Nebraska members of the National Federation of Independent Business shared what the new statewide paid leave mandate means for their businesses. A staggering 98 percent of the participants said that the mandate will have a negative impact on their small businesses, according to NFIB’s annual survey.

“Our members confirmed that Nebraska’s paid leave mandate will do more harm than good,” said NFIB Nebraska State Director Ryan McIntosh. “Small business owners are already grappling with federal issues like high costs and hiring issues. An overwhelming majority of our survey participants agreed that paid leave regulation will only increase the burden. If lawmakers want to keep Main Street businesses thriving, they must right this wrong and lessen the pressure put on small business owners.

NFIB supports LB 648, introduced by Nebraska Senator Paul Strommen, that will effectively clean up some of the more unnecessary aspects of the Paid Leave mandate. It protects the smallest of the small businesses by exempting those with 10 or fewer employees. The clean-up legislation would also exempt temporary and seasonal employees, as well as youth under 16, from accruing paid leave since they often don’t work enough hours over the course of a year. Finally, the bill would remove the private right of action, which could promote frivolous lawsuits, resulting in greater burdens on small businesses.

The survey also found:

• Seventy-six percent of participants offered paid leave to their employees before the mandate was implemented.
• Fifty-seven percent of participants said that the mandate would increase their administrative burden and cost of doing business.