee to disclose information regarding wages, benefits or other compensation. The amendment would also prohibit employees from discussing compensation information during working hours and prohibit the disclosure or dissemination of (a) proprietary information or trade secrets; or (b) compensation information of other employees to a competitor of the employer.

With the adoption of the amendment to LB 217, NFIB has removed its opposition to the legislation.

Agricultural Land Valuation Bill Stalls

A measure (Legislative Bill 483), introduced by Sen. Steve Erdman (Bayard), that would change the valuation of agricultural land productivity-based system was debated for three hours on Thursday and pulled from the legislative agenda. While Senator Erdman indicated that the bill was designed to be “revenue neutral,” and not for the purpose of providing property tax relief, skeptics of the proposal raised concerns regarding the impact that the measure would have on other taxpayers and on school funding.

Pursuant to legislative protocol, supporters of LB 483 will need to demonstrate sufficient support (33 votes) for a cloture motion prior to the bill being placed back on the legislative agenda.

Small Business Day at the Capitol

NFIB/Nebraska will co-sponsor a Small Business Day at the Capitol on April 17, in Lincoln.

NFIB’s co-sponsors are the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Independent Business Association and Nebraskans For Workers’ Compensation Equity and Fairness.

Small Business Day gives NFIB members an opportunity to network with other small business owners. Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to speak, and there will be a legislative briefing by state senators.

Click here to register for the Small Business Day at the Capitol.