Paid sick leave bill sparks heated debate in Nebraska Legislature

LINCOLN, Neb. — A bill introduced by Senator Beau Ballard, aimed at changing guidelines for paid sick time off, is stirring intense debate in the Nebraska Legislature.

The bill, known as LB 415, is the result of collaboration between the business community, the Department of Labor, and employment law experts.

"It adds owner operators and independent contractors to the list of exempted individuals from paid time off," said Ballard. "The initiative seeks to preserve existing paid time off programs that exceed the minimum that the initiative sets out, and it clarifies how paid time off is to be paid out by employment separation."

However, the bill has faced opposition from several senators. Senator Megan Hunt expressed concerns, stating, "No one should have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their health."

Senator Danielle Conrad echoed these sentiments, arguing that the debate is "misleading and misinformed." She added, "We can see by opening the door to undermining the will of the people under the offices of the so-called technical directions, it has opened a Pandora's box to completely defy the will of the people."

Senator John Fredrickson acknowledged the strong feelings surrounding the bill but emphasized the need for clarity.

"This is not, we’re not talking about unlimited paid sick leave," he said. "This is not something folks can call off work every day and get paid for. We’re talking about an accrual of up to five days per year for someone who is 20 or younger or seven days per year for someone who is over 20."

The debate, which is expected to continue into next week, took a contentious turn on Wednesday morning when a call to cease debate was made. Senator Machaela Cavanaugh sought clarification on why the decision to cease debate was being made by the body instead of the chair. Her microphone was turned off by Chairman Speaker John Arch during the discussion.

"Point of order was that we were in the middle of a discussion of my inquiry and my microphone was turned off before we had finished that discussion," Cavanaugh said. She insisted on having her point of order on the public record, stating, "You can't arbitrarily decide to silence me, and you can't decide that I can't have my point of order on public record. I'm not going to come up there and have it off the record. That is my choice."

The legislature was at ease for five minutes before Speaker Arch resumed the session, and the debate on the motion was ceased.