- Nebraska and Oregon Update State Paid Leave Programs
- Maine Lawmakers Pass Auto-IRA Expansion Bill
- Report: Workplace Injury Costs on the Rise
- Amazon’s Return to Office Mandates Spark Disability Concerns
Nebraska and Oregon Update State Paid Leave Programs
On Thursday, June 5, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill (LB) No. 415 that clarifies and amends the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplace Act (NHFWA), which provides earned paid sick time to most Nebraska employees. Passed by voters in November 2024, the bill will become effective on Oct. 1.
According to law firm Ogletree Deakins, employers in that state with fewer than 11 employees are exempt from the law. Employers with 11 to 19 employees can cap worker accrual and usage at 40 hours per year. Employers with 20 or more employees can cap worker accrual and usage at 56 hours per year.
Employers with an existing paid leave policy need not provide additional paid leave under the NHFWA if the policy provides an amount of leave equal to or greater than that required by the law, and which can be used as paid sick time. Employers can count paid leave that was provided to employees between Jan. 1, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2025, toward their annual obligation for paid sick time if the paid time off was available for use as paid sick time as provided by the NHFWA.
In Oregon, several bills were recently passed that made changes to current paid leave systems. According to law firm Jackson Lewis:
- House Bill (HB) 3021 revises statutes related to both unemployment insurance and Paid Leave Oregon, although the bill primarily focuses on administrative updates and alignment between the two programs.
- Senate Bill (SB) 69 introduces administrative and technical modifications to Paid Leave Oregon and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). It creates an exception to OFLA eligibility for airline flight crew employees who meet federal hours-of-service requirements.
- SB 858 allows an authorized agent to act on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated individual in matters related to Paid Leave Oregon claims, ensuring continuity of benefits processing.
- SB 859 grants the state’s employment department director the authority to compromise, adjust or write off certain debts and overpayments under the Paid Leave Oregon program.
Maine Lawmakers Pass Auto-IRA Expansion Bill
On Monday, June 9, lawmakers in Maine’s Senate and House passed Legislative Document (LD) 355, which will require employers with three or more employees that don’t offer a retirement plan to their employees to register with the state-run Maine Retirement Savings Program. The current law states private-sector employers with five or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan to their employees must register with the program.
According to the National Association of Plan Advisors, the state’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee made some amendments to the original bill, softening several provisions.
- Registration of employees. The committee added language providing that an program-participating employer would have up to 120 days to register a covered employee in the program; such an employer could register an employee at any time between the date he or she was hired and the 120th day of employment.
- Re-enrollment. The committee softened the provisions that concern employees who had opted out. The bill originally had provided for automatic reenrollment for such employees; however, the committee changed that provision to say that employees who opted out may be provided the opportunity to re-enroll.
- Penalties. The committee delayed the dates on which maximum penalties kick in for the first, second and third year of failure to enroll covered employees in the program by one year for each of those failures. The first of those deadlines now is July 1, 2026; the second, July 1, 2027; the third, July 1, 2028.
The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Janet Mills.
Report: Workplace Injury Costs on the Rise
Although the frequency of workplace injuries overall has declined over the past decade, the costs associated with them are climbing, according to a new report by Travelers. The insurance company examined 1.2 million workers compensation claims received during the past five years.
The company found that employees in their first year on the job accounted for nearly 36% of injuries and 34% of overall claim costs during the last five years. This is an increase from the prior five years, when 34% of injuries and 32% of overall claim costs were attributed to new employees.
During the past five years, employees aged 50 or older made up 41% of the injured employee population, and those 60 and older represented 16%. This is up from 39% and 13%, respectively, when compared with data from 2015 through 2019.
Additionally, from 2020 to 2024, employees missed an average of 80 workdays per injury — an increase of more than seven days when compared with the previous five-year period. Injured employees aged 60 and older were out of work due to workplace injuries for nearly 97 days, almost 17 more days than the overall average and an increase of 14 days from pre-pandemic years.
Amazon’s Return to Office Mandates Spark Disability Concerns
As Amazon calls more employees back to the office, some workers are alleging the e-commerce company is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
As reported by Fortune, at least two employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOCC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The article stated disabled workers are frustrated with how Amazon is handling their requests for accommodations — including exemptions to a mandate that they report to the office five days a week. The company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help it manage employee requests for disability accommodations also has stirred internal opposition and could open the company to legal challenges.
Several employees told Bloomberg they believed the system was designed to deny work-from-home accommodations and prompt employees with disabilities to quit, which some have done. Amazon denied the system was designed to encourage people to resign.
Amazon spokesperson Zoe Hoffmann said the company’s disability and leave services team ensures employees have access to the accommodations and adjustments they need to be effective and advance their careers.
“Amazon respects employees’ rights to organize and doesn’t interfere with these rights. We don’t discriminate or retaliate against employees for engaging in organizing activities,” Hoffmann said in an emailed statemen to Fortune. “We’re committed to supporting our employees by providing effective accommodations that meet their individual needs and the needs of the business.”
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