Does Nebraska require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes. Nebraska requires workers' compensation from the first employee: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106 applies the Act to every employer, resident or out-of-state and working in Nebraska, with one or more employees in its regular business. Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members, and corporate officers who own 25% or more are outside the Act unless they elect in. Household domestic workers and most small farm operations are exempt, and there is no state waiver form.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before Nebraska requires workers' comp?
Nebraska has no minimum head count. The Act covers every resident employer, and every nonresident employer performing work in the state, that has one or more employees in its regular trade or business, and the Workers' Compensation Court says that includes part-time employees and minors. It does not reach railroads in interstate commerce, household domestic servants in a private residence, or farm operations that employ only relatives.
Farm operations with unrelated workers are exempt until they employ ten or more unrelated full-time employees on each working day for 13 weeks in a calendar year. An exempt farm that does not insure must give each unrelated worker a signed notice that they are not covered, the Court's employer FAQ says.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in Nebraska?
A sole proprietor, partner, or LLC member who works in the business full time is not an employee under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115 unless they elect coverage in writing with the insurer. A corporate executive officer who owns 25% or more of the common stock is likewise outside the Act unless they elect in; an officer who owns less than 25% is an employee and must be covered. Relatives on the payroll are employees, except in the farm carve-out below.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115, checked .
What happens to a Nebraska employer with no workers' comp?
An employer that willfully fails to insure commits a Class I misdemeanor, and so does each officer, LLC member, manager, or partner who had authority to buy the policy; those people are also personally liable, jointly with the business, for any benefits owed while it was uninsured. The Workers' Compensation Court or a district court can order a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, each day a separate violation, and can bar the business from operating in Nebraska until it is insured (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01).
The Court's employer FAQ adds that an injured employee of an uninsured employer can sue in district court, and the employer loses its common law defenses.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in Nebraska?
The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court administers the Act. Carriers report each policy to the Court, which runs a free public Proof of Coverage look-up by employer and date. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01 the Attorney General brings penalty cases against uninsured employers before the Court. The Nebraska Department of Insurance regulates the carriers and the assigned risk plan, not the employers.
Source: Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Employer FAQ, checked .
Where do Nebraska employers buy coverage?
Nebraska is a private-market state with no state fund. An employer buys from an insurer licensed by the Nebraska Department of Insurance, or, if it qualifies, applies to the Workers' Compensation Court to self-insure. The Court notes that Nebraska does not honor another state's fund coverage, so an out-of-state employer insured through its home state's fund needs a policy from a carrier licensed in Nebraska.
An employer that no voluntary carrier will write goes to the Nebraska Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, the assigned risk plan the Department of Insurance contracts out under Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-3,158; the Department names Travelers as its administrator and contract carrier.
Source: Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Employer FAQ, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in Nebraska?
Nebraska is an NCCI state. The Workers' Compensation Court sends employers to the National Council on Compensation Insurance for experience modifications and to their agent or carrier for class codes, and the Nebraska Department of Insurance oversees the loss cost multipliers and premium rates carriers file on top of the advisory loss costs.
Source: Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Employer FAQ, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in Nebraska?
No. Nebraska has no state exemption certificate or waiver form. Owners and 25%-or-more officers are outside the Act by default, so there is nothing to file to stay out. To come in, the owner or officer signs a written election and files it with the workers' compensation insurer (an officer also files it with the corporate secretary).
Because there is no state waiver, an owner with no employees whom a general contractor asks for proof of coverage has two choices: a policy, or whatever the contractor agrees to accept instead.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115, checked .
Sorting out Nebraska workers' comp for your business
Tell Redoubt what the business does, who works in it, and what the Nebraska requirement in front of you says. We will say whether a policy, a waiver, or an exclusion fits.
This is general insurance information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Statutes, agency instructions, policy forms, and the facts of the business control.
Workers’ comp requirements in every state
Each state page gives the employee threshold, the owner and officer exemptions, the penalty for going without, the rating bureau, the market, the enforcing agency, and the exemption filing, each with its statute or agency source.
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The hub, and the Nebraska pages that go deeper
Nebraska workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in Nebraska with one part-time employee?+
Yes. Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106 applies the Act to any employer with one or more employees in its regular business, and the Workers' Compensation Court counts part-time employees and minors. The policy needs to be in force on the first day of employment.
Does a Nebraska LLC owner need workers' comp for themselves?+
No. An LLC member, partner, or sole proprietor is not an employee under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115 unless they elect coverage in writing with the insurer. Any employees the LLC has must still be covered from day one.
My business is based in another state. Does Nebraska apply when my crew works there?+
Yes. The Act covers nonresident employers performing work in Nebraska, and the Court says that is for any length of time. Coverage has to come from an insurer licensed in Nebraska; the Court says Nebraska does not honor coverage from another state's fund.
Is there a state fund for workers' comp in Nebraska?+
No. Coverage comes from private carriers licensed by the Nebraska Department of Insurance. Employers turned down in the voluntary market can apply to the Nebraska Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, the state's assigned risk plan.