NEBRASKA - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• For purposes of the state’s workers’ compensation law, “agricultural operation means (i) the cultivation of land for the production of agricultural crops, fruit, or other horticultural products or (ii) the ownership, keeping, or feeding of animals for the production of livestock or livestock products[.]” (NEB. REV. STAT. § 48-106(9)(a))

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• There is a state minimum wage law. (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-1201 – 42-1234)
• Nebraska’s hourly minimum wage is:
  • $10.50 effective Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023;
  • $12 effective Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024; and
  • $13.50 effective Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025.
• There are multiple wage rates for different occupations.
• Agricultural workers are excluded from the state minimum wage. (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-1202(3)(a))

Overtime

There is no state overtime law.

State Enforcement Agency

Nebraska Department of Labor, Labor Standards Division

Website: https://dol.nebraska.gov/LaborStandards
Relevant Forms: https://dol.nebraska.gov/LaborStandards/WageComplaint/WageComplaintForm

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law, but with some exceptions. (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-106). When work is for an employer of more than 10 or more unrelated, full-time employees, in 1 or more locations, on each working day for 13 calendar weeks, (whether or not such weeks are consecutive) then Act applies 30 days after 13th week.  (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-106(2)(d))  
• Agricultural workers cannot argue “hazardous occupation” under a decision in the Supreme Court of Nebraska, which held “farm labor” is not a hazardous occupation that fell within the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act and the “farmworker exemption” of the Act was not a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Otto v. Hahn, 306 N.W.2d 587 (1981). 

State Enforcement Agency:
Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court

Website: https://www.wcc.ne.gov/
Relevant Forms: https://www.wcc.ne.gov/information-for-the-public/court-forms-and-publications

Field Sanitation

• There is no state law regarding field sanitation.

Federal Enforcement Agency:
US DOL, Nebraska OSHA Office

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/NE/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• There is a state law regulating pesticide use and safety in agriculture. (NEB. REV. STAT. § 2-2622, et seq.; 25 NEB. ADMIN. CODE § 02-001, et seq.)
• Pesticide exposure is a reportable disease. (173 NEB. ADMIN. CODE § 1-004)

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Program

Website: http://www.agr.ne.gov/pesticide/index.html

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• Nebraska is a “right to work” state (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann § 48-217), meaning no person can either be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues. 
• There is a state statute that creates a right of workers and their unions to engage in collective bargaining with agricultural employers. However, the law’s public policy states that farmers face “special problems” arising from perishable commodities and seasonal production which require “adequate consideration.” (Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-901(2))

State Legal Services Organizations

Legal Aid of Nebraska
http://legalaidofnebraska.org