2021 Nevada Legislative Session Update

The 81st Session of the Nevada Legislature ends on May 31, 2021. We continue to track all pending labor and employment bills for you and write to update you on the status of a few of these. Some of the bills we previously briefed you on did not meet the April 9 deadline for passage by their first committee. As such, no further action can be taken on these bills this session. Many bills remain pending; we have briefly described below the status of a few of these by topic.

COVID-19

AB 246: Sought to require all Nevada employers to develop a COVID-19 prevention plan. This bill is dead.

SB 386: “Nevada Hospitality and Travel Workers Right to Return Act.” This bill gives an unprecedented recall right to all employees who were discharged, laid off or furloughed because of COVID-19. It applies to airport hospitality operations, airport service providers, casinos, event centers, and hotels in any county whose population is 100,000 or more. The bill’s language comes directly from UNITE HERE and was recently passed in California. SB 386, which is strongly supported by several unions, is pending before the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.

Paid Leave

AB 303: Sought to amend the Nevada paid leave statute to remove the exception for employers with their own PTO policies. This bill is dead.

AB 190:  Seeks to provide “caregiver leave.”  This bill requires a private employer that provides employees with sick leave to allow an employee to use accrued sick leave for an absence due to an illness, injury, medical appointment or other medical need of a member of the employee’s immediate family. In passing the Assembly, this bill was amended to exclude employees covered by collective bargaining agreements; it is now pending before the Senate’s Commerce and Labor Committee.

SB 209: Amends Nevada’s paid leave statute.  This bill was amended in the Senate. It currently expands Nevada’s paid leave statute to allow employees to use paid leave for any purpose and requires 2-4 hours of additional paid leave for a COVID-19 vaccine (unless it is administered onsite). SB 209 is pending before the Assembly’s Committee on Commerce & Labor.

Wages/Wage History

AB 124: Addressed fair pay and wage history. This bill is dead.

SB 293: Prohibits an employer from seeking or relying on wage or salary history of an applicant and requires an employer to provide an applicant the wage or salary range for a position. This bill has passed the Senate and is now being considered by the Assembly’s Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AJR 10: Amends Nevada’s Constitution to remove the two-tiered system for minimum wage and require all employers to pay a minimum wage of $12.00 an hour beginning July 1, 2024. This resolution, which passed the Legislature in 2019, has passed the Assembly and is pending before the Senate. If it passes the Senate, it must be approved by voters in a general election.

Noncompete Agreements

AB 47: Sought to eliminate the use of noncompetition agreements/clauses in Nevada in most circumstances. This bill was significantly amended in the Assembly. It now bans noncompete clauses/agreements only for employees who are paid solely on an hourly basis. It is pending before the Senate’s Committee on Commerce & Labor.

Race Discrimination

SB 199: Sought to expand the concept of race discrimination. This bill is dead.

SB 327: Seeks to expand the concept of race discrimination. This bill was amended in the Senate and is currently pending before the Assembly Commerce & Labor Committee. It defines “race” to include traits associated with race, including hair texture and “protective hairstyles.” Protective hairstyles are defined as “natural hairstyles, afros, bantu knots, curls, braids, locks and twists.” 

Whistleblowing

AB 222: Seeks to expand whistleblower protections to employees who report, internally or externally,  conduct by their employer which may be illegal or unsafe, or request correction of, or refuse to engage in, such conduct. This bill also seeks to impose an unprecedented burden of proof in a whistleblower retaliation case such that an employer will be liable for an adverse action against a whistleblower unless it can show the individual engaged in gross misconduct – a complete departure from Nevada’s at will employment law and the standard of proof usually used in retaliation cases. This bill passed the Assembly and is pending before the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee.

Please note that none of these bills has yet passed both houses; the deadline for second house passage is May 21. If you have questions about these bills, would like assistance with the legislative process, or would like to know about the other bills we are tracking, 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.