***For Immediate Release***
October 1, 2025
Contact: Sierra Salgado Pirigyi
Communications Director, Nebraska Appleseed
Office: 402-438-8853 x116
sierrasp@neappleseed.org
Nebraska workers gain paid sick leave protections as Initiative 436 becomes law
Beginning October 1, 2025, workers in Nebraska will start to accrue paid sick leave
LINCOLN, NE – Today, over 100,000 Nebraska workers will begin accruing paid sick time through the Nebraska Healthy Families & Workplaces Act (Initiative 436), which was approved by nearly 75% of Nebraska voters in November 2024. The initiative also had broad support from more than 200 local Nebraska businesses.
“Everyday Nebraskans know that working families are the engine that drives our economy,” said Jodi Lepaopao, Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans Campaign Manager. “Paid sick leave has been supported by the majority of Nebraskans for decades, and now, thanks to voters, tens of thousands of hardworking Nebraskans no longer have to choose between paying their bills or caring for their health. Today is a day to celebrate our collective efforts to ensure that working families in Nebraska can thrive.”
Employers are required to give notice of the new law, which gives employees the right to earn paid sick leave after 80 hours of consecutive employment, at which point workers will begin to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, subject to the following limitations:
- Workers whose employers have 11-19 employees earn 40 hours of paid sick time in a year.
- Workers whose employers have 20 or more employees earn 56 hours of paid sick time in a year.
Though Nebraskans voted to provide paid sick leave for all workers in Nebraska, new restrictions were added to the voter-approved law by the Nebraska Legislature this spring through LB415, which removed paid sick leave protections from 140,000 Nebraska workers.
“As we celebrate paid sick leave becoming law, it’s important to acknowledge that the Nebraska Legislature chose to significantly weaken this voter-approved policy, despite the broad support that it received across the state,” said Ken Smith, Economic Justice Program Director for Nebraska Appleseed. “Paid sick leave protections were removed from 140,000 Nebraskans, including seasonal and temporary agricultural workers, workers under the age of 16, and those who work for businesses with 10 or fewer employees. These hardworking Nebraskans will continue to face the difficult decision between earning a paycheck and caring for their families and health.”
Workers who are still entitled to paid sick leave protections may now use their accrued sick time for any of the following reasons:
- The employee’s illness, injury, or health condition; or for treatment, diagnosis, or preventative medical care.
- Care of the employee’s family member(s) for illness, injury, or health condition; or for treatment, diagnosis, or preventative medical care.
- Meetings at school or a care provider’s location related to their child’s illness, injury, or health condition.
- Closure of the employee’s business or to care for a child due to closure of school or place of care by order of public officials due to public health emergency.
- The employee’s need to self-isolate or care for a family member that needs to be isolated due to a communicable disease as determined by a health authority or a health care professional.
Thanks to Initiative 436, employers are prohibited from taking any retaliatory action against workers who request or use their accrued paid sick leave.
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Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans includes the following coalition members:
ACLU of Nebraska
Centro Hispano
Heartland Workers Center
Nebraska Appleseed
Nebraska Appleseed Action Fund
Nebraska Civic Engagement Table
Nebraska State AFL-CIO
Omaha Together One Community (OTOC)
OutNebraska
Second House Collaborative
Voices for Children in Nebraska
Women’s Fund of Omaha
YWCA Grand Island
Learn more about Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans on the coalition website.