Change and eliminate provisions relating to workplace safety committees and a workplace safety program and terminate a fund
LB397 revises Nebraska law governing workers’ compensation and workplace safety. The bill changes the state’s assigned-risk workers’ compensation system by updating how the Director of Insurance may contract with insurers to provide coverage for employers who cannot obtain insurance through ordinary means, including provisions on premium sharing, loss allocation, and the circumstances under which an employer is eligible or ineligible for assigned-risk coverage. It also updates cancellation and nonrenewal notice requirements for workers’ compensation policies, including special rules for professional employer organizations, master policies, and multiple coordinated policies.
The bill also strengthens and clarifies workplace safety requirements. It requires every public and private employer subject to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act to establish a safety committee and maintain a written injury prevention program, while making clear that professional employer arrangements do not shift that responsibility away from the client employer. In addition, LB397 creates the Workplace Safety Consultation Program, authorizing the Department of Labor to conduct inspections and consultations, assess fees for those services, and use a dedicated cash fund for administration. The bill includes enforcement tools such as referrals to federal safety agencies, civil penalties for refusing inspector entry, and protections against retaliation for employees who raise safety concerns.
LB397’s impact on state law is substantial because it repeals the original safety-committee and safety-program provisions and replaces them with a broader, more detailed framework for employer safety obligations and state workplace inspections. It also terminates the Workplace Safety Consultation Program Cash Fund and transfers remaining money to the General Fund, while preserving the new program’s fee-based administration. The bill amends multiple sections of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska and outright repeals several prior sections, reshaping both workers’ compensation insurance administration and occupational safety enforcement.
The general sentiment around the bill appears to have been favorable overall, as reflected by its advancement and final passage with comfortable margins and eventual gubernatorial approval. The votes suggest broad support, though not unanimous support at every stage, indicating some reservations but not enough to stop the measure. The lack of committee transcript material limits direct insight into debate, but the legislative history shows the bill moved successfully through the process and was enacted.
The main points of contention likely centered on the bill’s regulatory and administrative reach. Employers, especially those using professional employer organizations or operating under complex workers’ compensation arrangements, may have been concerned about expanded safety-committee obligations, inspection authority, fee assessments, and stricter cancellation/nonrenewal rules. Insurers and risk-pool participants may also have had concerns about the assigned-risk changes and loss-sharing provisions. On the other hand, supporters likely emphasized improved workplace safety, clearer coverage continuity, and stronger enforcement of safety standards.
LB397 amends Nebraska workers’ compensation and labor statutes by revising the assigned-risk insurance framework, policy cancellation and nonrenewal rules, and employer safety obligations. It repeals prior safety-committee and safety-program provisions, creates a new Workplace Safety Consultation Program with inspection and consultation authority, establishes a fee-supported cash fund structure, and adds enforcement and anti-retaliation provisions affecting employers, insurers, professional employer organizations, and the Department of Labor.
The bill appears to have had generally positive legislative support. It advanced on a 31-11 vote, later adopted amendments with near-unanimous support, and passed final reading 35-13-1 before being signed by the Governor. That voting pattern suggests the measure was broadly acceptable to most lawmakers, even if a meaningful minority remained opposed.
Likely areas of disagreement included the expansion of state oversight into workplace safety, the requirement that all covered employers maintain safety committees and written injury prevention programs, and the Department of Labor’s inspection and consultation authority. Employers and professional employer organizations may have objected to the bill’s allocation of responsibility and compliance burdens, while insurers may have focused on the assigned-risk system changes, notice requirements, and loss-sharing rules. Supporters likely viewed these provisions as necessary to improve safety and ensure stable workers’ compensation coverage.