NV Legislature Considering Changes To Leave Laws

There are several bills pending before the current session of the Nevada Legislature addressing paid time off, sick time, and leave. If passed, each could have a significant impact on Nevada’s employers. 

First, there is Assembly Bill 112 which seeks to change Nevada’s caregiver sick leave law. In 2021, the Legislature enacted Nevada Revised Statute 608.01975 which requires an employer that provides sick leave for its employees to allow an employee to use any accrued sick leave to assist a member of his/her immediate family who is ill, injured, or has a medical appointment or other medical need. The law does not apply to employees covered under collective bargaining agreements (“CBA”). AB 112 seeks to remove the exemption for CBAs.

Second, there is Assembly Bill 179 which seeks to change Nevada’s paid leave law. Enacted in 2019, this law, NRS 608.0197, requires private employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid time off to all scheduled employees at a rate of at least 0.01923 hours for each hour of work performed. The law also specifies when employees are eligible to use this leave, how they can use it, and how the employer must manage the leave. Employers are exempt from these requirements, however, if they have a contract, policy, or CBA that provides all scheduled employees with paid leave or paid time off in at least the same amount as required by the law. AB 179 seeks to remove this exemption so that all Nevada employers with 50 or more employees will be subject to all parts of the paid leave law. 

As currently drafted, the changes both AB 112 and AB 179 seek to make would not apply to CBAs entered into before October 1, 2025, but would instead apply to any extension or renewal of those agreements. 

According to the sponsors of these bills, employees are being disciplined and terminated based upon their use of sick leave and paid time off in violation of the laws’ protections against retaliation. The sponsors contend that employers are shielded from liability by the exemptions; thus, they want to remove the exemptions. 

Last, but not least, is Assembly Bill 388. This bill seeks to require all employers (public and private) with 50 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to employees after 90 days of employment. Leave would be permitted for the same reasons permitted under the FMLA but would also include domestic violence, stalking, harassment or sexual assault (such that Nevada’s domestic violence/sexual assault leave law would be repealed). Intermittent leave would be allowed. While the bill states that FMLA leave runs concurrently with the proposed state paid family leave, FMLA leave is not available to an employee until he/she has worked for 12 months and 1,250 hours.

KZA is closely tracking these bills. AB 112 just passed the Assembly yesterday, and we will keep you updated on further developments for all three bills. If you have questions or would like assistance with analyzing these matters, please contact a KZA attorney. 

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.