Nebraska’s New Paid Sick Leave Law: What Vet Clinics Need to Know

Starting October 1, 2025, Nebraska’s new Healthy Families and Workplaces Act will require many employers to offer paid sick leave to eligible employees. In plain terms, most Nebraska businesses with 11 or more employees in Nebraska must give workers paid sick time off each year. Employers with 10 or fewer employees are exempt. Specifically, clinics with 11–19 Nebraska employees must allow up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, while those with 20 or more employees must allow up to 56 hours. Accrual is at the rate of 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, beginning once an employee has worked 80 hours total in Nebraska. Veterinary clinics can “front-load” the full annual allotment if they prefer, instead of tracking the hourly accrual. Unused sick hours carry over year to year, but employers may limit use to 40 or 56 hours per benefit year depending on their size. 

Eligible uses include an employee’s own illness or injury, preventive care, or caring for a sick family member, as well as public-health-related closures or isolation. For example, if a clinic or school is closed by order of health authorities. The law defines “family member” broadly, including relatives and anyone with a close personal association. Employers must pay sick leave at the worker’s normal rate and benefits, and can allow leave in increments as small as one hour. Unlike vacation leave, Nebraska’s law does not require paying out unused sick hours when someone leaves the clinic. 

In practice, Nebraska’s rules are similar to those in other states that have paid sick-leave laws. For example, California (where any size employer must comply) recently raised its minimum to 40 hours (5 days) per year for all covered workers, and Oregon requires employers with 10+ employees to allow up to 40 or 72 hours per year. Nebraska’s 11-employee threshold is higher than Oregon’s 10 and also higher than states like New Jersey or Illinois, which have no size threshold. In short, a very small solo vet clinic, with 10 or fewer workers, will owe no sick leave under Nebraska law, whereas even a tiny clinic would owe leave in Oregon or California.

Who Counts as an Employee vs Contractor?

The law only covers employees, not independent contractors. In veterinary practices, this distinction often matters for relief or locum veterinarians. If a relief vet is truly an independent contractor or “owner-operator” (typically on a 1099 arrangement), the clinic does not have to provide sick leave to them. Only W-2 employees are eligible to earn sick time. Importantly, even part-time and temporary clinic staff can be employees under the law. Any clinic worker (technician, receptionist, etc.) who is at least 16 years old and works 80 or more hours in Nebraska in a calendar year qualifies as an employee for these purposes. Workers under 16 are excluded. In effect, a part-time vet tech will begin earning sick leave after roughly five weeks of part-time work, at which point the 1:30 accrual kicks in. Someone who never reaches 80 hours in a year earns no sick leave. Likewise, a brief summer or holiday hire at a clinic only receives sick time off if they hit 80 hours.

The only seasonal/temp exemption is for seasonal agricultural workers. That means a farm laborer who tends crops is excluded, but a veterinary technician hired for the summer is not automatically exempt just for being seasonal. If they work 80+ hours, they count the same as any other employee.

Special Considerations for Vet Practices

• Relief and mobile vets: If a relief veterinarian is treated as a 1099 contractor, Nebraska law does not require sick leave for them. But if a relief vet, or any vet, is on your payroll, then after 80 hours worked they accrue sick time just like other staff. (Note: strict misclassification rules still apply — a vet who is truly an employee cannot just be called a contractor to avoid laws. Our point is only that true contractors are explicitly exempt.)

• Small clinics (<11 staff): The law explicitly exempts employers with 10 or fewer Nebraska employees. That means a small single-doctor practice with a handful of techs generally won’t be required to provide paid sick leave under this law. Of course, such clinics might still choose to offer paid leave voluntarily as an employee benefit. Even exempt employers should be aware of any local rules or consider whether a voluntary policy makes sense. 

• Multiple locations or mobile clinics: Only Nebraska-based workers count toward the headcount. If your veterinary group operates separate businesses, like a city clinic and a suburban clinic under one owner, Nebraska’s Labor Dept may review tax, payroll, and insurance records to decide if they must be combined for counting the 11+ threshold. For notice/posting purposes, each Nebraska worksite needs to display the state poster by Oct 1, 2025. If a clinic has no fixed office for example, a mobile practice or on-call vets, the poster and written notice can be emailed or posted on an intranet instead. 

• Existing PTO or unlimited leave: If your clinic already offers a general PTO or sick bank, review it now. A combined PTO policy is fine as long as it provides at least the required sick hours (40 or 56) per year and can be used for sickness. An unlimited PTO plan that covers sick leave must still allow employees to use it as sick time; you may want to explicitly track sick leave taken even if your PTO policy is unlimited. The law does not force any change if your PTO policy is already as generous as the sick-leave law requires. Also, Nebraska does not require employers to pay out unused sick time when an employee leaves, unless your PTO policy already did so.

Key Compliance Steps

Veterinary clinic owners and managers should act now to prepare. A simple checklist:

• Count your Nebraska workforce: Determine how many employees you have in Nebraska (full-time, part-time, on payroll). Remember: only employees, not contractors, and only those working ≥80 hours count. This tells you which tier you fall in. 

• Audit worker classification: Review any relief veterinarians, locum tenens, or others to confirm who is truly an independent contractor. Only actual employees earn sick leave. If you find that a worker is misclassified, consult counsel.

• Update your policies: Revise or adopt a paid sick leave policy. Ensure it offers at least 40 hours (if you have 11–19 employees) or 56 hours (if 20+) per year, accrual at 1 hour per 30 worked after 80 hours, and unlimited carryover, subject to the per-year use cap. If you use a lump-sum PTO bank, make sure it meets those minimums for sick leave. Add language about permitted uses (employee or family illness, school closures, public health emergencies, etc.) consistent with the law

• Adjust payroll/tracking: Set up your timekeeping or payroll system to track sick-hour accrual and usage, or to front-load the annual amount on Oct 1. Each paystub must show sick hours available, used, and paid. If you opt to cash out unused sick leave yearly and re-credit the next year’s allotment, you can avoid carryover, but your system still needs to handle it in some fashion. 

• Provide required notices by deadlines: Written notice of the law must have been given to all current employees by September 15, 2025, and to each new hire on their start date. Also post the official workplace poster by October 1, 2025. If any employees are remote or mobile, email the notice and poster instead of posting on a wall. 

• Train managers and communicate: Make sure supervisors know that they cannot penalize employees for using protected sick leave. No discipline for absences covered by this law. Inform staff of the new policy, how to request leave, and any documentation rules, for absences over 3 days you may request a doctor’s note. 

• Keep records: Retain documentation of hours worked, accruals, usage, and posted notices. The law requires employers to keep enough records to prove compliance.

FAQ

How do we count “employees” to get to the 11?

When determining whether your clinic crosses the 11-employee threshold, you need to count all full-time and part-time employees who work in Nebraska. The Nebraska Department of Labor has clarified that if someone works more than 50 hours in a year, they count as an “employee” for purposes of this law.

That means even part-time receptionists, weekend kennel assistants, and other occasional staff could push you over the threshold if they cross the 50-hour mark. The headcount is not an “average,” it looks at your highest number of employees at any point during the year. So, if your clinic ever has 11 or more employees on the books at once (with at least 50 hours each in Nebraska that year), you are covered under the law and must provide paid sick leave.

Are relief veterinarians covered?

Only if they are your employees. Most relief vets are paid as independent contractors, and Nebraska’s law explicitly excludes contractors/owner-operators. If a relief vet is on your payroll as an employee, then after 80 hours worked they would start to accrue sick leave.

What if my clinic has under 11 employees?

If you truly have 10 or fewer employees in Nebraska, the clinic is exempt and does not have to provide paid sick leave under this law. You should still give employees notice that the law exists, but inform them that they’re not covered. If your count reaches 11, or more, by hiring or contracting, then coverage kicks in and you must comply.

What about part-time or seasonal staff?

Part-time employees earn sick leave once they hit 80 hours in the year. “Seasonal” or temporary employees count just like others unless they are seasonal agricultural workers (a narrowly defined farm-labor exemption). In other words, a vet tech who works summer weekends will count as an employee once at 80 hours and earn sick leave.

How do I notify employees without a central office?

If your staff have no fixed Nebraska worksite, you can satisfy the posting/notice rule by emailing the notice to them or posting it on an internal web portal. 

Bottom Line: Plan Now

Nebraska’s paid sick leave law represents a big change for veterinary employers and staff. Clinic owners should take early steps now; audit employee counts and classifications, update pay and PTO systems, and prepare notices. The Department of Labor’s website will have the official notice and poster. By getting ahead of the September 15 and October 1 deadlines (for notices and accruals), your clinic can avoid penalties and ensure your veterinarians, techs, and support staff know and receive their new sick leave benefits.

TL;DR – Nebraska Paid Sick Leave for Vet Clinics

Starting October 1, 2025, Nebraska clinics with 11+ employees must provide paid sick leave.

• 11–19 staff: up to 40 hours/year

• 20+ staff: up to 56 hours/year

• Accrual: 1 hour per 30 worked (after 80 hours)

• Who counts: All W-2 staff age 16+ working ≥80 hours/year. Relief vets on 1099s do not count.

• Threshold: If anyone works >50 hours and your clinic hits 11+ staff at any point in the year, you must comply.

• Uses: Illness, preventive care, family care, public health closures.

• Exempt: Clinics with 10 or fewer employees.