Latest news with #BusinessandLaborCommittee
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill weakening Nebraska paid sick leave passes, but Dems stall effort to slow minimum wage growth
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, center, talks with State Sens. Paul Strommen of Sidney and Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area on May 28, 2025. Raybould sponsored a measure to slow voter-approved minimum wage increases while Strommen sponsored a measure to weaken voter-approved paid sick leave. Kauth chairs the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A majority of Nebraska Democrats and one Republican in the officially nonpartisan Legislature successfully blocked an attempt to add a proposal to slow the state's voter-approved minimum wage increases to a bill weakening voter-passed paid sick leave. State Sen. Jane Raybould filed her once-defeated minimum wage proposal as an amendment to Lincoln State Sen. Beau Ballard's Legislative Bill 415 after Speaker John Arch decided not to reschedule her stand-alone bill due to time constraints. Lawmakers were unable to consider the amendment — which was likely to pass — because Democratic-aligned lawmakers had already filed several motions to filibuster Ballard's original proposal. Raybould said her reason for wanting to act now had to do with the political dynamics facing her bill if the lawmakers wait. She said it would be harder to reduce pay for young people after the fact. Raybould's revived proposal, in its current form, would shrink the wage increases by setting the annual increase at 1.75%. It also would create a youth minimum wage and amend a separate state training wage. Raybould and supporters of her measure said her changes would protect small businesses that could not afford to pay more. Lawmakers against the legislative effort to slow wage growth said they were defending the people's will. 'Despite continued efforts to walk back the voice of the people, I'm glad that we were at least able to fight for everyday working Nebraskans by stopping this attack on minimum wage.' State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln said after the vote. Raybould pushed back by saying Nebraska lawmakers aren't trying to undermine what voters approved the way Missouri and some other state Legislatures have done in recent months. Missouri recently repealed a paid sick leave law that voters approved just months before. 'We care about our working families,' Raybould said during the LB 415 debate. 'These two bills help our Nebraska families.' Worker advocates and union leaders have spoken out against the paid sick leave and mimmutin wage changes as attempts to undermine voters. Ballard had previously said he didn't consider Raybould's amendment unfriendly and would have supported it. 'It was worth a swing,' Ballard told the Examiner. Even though Democratic-aligned lawmakers blocked Raybould's amendment from being considered the GOP majority passed Ballard's proposal 33-15. It adds new restrictions to the paid sick leave law Nebraska voters approved last year, which has yet to be implemented. LB 415 would remove the voter-approved law's blanket sick leave requirements, letting employers offer no paid sick leave to young teens, ages 14 and 15, and none to temporary workers, seasonal agricultural workers and workers at the state's smallest businesses, those with 10 or fewer employees. Ballard said the proposal intends to clarify and make the ballot measure 'more feasible' and workable for businesses. Passage of LB 415 is the latest part of a trend of the GOP-led Legislature pushing back against a handful of ballot measures passed by Nebraska voters. Targets this year include voter efforts to require paid sick leave, raise the minimum wage, repeal school vouchers and legalize and regulate medical marijuana. Raybould's stand-alone bill will most likely be voted on next session. Though highly unlikely, Arch could change his mind about scheduling it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hearing on mandatory E-Verify for Nebraska businesses draws mixed responses
In this aerial view, Mexican immigration officials and police escort deportees after they were sent back into Mexico on Jan. 22, 2025, as seen from Nogales, Arizona. (Photo by) LINCOLN — Testifiers on Monday were about split for and against a measure that would require some 6,350 Nebraska employers to use an online verifying system to weed out undocumented workers — or face suspension of their business license. Legislative Bill 532, introduced by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would require businesses with at least 25 workers to tap the E-Verify system or a government equivalent that checks an applicant's eligibility to work. The Nebraska Labor Department says about 6,350 of the state's businesses currently fit that bill. Some already use E-Verify: public contractors and employers that receive tax incentives from the state are mandated; some others use it voluntarily. Kauth, during a public hearing for her bill before the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee on Monday, said E-Verify should help guarantee Nebraska businesses 'peace of mind and a level playing field.' 'Yes, our jobs need to be filled, but we've got to make sure the people we have here — who are citizens not just of this state but of this country — are able to do those jobs first and foremost,' she said. Among those who voiced support for the bill was Susan Gumm, who said E-Verify would protect Nebraska workers against unfair job competition and wage depression. 'We are a nation of laws and should have a legal workforce.' She went on to cite two people whose deaths she asserts 'were entirely preventable since illegal aliens shouldn't even be in the country in the first place and couldn't remain here without jobs.' The Internet-based E-Verify is set up to compare and match information provided by a job applicant with records available to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. One key criticism is that workers using fraudulent or borrowed identities can evade detection. We want to be sure we don't create problems for business owners who are just struggling to stay afloat in a workforce-tight environment . – Hunter Traynor, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dylan Severino of the American Civil Liberties Union, in opposing LB 532, described the system as 'seriously flawed' with a 1.67% mismatch rate last year and mentioned errors that he said could encourage legal discrimination. He said the 'headache' of a mismatch does not only fall on the employee. Employers are bound by law not to discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin, he said, and need to to carefully resolve mismatches. Severino suggested that might deter employers from taking a chance on hiring someone that might be flagged. 'If you're an employer … and you know that mismatches are usually caused by hyphenated names — common in the Hispanic and Latino culture and transliterated names such as Arabic names — maybe you'll just decide to skip over candidates.' Kris Bousquet, executive director of the Nebraska State Dairy Association, also spoke in opposition of LB 532 for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen's Association, Nebraska Pork Producers and Renewable Fuels Nebraska. He said employers within the groups want to comply with all laws regarding workplace practices but believe that regulatory authority for the immigration issues should remain at the federal level. Requiring E-Verify at the state level requires another level of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, he said. Bousquet said many farm and ag jobs, such as milking cows, are 'incredibly demanding tasks.' 'Finding people that are willing and able to perform these jobs is challenging enough, and if those jobs go unfilled our livestock producers are faced with serious production restrictions and animal welfare issues,' Bousquet said. Hunter Traynor of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry spoke in a neutral capacity, and did so also for groups including the Nebraska New Car & Truck Dealers Association and Nebraska Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. But he said that some members use E-Verify and called it 'by no means a fool-proof solution.' Given the potential of losing a business license over a system that 'has not been largely reliable in the past gives us some pause,' Traynor said. 'We want to be sure we don't create problems for business owners who are just struggling to stay afloat in a workforce-tight environment,' he said. Five people testified in support of the bill Monday; four were opposed; two spoke in a neutral capacity. Of those who submitted written testimony, 25 supported the bill; 22 were opposed and two were neutral. The committee took no action on whether to advance the bill to full Legislative debate. Kauth said at least one benefit to mandating E-Verify was that it could provide state officials a better picture of illegal immigration in Nebraska. Those who suffer the most from undocumented workers, she said, are young people looking for their first job, veterans trying to find a job outside of the military and people leaving the prison system seeking a job. 'If you are getting out of prison and you need a fresh start, what better place than on a ranch or on a farm or somewhere doing something different than you've ever done,' Kauth said. 'Milking a cow might not seem like the worst thing in the world because it is good, honest labor.' A legislative fiscal analysis shows that implementing the measure would, in the first year, cost the state about $260,000 in new staffing requirements. Under the Kauth proposal: The Nebraska Department of Labor would develop and carry out random audit inspections and expose violators using a public-facing database. If the state labor commissioner detects noncompliance, the business has a certain amount of time to contest. Penalties include probation of a business' operating license or, for repeat violations, suspension of the license. Employers that knowingly employ an unauthorized immigrant worker face suspension of their business license. The license can be reinstated if the employer fires the worker or pays the cost of either the Labor Department's investigation or $1,000. A business that 'in good faith' uses E-Verify is presumed not to be in violation, subject to rebuttal by evidence. An employer who fires a worker to comply with the statute won't be subject to a civil action for wrongful termination of the employee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hearing on mandatory E-Verify for Nebraska businesses draws mixed responses
In this aerial view, Mexican immigration officials and police escort deportees after they were sent back into Mexico on Jan. 22, 2025, as seen from Nogales, Arizona. (Photo by) LINCOLN — Testifiers on Monday were about split for and against a measure that would require some 6,350 Nebraska employers to use an online verifying system to weed out undocumented workers — or face suspension of their business license. Legislative Bill 532, introduced by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would require businesses with at least 25 workers to tap the E-Verify system or a government equivalent that checks an applicant's eligibility to work. The Nebraska Labor Department says about 6,350 of the state's businesses currently fit that bill. Some already use E-Verify: public contractors and employers that receive tax incentives from the state are mandated; some others use it voluntarily. Kauth, during a public hearing for her bill before the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee on Monday, said E-Verify should help guarantee Nebraska businesses 'peace of mind and a level playing field.' 'Yes, our jobs need to be filled, but we've got to make sure the people we have here — who are citizens not just of this state but of this country — are able to do those jobs first and foremost,' she said. Among those who voiced support for the bill was Susan Gumm, who said E-Verify would protect Nebraska workers against unfair job competition and wage depression. 'We are a nation of laws and should have a legal workforce.' She went on to cite two people whose deaths she asserts 'were entirely preventable since illegal aliens shouldn't even be in the country in the first place and couldn't remain here without jobs.' The Internet-based E-Verify is set up to compare and match information provided by a job applicant with records available to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. One key criticism is that workers using fraudulent or borrowed identities can evade detection. We want to be sure we don't create problems for business owners who are just struggling to stay afloat in a workforce-tight environment . – Hunter Traynor, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dylan Severino of the American Civil Liberties Union, in opposing LB 532, described the system as 'seriously flawed' with a 1.67% mismatch rate last year and mentioned errors that he said could encourage legal discrimination. He said the 'headache' of a mismatch does not only fall on the employee. Employers are bound by law not to discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin, he said, and need to to carefully resolve mismatches. Severino suggested that might deter employers from taking a chance on hiring someone that might be flagged. 'If you're an employer … and you know that mismatches are usually caused by hyphenated names — common in the Hispanic and Latino culture and transliterated names such as Arabic names — maybe you'll just decide to skip over candidates.' Kris Bousquet, executive director of the Nebraska State Dairy Association, also spoke in opposition of LB 532 for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen's Association, Nebraska Pork Producers and Renewable Fuels Nebraska. He said employers within the groups want to comply with all laws regarding workplace practices but believe that regulatory authority for the immigration issues should remain at the federal level. Requiring E-Verify at the state level requires another level of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, he said. Bousquet said many farm and ag jobs, such as milking cows, are 'incredibly demanding tasks.' 'Finding people that are willing and able to perform these jobs is challenging enough, and if those jobs go unfilled our livestock producers are faced with serious production restrictions and animal welfare issues,' Bousquet said. Hunter Traynor of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry spoke in a neutral capacity, and did so also for groups including the Nebraska New Car & Truck Dealers Association and Nebraska Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. But he said that some members use E-Verify and called it 'by no means a fool-proof solution.' Given the potential of losing a business license over a system that 'has not been largely reliable in the past gives us some pause,' Traynor said. 'We want to be sure we don't create problems for business owners who are just struggling to stay afloat in a workforce-tight environment,' he said. Five people testified in support of the bill Monday; four were opposed; two spoke in a neutral capacity. Of those who submitted written testimony, 25 supported the bill; 22 were opposed and two were neutral. The committee took no action on whether to advance the bill to full Legislative debate. Kauth said at least one benefit to mandating E-Verify was that it could provide state officials a better picture of illegal immigration in Nebraska. Those who suffer the most from undocumented workers, she said, are young people looking for their first job, veterans trying to find a job outside of the military and people leaving the prison system seeking a job. 'If you are getting out of prison and you need a fresh start, what better place than on a ranch or on a farm or somewhere doing something different than you've ever done,' Kauth said. 'Milking a cow might not seem like the worst thing in the world because it is good, honest labor.' A legislative fiscal analysis shows that implementing the measure would, in the first year, cost the state about $260,000 in new staffing requirements. Under the Kauth proposal: The Nebraska Department of Labor would develop and carry out random audit inspections and expose violators using a public-facing database. If the state labor commissioner detects noncompliance, the business has a certain amount of time to contest. Penalties include probation of a business' operating license or, for repeat violations, suspension of the license. Employers that knowingly employ an unauthorized immigrant worker face suspension of their business license. The license can be reinstated if the employer fires the worker or pays the cost of either the Labor Department's investigation or $1,000. A business that 'in good faith' uses E-Verify is presumed not to be in violation, subject to rebuttal by evidence. An employer who fires a worker to comply with the statute won't be subject to a civil action for wrongful termination of the employee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would trim training hours for barbers and cosmetologists
SALT LAKE CITY () — Senate Bill 330 advanced from the Business and Labor Committee Wednesday by a vote of 5-1. The bill amends the requirements to get a license as a barber or cosmetologist. The , sponsored by Sen. Scott Sandall (R), would also create micro-licenses or permits. This would allow people who are interested in a specific field to specialize and not go through full training. For example, to get a license as a master esthetician, it would require 1,200 training hours. But if you're only interested in doing nails, that would take 300 hours. Eyebrows? Just 270 hours. Supporters say it helps more people get into the business while saving on time and money. Stylist Rhonda Halliday likes that idea, saying, 'The micro-licensing and the letting students have access to these programs without having to go through only beauty schools to get them.' Barbers, however, say that dropping their hours from 1,000 to a 130 training hour permit doesn't make the cut. Richard Hite owns The Barber School in Midvale and completely opposes the idea of a barber getting a permit after 130 hours. He explained, 'These are craftsmen. These people are highly skilled people that provide a craft that can't be duplicated by a stupid certificate for 130 hours.' Hite also believes the shorter hours would be bad for business. He claims that while it would open the door to more barbers, it would also open it to bad quality. 'The public eventually is going to say, 'Hey, I'm not getting a consistent haircut. I'm out of here. I'm going to go somewhere else,'' Hite said. 'So, the barber is no longer able to hire people because there's no qualified people out there in the pool to be hired.' Jeff Shumway, the director of the Office of Professional Licensure Review, says the office would have supported even lower hours. He says they arrived at these hours by studying health professionals and the requirements they meet in certain training. They believe the license is issued to make sure standards of health and safety are met — not whether or not your barber can line you up correctly or perfect a fade. 'It doesn't necessarily say you're going to get, you know, exactly the haircut you want, but it's going to be safe. You're not going to get sick. You're not going to get hurt,' Shumway explained. Hite and other barbers in attendance disagree. Dave Broderick, a local barber, referenced his ability to detect worrisome issues with his clients' skin. He mentioned two instances where he referred clients to dermatologists, and they found cancer — something he says his experience and training enable him to spot out. Hite says 130 hours just isn't enough. 'It just satisfies that you've seen the words 'health and safety' somewhere, maybe in a book, and that you're no longer a health risk to the public. That's all that they care about.' Sen. Sandall admits the bill's current form isn't perfect. In fact, he has 22 changes (and counting) that he wants to make in a substitute bill based on the feedback he received. Committee Chair Evan Vickers was the lone vote against the bill, citing it not being done as his reason. He pledged to help make sure the bill addresses the concerns as it moves through the process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska would rev up role in curbing undocumented workers under bill targeting employers
In this aerial view, Mexican immigration officials and police escort deportees after they were sent back into Mexico on Jan. 22, 2025, as seen from Nogales, Arizona. U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office declaring a state of emergency at the U.S. southern border, halting asylum claims and launching a campaign of mass deportations. (Photo by) LINCOLN — Nebraska would step up its role against illegal immigration under a newly proposed state law requiring businesses with at least 25 workers to use an online system aimed at ferreting out undocumented workers. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, under Legislative Bill 532, wants to create graduated state penalties, including suspension of a business license, for employers that don't partake in the E-Verify program to check an applicant's eligibility to work and that knowingly hire people unauthorized to work in the United States. Furthermore, the measure calls upon the Nebraska Department of Labor to develop and carry out random audit inspections and expose violators using a public-facing database. 'We're saying that every business should be doing this,' Kauth, chair of the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee, said of the electronic verification. 'I want them to do the right thing.' The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 makes it unlawful under federal law to knowingly employ undocumented workers. Arizona in 2008 became the first state to require E-Verify as a further deterrent, using revocation of a license to do business in the state as a hammer, and some states and cities have followed suit. Kauth said her proposal was inspired by constituent concerns, but that her intent is not only to curb the undocumented workforce. She sees it as protection for vulnerable workers who may be taken advantage of by employers because of legal status. Pillen orders Nebraska agencies to fall in line with Trump immigration crackdown The proposal comes as Gov. Jim Pillen issued a directive to state government agencies and law enforcement officials to adhere to President Donald Trump's executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration and border security. Trump's executive orders have created fear and concern in many communities. His effort to roll back birthright citizenship already faces legal challenges. Lawyers in Nebraska who work in immigration and labor law fields question the effectiveness of a state E-Verify push. Currently, mandatory E-Verify checks in Nebraska apply to a smaller group: public contractors and employers that receive tax incentives from the state. The Internet-based system is set up to compare and match information provided by a job applicant with records available to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, essentially verifying a person's status to work. It's a free and fast service, according to a federal government website promoting E-Verify. But a major criticism of the electronic verification system is that workers using fraudulent or borrowed identities can and have evaded detection, said Amy Peck, who manages the immigration practice of Jackson Lewis law firm. Of LB 532, Peck said: 'Will it solve the illegal immigration problem for employers? No. Does it make everyone feel good? Maybe.' Daniel Martin DeLoa, a trial attorney at Omaha-based Pesek Law, sees the Kauth proposal as opening the door to potential selective enforcement and posing a barrier to doing business in Nebraska. He views the legislative proposal more as a show of support for the priorities of the president. 'This is one of many examples we will see when the Nebraska Legislature expresses clear agreement and alignment with the policies and priorities of the new Trump administration,' Martin DeLoa said. Under the Kauth proposal: An employer must verify a new hire's work eligibility using E-Verify or a similarly recognized program by the federal government. If the state labor commissioner detects noncompliance, the business has a certain amount of time to contest. Penalties include probation of a business' operating license or, for repeat violations, suspension of the license. Employers that knowingly employ an unauthorized immigrant worker face suspension of their business license. The license can be reinstated if the employer fires the worker in question or pays the cost of either the Labor Department's investigation or $1,000. Suspensions are longer with repeat violations. A business that 'in good faith' uses E-Verify is presumed not to be in violation, subject to rebuttal by evidence. And an employer who fires a worker to comply with the statute won't be subject to a civil action for wrongful termination of the employee. The state Labor Department, in administering a statewide random auditing program, gains the authority to enter a business at 'reasonable times' and question bosses and workers, examine and photograph relevant records. Bryan Slone, chief executive of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said that many businesses in Nebraska already use E-Verify. While the chamber has not yet examined the bill, or taken a position, its leaders tend to take a practical point of view, he said. One problem, Slone said, is that there is not a consistent approach to worker verification among all states and cities and, generally, a patchwork of regulations hampers business. Some Nebraska businesses also have employees in multiple states, he noted. 'It means employers have to keep track of all these different provisions in different jurisdictions,' he said. 'It's always better to have uniform federal rules from a compliance standpoint.' From a broader perspective, he said, businesses want a better federal immigration system that processes work visas faster and in ways that provide more legal workers to U.S. employers struggling with a shortage of applicants. 'This is nothing the State Legislature can fix,' he said, but it is a priority for an alliance of Nebraska organizations including the Nebraska Chamber. Kauth said she recognizes that a legislative proposal is a work in progress, and she welcomes input from taxpayers and others during public hearings. 'We're going to find out what people think,' she said. 'Perhaps it's just the first step in, How do we make it better?' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
