2023 Nevada Legislature – Changes for Public Employers, Part II

Below is a supplemental summary of new laws passed by the 2023 Nevada Legislature that may impact a Nevada public employer. For each, we have provided a link to Nevada’s legislative website where you can view the final text of the bill (click on “As Enrolled”).

Some of these bills may require a change to your policies and procedures. If you have questions about these bills or need assistance with such policy changes, please contact a KZA attorney.

Be sure to check Issue 27 of the KZA Employer Report for other bills applying to public employers. The summary below supplements Issue 27 with additional bills that have now become law.

AB 376 – State employees, FMLA. This bill provides 8 weeks of paid family and medical leave for an employee of the Executive Department of the State Government. To be eligible for leave an employee must be employed for at least 12 consecutive months and have 40 or less hours of accrued sick leave available to them. Employees must be paid half of their regular wages while using leave, and they may, but are not required to, use their accrued sick leave for the same purposes: to bond with a newborn child of the employee or of his/her domestic partner; bond with a newly adopted child of the employee; recover from or undergo treatment for a “serious illness”; care for a “seriously ill” member of the immediate family of the employee; or participate in a qualifying event resulting from the military deployment to a foreign country of an immediate family member of the employee. The bill also includes an anti-retaliation provision. This new law becomes effective on January 1, 2024.

AB 378 – State employees, collective bargaining. This bill makes changes to the collective bargaining procedures applicable to employees of the Executive Department of the State of Nevada. For example, it requires the parties to CBA negotiations to select a mediator and arbitrator before beginning bargaining, requires bargaining to begin one month earlier (now by October 1), shortens the time period for mediation if needed, and changes the deadlines for arbitration if needed. These changes become effective on July 1, 2023.

SB 166 – Collective bargaining. This bill changes a portion of NRS 288.138’s definition of “supervisory employee” that relates to local government employers with a paramilitary command structure. It also amends NRS 288.515 to require separate bargaining units for certain peace officer and firefighter supervisory employees and provides that a bargaining unit for peace officers be composed exclusively of peace officers. These changes become effective on July 1, 2023, but do not apply during the current term of any CBA entered into before that date. The bill’s changes will apply, however, to any extension or renewal of such an agreement and to any CBA entered into on or after July 1, 2023.

SB 225 – Peace Officers. This bill makes several changes to the certification and employment standards for peace officers in Nevada. For example, it provides that a person is not qualified to serve as a peace officer in Nevada if the person has been convicted of domestic violence in any state or has been decertified in any jurisdiction. It limits the Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission’s ability to deny certification to a person who has used cannabis. The bill requires a law enforcement agency to immediately notify the Commission if a peace officer it employs is charged with certain crimes or leaves his/her employment while an investigation concerning alleged misconduct is pending. It also prohibits a law enforcement agency from requiring a peace officer applicant to provide an oral or written attestation concerning any past use of cannabis but does not limit the agency’s ability to conduct pre-employment drug testing or seek an oral or written attestation concerning any use of cannabis after the submission of an application. This bill becomes effective on October 1, 2023. 

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.