Are agricultural operations subject to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act?

The status of agricultural operations under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act was changed by LB 210 from the 2003 session of the Nebraska  Legislature.

 

Employers engaged in an agricultural operation are exempt from providing workers'
compensation insurance coverage if they employ only related employees.


Agricultural employers who employ unrelated employees are also exempt unless in
a calendar year they employ 10 or more unrelated, full-time employees, on each
working day for 13 calendar weeks (consecutive or not). The act applies to an
employer 30 days after the 13th week.

 

An employer exempt from the act may elect to provide workers' compensation
coverage for its employees. Such election is made by the employer obtaining a
workers' compensation insurance policy from an insurer licensed to write
workers' compensation insurance in Nebraska.

 

Every exempt employer who does not elect to provide workers' compensation
insurance coverage must give all unrelated employees the following written
notice at the time of hiring or at any time more than 30 calendar days prior to
the time of injury: "In this employment you will not be covered by the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act and you will not be compensated under the act if you are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease. You should plan accordingly." The notice must be signed by the unrelated employee and retained  by the employer. Failure to provide this notice subjects an employer to liability under the act for any unrelated employee to whom such notice was not given.

 

The following definitions are included in LB210:

  • Agricultural operation: The cultivation of land for the production of agricultural crops, fruit, or other horticultural products; or the ownership, keeping, or feeding of animals for the production of livestock or livestock products.

 

  • Full-time employee: A person who is employed to work one-half or more of the regularly scheduled hours during each pay period.

 

  • Related employee: A spouse of an employer and an employee related to the employer within the third degree by blood or marriage. This includes parents, grandparents, great grandparents, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, and spouses of the same.

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