Employment 2025

USA – NEBRASKA Law and Practice Contributed by: Tara Paulson, Mark Fahleson and Julie Schumacher, Rembolt Ludtke LLP

Training Wage Nebraska employers may pay a new employee who is younger than 20 years and is not a seasonal or migrant worker a training wage of at least 75% of the federal minimum wage for 90 days from the date the new employee was hired. Bonus Requirements Nebraska does not dictate specific terms regarding bonus compensation. In Nebraska, bonuses are gen - erally treated as wages and are subject to the same withholding and reporting requirements as regular wages. This includes federal and state income tax withholding, as well as Social Security, Medicare and FUTA taxes. 1.5 Other Employment Terms Vacation Pay Nebraska law does not require employers to provide vacation or vacation pay. If an employer provides vacation pay, the employer must pay out all accrued but unused vacation pay at termination. Paid Sick Leave Effective 1 October 2025, Nebraska law requires pri - vate employers with 11 or more employees to provide paid sick leave. Paid sick time generally may be used for an employee’s health condition, care of a family member’s health condition, closure of the employee’s place of business due to a public health emergency, and for the care of a child whose school or place of care is closed due to a public health emergency. All employees, including part-time and temporary, who work 80 hours of consecutive employment in a calendar year in Nebraska for a covered employer are entitled to accrue paid sick time unless exempted. The following employees are exempt from the Nebraska paid sick time requirements: • individual owner-operators; • independent contractors; • individuals who work fewer than 80 hours in a calendar year; • individuals who are employed in agricultural employment of a seasonal or other temporary nature;

more than 48 hours per week, or before 6am or after 10pm. Some exceptions to these limitations apply to

minors working in detasselling. Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible working arrangements are subject to the requirements of the FLSA. Nebraska has not adopted any specific guidance to these types of arrangements. Employers who adopt such arrangements should continue to be mindful of legal obligations to workers including obligations regarding workers’ compensa - tion and wage and hour matters. Similarly, Nebraska law does not dictate specific requirements or an hour threshold for part-time employees. To the extent an employee meets the minimum threshold hours under the Affordable Care Act (regardless of the employee’s full- or part-time classification), the employer may be obligated to pro - vide health insurance benefits. Likewise, effective 1 October 2025, employers will be required to provide part-time employees paid sick leave for their own ill - ness, to care for a family member, or for any other qualifying reason. See 1.5 Other Employment Terms . Overtime Requirements Nebraska does not have any laws related to overtime requirements for private employers. Nebraska follows the FLSA’s overtime requirement, which requires most employers to pay overtime for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek at the rate of 1.5 times the employee’s regular pay rate. 1.4 Compensation Nebraska Minimum Wage Nebraska minimum wage is USD13.50/hr until 31 December 2025. This rate will increase to USD15.00/ hr for the period between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026. It is expected that the established minimum wage shall be increased on 1 January 2027, and on January 1st of successive years, according to the increase in the cost of living. Tipped Employees Tipped employees must be paid at least USD2.13/hr. The sum of tipped employees’ hourly wage plus tips must equal or exceed the Nebraska minimum wage.

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