Nebraska Payment Laws
All wages to be paid are based on the amount of time an employee works.
This is regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act and requires that
employees be paid for all of the time they work. Under the Fair Labor
Standards Act employees are to be paid for any time they are doing
work. For instance if an employee's job is to deliver items for a
company, he or she is to be paid while commuting from one place to the
other. His or her employer is also required to pay him or her during
the eight hours provided, even if he or she has no deliveries to make.
Under this regulation if an employee is offered forty hours in one
week, he or she is to be paid those forty hours if he or she is at
work, even if no work is provided. However if this employee is to wait
off company premises for deliveries, he or she is not required to be
paid for the waiting time.
An employee is also required to be paid if he or she works overtime.
Some companies do not allow overtime, but if an employee is required to
work past his or her forty hours while completing a deadline, he or she
is required to be paid.
Family and Medical Leave
By federal law employers are required to allow employees to take a
leave of absence for family or medical reasons. This kind of leave is
covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The Family and
Medical Leave Act allow employees to take a needed absence without the
fear of looking their employment. Under the act employers are not
legally permitted to terminate an employee because he or she took
personal leave.
An employer has the right to hire a temporary employee to handle the
employee on leave's responsibilities but is required to terminate that
employee when the employee on leave returns. Upon return an employee is
entitled to his or her former occupation or an occupation of the same
benefits and salary.
Family and medical leave is allotted for twelve weeks each year and
must be taken consecutively. These twelve weeks cannot be spread
throughout the year. The Family and Medical Leave Act covers the
circumstances of maternity leave, leave to care for an elderly parent,
leave to care for an ill child, leave for hospitalization, or leave for
any other extended medical or psychological purpose. Maternity leave
includes caring for a newborn and allowing adoptive parents to care for
a new child. Paternity leave may also be available in some cases.
Minimum Wages
In 2009 the federal government raised its minimum wage standard to
seven dollars and twenty-five cents. This required all states to raise
their minimum wages to meet this standard or rise above it. The state
of Nebraska thus raised its minimum wage to meet federal law. Under
federal law employees who are tipped are allowed to be paid just over
two dollars an hour. This is legal as the tips acquired make up the
difference for the lack of wages.